Burnout in the workplace: how businesses can recognise it and provide support

How is burnout different from stress?

The NHS describes burnout as a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that can have an adverse effect on wellbeing, relationships and overall quality of life. While burnout and stress may appear similar on the surface, there is a key difference. Stress can make employees feel overwhelmed, but they often believe that things can improve once under control.

In contrast, burnout feels like you have nothing left to give where even the possibility of improvement feels out of reach. It manifests in different ways such as feeling helpless, exhausted and a growing sense of detachment from work.

Deloitte’s Mental Health and Employers report in 2024 showed that 63% of respondents were experiencing at least one characteristic of burnout, showing an increase from 51% in 2021. This is quite concerning as there are presently many factors that can further exacerbate it such as, job insecurity, heavy workloads, cost of living crisis and the blurring of boundaries between work and personal life.

What does this mean for businesses?

The business cost is obvious, as Deloitte estimates that poor mental health costs UK employers £51billion a year. For SMEs, this can translate to real consequences including increased absenteeism, higher turnover, reduced productivity and higher presenteeism, where employees come to work but are not productive.

In 2025, the CIPD reported that the average sickness absence rate rose to 9.4 days per employee per year, which is significantly higher. For SMEs, who have fewer employees and smaller teams, they will face a higher impact.

This is further compounded by the reluctance of employees to speak up. Many feel uncomfortable disclosing mental health struggles at work, fearing judgement. Therefore, the real question is not simply whether burnout exists in the business, but how can businesses recognise the signs and provide support?

While reviewing absence data is useful as a starting point, it is important for businesses to look beyond this  –  they should look at engagement and productivity levels as early indicators. These indicators do not necessarily confirm burnout, but they should at least prompt a timely conversation. Managers play a critical role here, as how they respond matters. How a manager or business reacts to an employee showing signs of burnout, can affect the psychological contract. Where an employee feels unsupported, trust becomes lacking and could result in negative consequences for the business.

What can businesses do?

Burnout does not develop overnight and is not resolved without intervention, which is why businesses need to raise awareness and have a culture that genuinely values and cares for their employees.

Firstly, a business should help employees understand that they should feel comfortable to speak up.

CIPD  recommends a number of strategies to support employees with poor mental health which include, facilitating early conversations, conducting regular catchups/one-to-ones, signposting employees to appropriate resources and services, such as an employee assistance programme (EAP), and equipping managers with the knowledge to know what to do during conversations.

Creating psychological safety is fundamental to all of this. Employees need to feel that it is genuinely safe to speak up and that doing so will be met with support, rather than stigma.

There is a significant gap between policy and practice, so businesses need to recognise that it is not enough to have these policies on paper. They need to be embedded in day-to-day culture.

Key takeaways

• Burnout differs from stress in that stress typically involves too much pressure but retains hope, whereas burnout involves emotional exhaustion where even the possibility of improvement feels remote.
• Deloitte’s 2024 Mental Health and Employers report found that 63% of respondents were experiencing at least one characteristic of burnout, with 32% experiencing three or more.
• Poor mental health costs UK employers an estimated £51 billion per year according to Deloitte, and the CIPD reported average sickness absence rose to 9.4 days per employee in 2025.
• Many employees are reluctant to disclose mental health difficulties, so businesses need to look beyond absence data and consider presenteeism, engagement levels and behavioural changes.
• Creating psychological safety is fundamental – businesses must move beyond policy to practice, actively demonstrating that speaking up about mental health is genuinely safe and supported.

The post Burnout in the workplace: how businesses can recognise it and provide support appeared first on Elite Business Magazine.