Burnout is more than just stress — it’s a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive pressure. Short-term stress can sometimes be a motivator but, long-term, unrelenting stress can lead individuals to feel overwhelmed, detached and unable to function effectively.
Mental Health UK’s Burnout Report 2025 found that 91% of adults in the UK have experienced high or extreme levels of stress in the past year.
In this blog, we’ll focus on the causes, signs and consequences of burnout in the workplace. Left unaddressed, burnout doesn’t simply go away: it can severely impact physical and mental health, strain personal relationships and diminish overall wellbeing. Understanding both employers’ and employees’ responsibilities in preventing burnout is crucial to having a happier and healthier team.
Preventing burnout requires a proactive approach from employers. Open communication is a key factor in fostering a supportive work environment. In the same report, there has been a small increase of 3% in the number of employees who feel comfortable discussing stress with their managers … but 32% of staff would still feel uncomfortable speaking up.
Encouraging honest conversations, normalising discussions around mental health and ensuring managers are approachable can help break down this barrier. Risk assessments play a crucial role in identifying potential stressors and are an essential step for any business wanting to proactively protect their staff from reaching the point of burnout.
Workplace Culture
Employee well-being initiatives such as mindfulness programmes, gym memberships and mental health resources can be valuable. They aren’t a cure for burnout if the core issues within the business are not addressed. No amount of well-being perks will fix a toxic workplace. A strong, healthy work environment isn’t just about adding benefits. It’s about creating a culture that prioritises balance, respect and sustainable success.
Some words of wisdom from Sam, founder of vivoHR:
“A fruit bowl on the reception desk and a lunchtime yoga class won’t solve the issue if your workload is unmanageable or your boss is an ar**h**e!”
Identifying signs of imminent burnout
Burnout can manifest itself in physical, emotional and behavioural symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms are:
- feeling tired or drained most of the time
- feeling defeated
- feeling detached
- having a cynical outlook
- experiencing self-doubt
- feeling overwhelmed
- procrastinating
- feeling helpless
It’s really important to remember that leaving feelings like these unaddressed can lead to even more serious symptoms and consequences such as chronic health conditions and various mental health struggles.
What Factors Cause Stress in the Workplace?
The most common contributors to excessive stress at work are:
- increased or unrealistic workload
- fear of job loss
- regular unpaid overtime
- high demands that repeatedly exceed resources
- conflicting demands
- lack of support
- poor working conditions
- insufficient training
- uncertainty about expectations of the role
- lack of trust
These are all areas where business owners and managers can take action to improve their team’s wellbeing. Speak to your vivoHR consultant about how you can start to tackle these issues today.
Management’s Role
Employers have a responsibility to prevent staff burnout and it starts with leading by example. Managers must practise what they preach – it’s no good telling team members not to overwork if their manager is in at the crack of dawn, still there when the sun sets, and making calls, sending emails or visibly working well into the night. They can be transparent about occasional busy periods they might have to deal with but perhaps could use these to demonstrate the importance of taking time to recover.
Prevention is key. This means regularly reviewing job descriptions, workloads and expectations to ensure they remain fair and manageable. Providing learning and development opportunities helps employees feel valued and supported, while sharing well-being tools and resources fosters a culture of care.
We hope that all business owners and managers are take the wellbeing of their staff seriously. That said, there is also a strong business case for taking steps to create a healthy workplace. Poor staff retention or high levels of absenteeism and presenteeism will have a negative financial effect on the business.
Individual Responsibility
The employer has a duty of care for staff mental health but individual team members must also play their part. Employees should take proactive steps to safeguard their own mental and physical health. Being a ‘workaholic’ is not a good thing, not something to aspire to or aim for. Being able to ‘down tools’ and switch off from work is super-important.
Creating a personal wellness action plan can help individuals recognise their stress triggers and develop coping strategies. Setting clear boundaries between work and personal life is essential to maintaining balance, as is taking time to recharge and prioritise one’s wellbeing.
Simple steps to manage personal well-being might include employees ensuring they are well hydrated, eat sensibly at lunchtime, take a lunch break, manage their workload to ensure time doing other tasks away from the PC, getting out of their chairs to stretch and move, having their desk set up correctly (to meet DSE standards at a minimum), being punctual to reduce stress at the start of the day, minimising distractions and timewasting activities, finding the best methods to work in an organised and efficient manner, managing deadlines and (often quite simply) asking for help.
Conclusion
Burnout is a growing issue in the modern workplace and tackling it requires effort from both employers and employees. Businesses must go beyond surface-level wellbeing initiatives and address the root causes of workplace stress by fostering a positive culture, managing and leading effectively, regularly reviewing workloads and timeframes, setting realistic expectations, and ensuring managers lead by example. At the same time, individuals should take responsibility for their own wellbeing and speak to their managers if they need advice. By working together, companies and their teams can create a supportive, balanced and sustainable work environment.
In the words of the inimitable Dolly Parton, “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
Be proactive and start taking steps to avoid staff burnout today. Contact us on 01252 757359 or drop us an email at [email protected].