Occupational burnout can develop when job demands regularly exceed the capacity available to manage them. You might feel exhausted before the day begins, uninterested in your work, detached from coworkers, or unable to complete tasks that once felt manageable.
Chronic workplace stress can impact your confidence, relationships, physical health, and daily life and often reflects an unsustainable balance between workplace demands and available resources. Recognizing the signs early can help you identify what needs to change and seek appropriate support.
This page can help you better understand workplace burnout, as it explores:
- What workplace burnout is.
- Common workplace burnout symptoms.
- Causes and risk factors for employee burnout.
- The difference between burnout and depression.
- Practical steps for recovery, including when professional mental health support may be beneficial.
What Is Workplace Burnout?
The World Health Organization describes the three features of employee burnout as:[1]
- Energy depletion.
- Increased distance from work.
- Reduced professional effectiveness.
Burnout is most often connected to the occupational world, but sometimes people use the term more broadly to cover experiences caused by parenting, caregiving, school, and other facets of life.
It’s important to note that workplace burnout does not only affect the hours you spend working. The mental exhaustion may follow you home, making it difficult to:
- Rest.
- Connect with others.
- Engage in hobbies.
- Enjoy your personal life.
Common Symptoms of Workplace Burnout
Symptoms of burnout tend to develop gradually. You may start by believing that you are simply having a tough week or need a vacation, but the exhaustion might continue even after a week or a brief period away.
The following is a breakdown of the common emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral symptoms:
Emotional Symptoms
Emotional symptoms of workplace burnout may include:
- Feeling drained or emotionally exhausted.
- Dreading the workday.
- Becoming cynical about your job.
- Feeling detached from your work, coworkers, or clients.
- Losing motivation.
- Feeling incapable.
- Becoming more irritable.
- Feeling trapped inside your role.
A person experiencing workplace burnout may feel as though they are operating on autopilot while becoming increasingly disconnected or disenchanted with their work.
Cognitive Symptoms
The cognitive symptoms of job burnout include:
- Difficulty focusing.
- Forgetfulness.
- Reduced creativity.
- Trouble making decisions.
- Difficulty starting or completing tasks.
- Constantly thinking about work outside of work hours.
An employee dealing with job burnout may understand what needs to be done but find it hard to organize their thoughts or take the first step.
Physical Symptoms
Physical symptoms of occupational burnout can include:
- Persistent fatigue.
- Headaches.
- Muscle tension.
- Changes in appetite or sleep.
- Physical restlessness or feeling slowed.
- Getting sick often.
It’s important to note that new or worsening physical symptoms should be evaluated by a health care provider to rule out medical causes.
Behavioral Symptoms
There can also be behavioral symptoms of employee burnout, such as:
- Missing work frequently.
- Arriving late or leaving early.
- Withdrawing from coworkers.
- Procrastinating.
- Using alcohol or substances to disconnect.
- Becoming short-tempered.
- Neglecting basic needs or self-care.
Research has found correlations between occupational burnout and behaviors such as missing work or thinking about leaving one’s job without a clear plan.[2]
What Causes Workplace Burnout?
Job burnout typically develops when numerous workplace demands exceed capacity and is usually caused by a number of different stressors or factors occurring simultaneously. The following sections provide a breakdown of some potential contributors to burnout.
Excessive Workload
One contributor to burnout is when employees consistently have more work than they can reasonably complete. Long working hours have been associated with poorer occupational outcomes; studies have shown that the likelihood of workplace burnout rises as weekly hours increase.[3][4]
Other contributors to excessive workload might include:
- Unrealistic deadlines or expectations.
- Understaffing.
- Frequent overtime.
- Too many competing responsibilities.
- Limited time for breaks.
Lack of Control and Unclear Expectations
Employees may feel burned out when they have a lot of responsibility, but little influence over the conditions in which the work is completed. This may include:
- Unpredictable schedules.
- Limited decision-making power.
- Micromanagement.
- Insufficient flexibility.
Constantly shifting or unclear expectations can also contribute to a person feeling powerless in the workplace. When employees are unsure of what success looks like or receive conflicting instructions, they may begin to work from a state of hypervigilance. So, instead of using their resources to complete work, their energy may focus more on anticipating shifting expectations.
Lack of Recognition and Support
Employees typically need more than compensation to feel supported. Positive working conditions and trust in management have been shown to contribute to better mental health and less burnout among workers.[5]
Burnout may become more likely when:
- Good work is consistently overlooked.
- Supervisors are unavailable or dismissive.
- Employees are blamed for systemic problems.
- Coworkers compete rather than collaborate.
- Bullying or harassment is present.
Poor Work-Life Balance
Contrary to popular belief, work-life balance doesn’t always mean dividing time equally between work and personal life. Instead, it means having enough separation and recovery to maintain responsibilities and relationships outside of the workplace. Balance may be more difficult when:
- Work regularly extends into the evenings or weekends.
- Employees are expected to respond immediately.
- Schedules interfere with sleep.
- Paid leave is discouraged or unavailable.
- Staffing shortages make it difficult to get time off.
