Your Employees Are Burning Out and Most Managers Never See it Coming

Katie Nadworny is an Istanbul-based journalist who writes about labor, the environment, and travel for The New York Times, National Geographic, The Atlantic, and many other publications.

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David Leong is a Seattle-based senior product designer. After working for a few companies over the last eight years and recently transitioning out of his recent job, Leong realized that he was experiencing burnout.

His company offered therapy resources, which he took advantage of eventually, but never felt like there was space to discuss his encroaching feelings of burnout with his manager. “I was struggling a good amount, and I suppose that … I was more stressed than burned out, but it wasn’t until after I left that looking back on it, I thought I might just be burned out from the corporate world in general.”

Burnout is defined by the World Health Organization as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed,” characterized by feelings of exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.

A burned-out employee can have ripple effects throughout the workplace, from decreased productivity to potentially increased safety hazards. OSHA doesn’t cover burnout, but it’s important to be attuned to it for overall workplace health and safety. Even within HR departments, increased workload can lead to burnout. A survey by Forrester Consulting from 2025 found that 44% of employees reported an increase in workplace burnout levels compared to five years ago; the problem is real and present.

HR and managers should pay attention to employee’s regular behavior and note any changes in order to catch potential burnout early. “I think it’s probably dangerous to think that there’s a perfect kind of warning sign, and in a sense, that’s what burnout can be,” says Ed Thompson, Founder and CEO of Uptimize. “It could be something that builds and builds and builds and then the wave suddenly crashes.”

Still, there are indicators of burnout that can be spotted. “Managers should be on the lookout for any visible signs of fatigue, trouble with concentration, negative body language, anxiety, irritability, isolation, alcohol or drug use, workplace incidents, and violence,” says Todd Logdon, Partner at Fisher Phillips in Louisville, KY.

Ideally, companies should explore ways to prevent burnout before it ever happens in the first place. Focusing on sufficient staffing and building teams that are well-equipped to handle the workload can prevent overwork-induced stress later down the line. It’s also important to make sure employees are engaged and invested in the work they do. Providing managers with the training and tools necessary to both spot pre-burnout stress and to address it is a proactive way to stop the problem early.

Regular anonymous surveys, along with informal pulse checks by managers, can be proactive ways to catch instances of burnout before they spiral. “Conducting these types of empathetic check-ins helps foster a supportive environment where employees feel like their physical, mental, and even financial wellbeing truly matter,” says Logdon. This should be combined with efforts to address the root causes of burnout at the source, which could involve reducing workloads, weeding out toxic management, and improving staffing.

“Managers should be trained to really listen when employees raise concerns, and they should feel empowered to redistribute work, adjust deadlines, and provide information on resources regarding mental health and flexible scheduling options,” says Logdon.

In order to address burnout, it’s important to look at both the affected individual and the broader system. Managers should make sure to provide information about any available resources, like wellness programs and employee assistance. Making sure employees know there are safe spaces to address their issues also helps. “HR should show that they are invested in uncovering any root causes of burnout specific to their organization and work to eliminate stressors at the source,” says Logdon. HR needs to validate the employee while also respecting their need for discretion during a stressful time, and then find a solution, whether that is offering therapy resources or removing workload stress from an employee’s plate temporarily.

There can be consequences to ignoring burnout. Besides the toll burnout takes on the individual employee’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, the problem can spread through the workforce, especially if the affected employee’s work is redistributed to other team members in a way that increases their own workload stress levels. Looking at the problem’s root cause can prevent this issue from the get-go.

“Generally, companies that address issues that cause employee burnout and prioritize employee wellbeing see measurable returns in performance, retention, and organizational health,” says Logdon.

Ultimately, catching and preventing burnout involves engaging personally and individually with the workforce, in order to stay attuned to their stress levels at work. “Burnout is a very personal experience with all sorts of personal triggers, and that’s obviously very contextual to the person, the team, the project, the culture, the organization, and so on,” points out Thompson. If HR, managers, and the company as a whole are going to tackle burnout, it’s best to focus on the people first.

The information contained in this site is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.