With shifting work patterns and an unpredictable economy, it’s no wonder employees are experiencing burnout more than ever before.
According to Mental Health UK, 9 out of 10 people experienced high or extreme levels of stress in the last year (2025 report). Prolonged stress can lead to burnout, which can be an organisational nightmare when it concerns productivity, engagement, morale and turnover.
At its worst, burnout can leave people out of action for weeks, if not months. In this article, we’ll run through how managers and leaders can spot the early signs of employee burnout to prevent it affecting attendance and productivity at work.
What is burnout?
Burnout is characterised by a state of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion. But these signs aren’t always easy to spot. Especially if the person has been under stress for some time. Burnout happens when they have been under stress or pressure for a prolonged period.
Being stressed vs being burnt out
Being stressed as a result of increased workload isn’t an ideal situation to be in, but sadly, it’s quite common. In a workplace, pressures can arise due to tough deadlines or when members of your team are absent or leave the organisation. This leaves remaining staff to pick up the pieces until work can be evenly distributed.
If this re-distribution doesn’t happen, this stressful state is what can eventually lead to burnout.
Stress symptoms
- Over-engaged
- Reactive
- ‘Running on anxiety’
- Lacking energy
Burnout symptoms
- Disengaged
- Passive
- ‘Running on fumes’
- Lacking energy and hope
- Physical manifestations, such as neglecting appearance
The stages of burnout – how does burnout work?
Burnout doesn’t just appear. It’s a state that builds over time due to prolonged stress. Before we know it, team members might be burnt out and wondering why their usual coping mechanisms to mitigate a stressful state simply aren’t working.
To help you figure out if you or an individual in your organisation is burning out, here are the signs to be aware of:
1. Honeymoon phase
Just like a relationship, a honeymoon phase comes with energy and optimism. Perhaps the individual has just started at your organisation, or they’ve been assigned a new project. While their enthusiasm may be welcome, in some individuals, it can be a slippery slope to overcommitting to work without adequate breaks.
2. Onset of stress
As the first phase slows down, they might find the rate at which they are working is unsustainable. You might observe them starting to lose focus, slow down at work and not being able to ‘switch off’.
3. Chronic stress
Chronic stress can be hard to spot if you don’t know the signs. You might notice an individual withdraw from group projects and social events. Maybe you notice them taking work home, or working later than they usually would do. Perhaps they appear more tired than usual with little to no signs of improvement.
4. Burnout
The burnout stage is when this chronic stress becomes unmanageable. The individual might experience low self-esteem and even start to exhibit physical symptoms such as sweating and stomach aches because of anxiety and stress. They might neglect their physical appearance, look more tired than usual and possibly have more sick days compared to their colleagues.
5. Habitual burnout
This is a state where burnout feels like the norm for the individual, especially if it’s left untreated. They might feel a constant state of fatigue and you’ll observe a consistent, low level of work performance that isn’t their norm.
Spotting the signs of burnout in your people
When your people are burnt out, you might observe the following:
- They use statements such as: “I can’t cope” or, “no matter how much I sleep, I never feel fully rested”
- They become irritated easily
- They have difficulty concentrating
- They seem to be showing a sense of failure and self-doubt
- They show a loss of motivation
- They begin to isolate from others
What causes burnout?
Stress affects everyone differently and there’s no one cause. But generally, external events tend to trigger burnout. When stress becomes unmanageable over a period time, it leads to burnout. Some potential causes of burnout include:
- Increased job demands over a long period of time
- Working in a high-pressure environment without support systems in place
- Neglecting their own needs (sleep, healthy diet, hydration and relaxation) which can also be a symptom
- Taking on too many responsibilities – which doubles down when the individual isn’t adequately rewarded for this
- Being in emotionally demanding situations
- Having unclear goals and expectations from a business and sometimes even themselves
- Poor work-life balance
- Working in a toxic team and/or organisation
- Job insecurity
Burnout in the workplace – what does this look like from an employee’s perspective?
It’s all too easy, as an organisational leader, to think an individual may not be “working hard enough”. Often, this is far from reality.
When overwhelm and overworking becomes the norm in an organisation, this can become part of the company culture.
Here are just some causes of burnout in the workplace:
- Being micromanaged
- Feeling unchallenged or, the opposite, being ‘pushed’ in a role
- Having little downtime in the working day
- Working with colleagues that are ‘hard to work with’
- Receiving no praise or recognition for work
- Having little to no control over work
- Being expected to be ‘always on’ – even outside of work hours
It’s always worth thinking about how the organisation’s culture might be contributing to burnout in your people. This is especially important if you’re spotting a pattern, e.g. increased sickness absence and resignations.
Tips to help prevent burnout in your people
The best way to lower the chances of burnout is having preventative and on-going support in place. Once an individual is burnt out, it can be hard for them to make a comeback. However, hope is not lost, and there are things you can do as a leader to help your people bounce back sooner:
1. Signpost mental health support
Asking for help can be a challenge, but sometimes it’s necessary. Be sure this help is accessible for individuals to make use of in their own time, or with support from a manager. Whether this is through your employee assistance programme, an open-door policy, or some other form of employee support; signpost this regularly to remind your people of the help that is readily available for them.
2. Talk to the individual
Try to resolve the situation by speaking with the individual in a confidential setting. If it’s their job role that’s causing them stress, it’s your duty of care to make reasonable adjustments, particularly if they have a mental and/or physical disability.
3. Help the individual set boundaries
If it’s evidently clear the individual is taking on too much, then it’s a good idea, as a leader, to help them set healthy boundaries. It’s not about saying no to upcoming work, it’s about reprioritising and managing expectations so they can remain productive, reducing the risk of error and stress.
4. Normalise taking time to unplug
We live in a fast-paced world. Technology connects us, but it also creates a constant stream of communication that’s difficult to keep up with. Levels of workplace stress and mental health problems are also rising, with one in four people in the UK experiencing poor mental health each year.
It’s time that we normalised taking time to unplug; putting a pause on the fast pace and tending to our wellbeing. This way, we can build up burnout resilience and protect physical and mental health in the process.
How an Employee Assistance Programme can help with signs of burnout
If your people are experiencing the signs of burnout, or you suspect they’re in the thick of it, it might be time for professional intervention. At HA | Wisdom Wellbeing, we not only provide excellent support via our network of 2,000+ counsellors, but we also provide day-one intervention for those off sick from anxiety and stress. We believe that help should be available around the clock, which is why our services are available 24/7, 365 days a year.
If staff have been off, and they are exploring returning to work, one of our Occupational Health Assesment team members will work with you and them to ensure they can safely return to work and have the support they need to reduce further time away from your organisation.
Related article: How does an EAP work
Conclusion
Burnout is a serious issue that can affect physical and mental wellbeing. Not only can it lower service delivery and impact an individual’s mental health, but it can become difficult to deal with the longer they’re in a state of burnout. By encouraging your people to seek intervention early and prioritising self-care, they can take steps to set boundaries, look after their mental health and slowly reduce the feelings of chronic stress and burnout.