Workplace Burnout vs. Depression
Symptoms of burnout and symptoms of depression tend to overlap and can occur together. However, they are not the same.
Burnout is typically situational. For example, workplace burnout is linked with job-related stress and may improve outside of work or with time off. In contrast, depression can impact nearly every area of functioning. A person experiencing depression may lose interest in:
- Hobbies.
- Relationships.
- Goals.
- Activities not related to work.
Depression also tends to involve:
- Persistent sadness.
- Hopelessness.
- Guilt.
- Suicidal thoughts.
A qualified mental health professional can evaluate whether symptoms are related to burnout or depression, or another mental health condition.
How to Recover From Workplace Burnout
Burnout recovery tends to involve more than just taking time off and then returning to the same conditions. Lasting improvement often requires changes to the sources of stress.
Below is a burnout recovery plan that focuses on long-lasting improvement and change.
| Steps: | Actions: |
| Identify what is draining you | Questions to ask yourself:
|
| Protect opportunities for recovery | Set boundaries such as:
|
| Speak with a supervisor or human resources | Identify concrete needs like:
|
| Reevaluate expectations and boundaries | Consider if the following are present:
|
| Use stress-management skills | Implement skills such as:
|
| Create a longer-term plan | Consider changes across several areas, including:
|
Working From Home or Working With Long Commutes
It’s important to acknowledge that recovery may look different for those who work from home or those who face long, stressful commutes.
Remote workers may deal with fewer boundaries between their professional and personal lives, which can make it difficult to mentally leave work at the end of the day. For this reason, remote workers may benefit from:
- Having a separate working space in the home.
- Creating a clear stopping time.
- Closing the workspace.
- Changing clothes.
- Taking a short walk, shower, or time in silence to signal that the workday is over.
Further, traffic, crowded transit, and extended travel time can reduce the hours that commuters have for meaningful recovery. When changing the commute is not an option, it may be helpful to explore other opportunities, such as:
- Negotiating flexible hours.
- Working remotely on certain days.
- Using the trip to play calming music or an audiobook.
- Protecting quiet time after arriving home.
How Employers Can Help Prevent Burnout
Sustainable recovery from occupational burnout requires organizational responsibility, in addition to individual care. Employers can reduce chronic workplace stress by:
- Maintaining realistic workloads.
- Providing adequate staffing and resources.
- Clarifying employee roles.
- Encouraging use of breaks and leave.
- Addressing bullying and harassment.
- Offering flexible scheduling when possible.
- Providing confidential mental health resources.
Employee wellness programs may be helpful, but they do not replace the need for safe working conditions. An organization should not ask employees to become more resilient while refusing to acknowledge:
- Chronic understaffing.
- Unrealistic expectations.
- Bullying.
- Poor management.
When to Seek Professional Support
When burnout doesn’t alleviate after accommodations have been made or time off has been taken, the impacts may have become more ingrained in your outlook on life. Moreover, burnout that is left unresolved could lead to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Professional support may be helpful if you:
- Experience persistent anxiety or low mood.
- Have frequent panic symptoms.
- Find it hard to eat or sleep.
- No longer enjoy hobbies or activities outside work.
- Use substances to manage job stress.
- Feel unable to meet basic responsibilities.
- Experience hopelessness or worthlessness.
- Have thoughts of suicide or self-harm.
Call or text 988 if you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or need immediate crisis support. Or call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room when there is an urgent risk of harm.
Find Workplace Burnout Support at Mission Connection
If you’re experiencing occupational burnout, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion, or other mental health conditions, support is available. At Mission Connection, we offer personalized outpatient treatment tailored to your unique needs. Our expert clinical team provides a range of evidence-based mental health treatment approaches.
Our individualized programs help clients identify sources of stress, strengthen emotional regulation, establish healthier boundaries, and develop sustainable recovery strategies. We offer several options for effective outpatient treatment, including in-person programs at our locations in California, Virginia, and Washington, virtual telehealth, and a hybrid program that combines in-person and virtual care.
Mission Connection is Joint Commission-accredited. We also accept most major insurance providers, so that your recovery is not hindered due to financial issues. You do not have to wait until you are completely depleted to seek support. Reach out to us online or call us at 866-833-1822 to find out how we can support your long-term recovery.
References
- World Health Organization. (2019, May 28). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: international classification of diseases. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
- Lee, C. et al. (2023). The association of burnout with work absenteeism and the frequency of thoughts of leaving their job in a cohort of healthcare workers during the covid-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Health Services, 3, 1272285. https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2023.1272285
- Hu, N. C., Chen, J. D., & Cheng, T. J. (2016). The associations between long working hours, physical inactivity, and burnout. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 58(5), 514–518. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000715
- Wong, K., Chan, A. H. S., & Ngan, S. C. (2019). The effect of long working hours and overtime on occupational health: a meta-analysis of evidence from 1998 to 2018. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2102. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122102
- Nigam, J. A. S. et al. (2023). Vital signs: health worker–perceived working conditions and symptoms of poor mental health—quality of worklife survey, united states, 2018–2022. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 72(44), 1197–1205. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7244e1