burnout

A personal tale of burnout

 

I had to pull over. I was driving to pick up my son from a taekwondo class and I just felt a wave of exhaustion flow over me - not like a cool river, but more like a strangling plastic bag. I felt close to nausea and wanted to scream. And the irony was that I was less than 24 hours away from giving a keynote on burnout to the Canadian Red Cross!

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Talk about being a hypocrite!

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Still, I'd spent so much time prepping for the resilience keynote that I had all the tools within my reach. I sat there on the side of the street and went through them one by one - breathing, gratitude, focusing on what's important now etc. It took time to regain my composure, but it was enough to make it to grab him on time.

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Burnout hits in many different ways, and for me, I think that was just a taste. Other people get foggy, irritable, exhausted....the symptoms can vary.

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All I know if that burnout isn’t just "feeling tired.” It’s a chronic, deep-rooted condition that scrambles our motivation, drains our energy, and can even alter our brain’s structure. And it can take months of consistent recovery to bounce back. However, what I found is that with preventative resilience training, there are proactive ways forward.

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Serious burnout stats we can't ignore: 

• 82% of employees are at risk of burnout in 2025 which is on the rise from just a few years ago.

• 66% of American workers report experiencing burnout, with the youngest (18–34) most affected (up to 83% for 25–34-year-olds).

• Burnout drains $322 billion annually in lost productivity, plus up to $190 billion in healthcare costs.

• One-third of U.S. professionals (36%) now feel burned out, with a third reporting it’s worse than a year ago.

 

What causes burnout?

1. Overload

   • Heavy workloads and unpaid tasks rank as top stress drivers (47%) 

   • Unrealistic expectations and poor capacity planning fuel exhaustion levels further

2. Poor support and toxic cultures

   • Lack of managerial support (30%), limited growth (27%), insecure work conditions, and unfair practices all elevate burnout risk.

   • Toxic environments lead to absenteeism, turnover, and sick leave - especially among healthcare and remote workers .

3. Mismatched identities

   • Burnout often stems from misalignment with workplace values, lack of meaningful engagement, and role overload. I didn't know about this term but it's sometimes referred to as “boreout”

   • Gen Z and millennials face pressure from infinite workdays, digital ping overload (270 notifications/day), and blurred work-life boundaries

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Resilience at work - moving the needle

• Resilience training seems to work with companies that use structured resilience programs seeing 30% less burnout and 25% lower turnover. 

• Hybrid models and flexibility can also reduce burnout risk by up to 25–79%

• Mindset training also boosts mental agility and emotional regulation, helping employees stay present and grounded

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Asking an organization to change is unrealistic, so I focus on helping individuals find ways to navigate the signs of burnout. However, personal development can only go so far and systemic change is a fast-track to balance. We can't just teach people to cope because true resilience at work happens when organizations design environments that support empathetic leaders, psychological safety, reasonable roles, fair systems, and authentic connection.

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If companies want to reduce the impact that burnout and stress will have on their results and bottom line, I think it bodes well to consider any or all of the following:​

1. Invest in resilience and mindset training. This means building capacity before burnout takes hold. Resilience programs reduce turnover and keep energy high.

2. Rethink roles and workloads. Audit stress hotspots: overload, control, rewards, community, fairness, values.

3. Normalize micro‑pauses and boundary-setting. Introduce short daily or weekly “resilience resets” to train recovery muscles. This can work for the executives to the interns. 

4. Measure both symptoms and systems. Combine burnout risk assessments with qualitative checks on role design and manager support. Don’t wait until absenteeism or engagement plummets.

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Burnout in 2025 is not a glitch. It’s a warning sign. But if resilience is trained we can shift from collapse to clarity. The data is too clear and the cost too high. Resilience at work shouldn't be optional.