Preventing Burnout at Work
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At a glance
Burnout prevention at work should begin with the way work is designed and managed. Individual support can help people, but it does not replace action on excessive demands, low control, poor support or unresolved workplace problems.
Start with a focused risk review
Ask workers where demand regularly exceeds capacity, which decisions are unclear and what prevents recovery between shifts or days. Combine these accounts with information such as overtime, staffing gaps and repeated incidents. A survey alone will not tell you what to change.
Choose a manageable area for action rather than launching a broad campaign with no operational owner.
Turn the finding into a work change
For example, if urgent requests repeatedly disrupt planned work, introduce a single priority decision point and agree what is paused when new demand arrives. If breaks are missed, arrange cover rather than sending reminders to take them.
Follow through and review
Name the person responsible, provide resources and set a review date. Ask workers whether the change actually reduced the pressure. Watch for demand being transferred to another team or hidden in unpaid time.
Organizational risk assessment gives a broader process, while leadership accountability addresses ownership. Support employees already experiencing symptoms through confidential care and appropriate adjustments. Prevention and care are complementary responsibilities, not competing alternatives.
Related guides
Sources and further reading
More in this topic
Burnout and Employee Assistance Programs
An employee-assistance programme, or EAP, may offer counselling, information or referral support. Its scope varies, so check what your employer's service actually provides rather than assuming it includes ongoing treatment or emergency care.
Healthier WorkplacesBurnout and Leadership Accountability
Leadership accountability means that burnout-prevention commitments have decision-makers, resources and review dates. Responsibility cannot rest entirely with workers whose job conditions they have little authority to change.
Healthier WorkplacesBurnout and Reasonable Adjustments
Workplace adjustments can change duties, hours, communication or the environment so that a person can work more sustainably. This guide uses Great Britain examples; legal entitlements depend on the individual circumstances and applicable law.