Understanding employee burnout: risks, responsibilities and recommendations

April is Stress Awareness Month, aimed at increasing public awareness of both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic, and encouraging conversations about stress, burnout, and wellbeing.

Although not exclusive to the workplace, burnout is often seen as a manifestation of significant workplace stress, and is on the rise.

Burnout isn’t just about feeling tired; it can have serious consequences for both individuals and employers. In this blog, we’ll break down what burnout is, why it happens, and most importantly, what employers can do to help prevent it.

What is Burnout?

Burnout is considered to be  a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged exposure to stress. It is characterised by three main components:

1. Emotional exhaustion – feeling drained, fatigued, and unable to cope.
2. Depersonalisation – developing a cynical or detached attitude towards work.
3. Reduced personal accomplishment – feeling ineffective and lacking a sense of achievement.

While burnout is not classified as a medical condition in its own right, it is recognised as a significant factor affecting workplace wellbeing. 

Causes of Burnout in the Workplace

Research has identified several key factors contributing to burnout, including:

• Excessive Workload: Unmanageable deadlines, high-pressure tasks, and multitasking can overwhelm employees.
• Lack of Control: Limited autonomy in decision-making and rigid workplace structures exacerbate stress levels.
• Poor Work-Life Balance: Blurred boundaries between work and personal life, especially in remote work settings, can lead to chronic stress.
• Lack of Support: A toxic workplace culture or lack of managerial support can leave employees feeling isolated and undervalued.
• Organisational Culture: Environments that prioritise high performance over employee wellbeing contribute to burnout.

The Legal Landscape and Employer Responsibilities

From a legal standpoint, employers have a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure employees are not exposed to excessive stress. Failing to manage workplace stress effectively could lead to legal claims, including:

• Personal Injury Claims: If an employer fails to take reasonable care of employees’ mental health, leading to foreseeable psychiatric injury.
• Breach of Contract and Constructive Dismissal: If excessive burnout forces an employee to resign, they may have grounds for a claim.
• Unfair Dismissal: If an employee is dismissed due to stress-related absence without reasonable accommodations.
• Disability Discrimination: Under the Equality Act 2010, some mental health conditions, including symptoms arising from burnout, may be considered disabilities, requiring reasonable adjustments from employers.

Impact of Burnout

Failure to address burnout can lead to increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and higher staff turnover. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in 2023/24, there were 776,000 cases of work-related stress, depression, or anxiety, accounting for 55% of all working days lost due to work-related ill-health.

Burnout affects various professions differently, with some sectors experiencing particularly high levels:

• Teaching: A survey by Education Support revealed that 50% of teaching staff reported experiencing at least one characteristic associated with burnout “all the time” since the beginning of the school year. Additionally, 43% reported experiencing all components associated with burnout during the same period. ​In Scotland, the total number of days missed by teachers due to stress rose from 30,380 in 2017/18 to 41,629 last year.
• General Practitioners (GPs): A 2023 study by Loughborough University found that over one-third (36%) of GPs reported burnout symptoms. Furthermore, 71% of UK GPs described their job as “extremely” or “very” stressful, the highest among ten countries surveyed. ​

• Financial Services: A survey by Deloitte found that 17% of UK staff in finance and insurance are experiencing burnout, compared to 12% across other sectors. Poor mental health in this sector costs an average of £5,379 per employee annually.

Strategies for Employers to Prevent and Manage Burnout

Employers can look to take proactive steps to foster a healthier work environment:

1. Implement the HSE Management Standards: Address key areas such as demands, control, support, relationships, role clarity, and change management.​
2. Create more sustainable working hours: For example, for teachers, enforce protected non-contact time to prepare lessons and mark work without encroaching on personal time. For GPs, this might mean limiting the number of patient consultations per day to ensure sustainable workloads. Generally, reducing excessive bureaucracy and ensuring the correct people are doing the correct work will also help. This may involve hiring additional support staff to cover off admin-based work.
3. Improve Support Networks and Team Collaboration Implement Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), train managers to recognise early signs of burnout, encourage mentorship programmes and foster collaborative working (e.g. via multidisciplinary teams).
4. Encourage Open Communication: Conduct regular one-to-one check-ins, provide anonymous feedback channels, and develop clear grievance policies.​
5. Reassess Workplace Culture: Address toxic behaviours, recognise employee contributions, and create an inclusive environment.​

Conclusion

Burnout is not an issue that employers can afford to ignore. With rising cases across multiple sectors, including teaching, healthcare, and financial services, it’s clear that workplace stress is taking a serious toll on employees. While implementing policies is essential, real change comes from fostering a workplace culture that prioritises employee wellbeing.

Reducing excessive workloads, ensuring sustainable working hours, improving support networks, and creating open lines of communication can make a real difference in preventing burnout.

Our team of expert employment lawyers is on hand to assist with any queries you have.

This update contains general information only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice.