Preventing burnout: What employees and organizations can do

It becomes problematic when high demands become a permanent state and recovery is no longer sufficient to restore the resources that have been used. When such conditions persist over a longer period, ongoing exhaustion can develop. Burnout is usually not a sudden event, but is associated with prolonged strain and a persistent imbalance between demands and available resources (Bakker et al., 2023; Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Maslach et al., 2001).

Burnout prevention therefore means more than reducing individual symptoms of stress. What matters is examining job demands and resources, enabling sufficient recovery, and noticing changes early.

What is burnout?

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes burnout in ICD-11 as a phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed (World Health Organization, 2019). It is explicitly not a medical diagnosis in its own right, but an occupational phenomenon. Burnout is described through three central dimensions:

• exhaustion or energy depletion
• increasing mental distance from work, for example in the form of cynicism or a negative attitude toward one's own job
• reduced professional efficacy

Burnout refers specifically to the occupational context. However, sustained excessive demands at work can also be associated with a deterioration in mental health. A systematic review of prospective studies shows that exhaustion and mental distancing in particular can predict subsequent depressive symptoms (Salvagioni et al., 2017). Burnout should not, however, be equated with depression: Depression is a medical diagnosis, typically affects several areas of life, and involves additional symptoms. Persistent or increasing symptoms should therefore be taken seriously and assessed professionally where needed.

How does burnout develop?

One scientific approach is the Job Demands–Resources model (JD-R; Bakker et al., 2023; Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). It distinguishes between two central aspects of work: demands and resources. Job demands are aspects of work that require sustained physical or psychological effort, while resources help people achieve work goals, manage demands, and maintain motivation (Bakker et al., 2023; Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). The interaction between the two is crucial: When high job demands coincide with insufficient resources and opportunities for recovery over a longer period, this can contribute to persistent exhaustion and increase the likelihood of burnout.

Job demands

Job demands are aspects of work that require sustained physical or psychological effort. These can include, for example:

• high workload and time pressure
• frequent interruptions
• emotional demands
• high levels of responsibility
• role conflicts or unclear expectations
• lack of predictability
• constant availability or digital overload

Such demands are not inherently harmful. Work can be demanding and can even be motivating. It becomes problematic in particular when demands remain high over a longer period and cannot be balanced by sufficient resources.

Job resources

Resources are conditions that support employees in managing their tasks, achieving goals, and dealing with strain.

These include, for example:

• autonomy and discretion
• social support from colleagues and managers
• good collaboration
• feedback and appreciation
• role clarity
• development opportunities
• sufficient time and staffing resources

Resources can help people deal with high demands. However, they cannot compensate indefinitely when the workload significantly exceeds available capacity. Work that supports health therefore depends on a balance between demands and resources.

What are the consequences of burnout?

Burnout can extend beyond the immediate work situation and be associated with various mental and physical health complaints. These include depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, sleep problems, and psychosomatic complaints such as headaches, back pain, or gastrointestinal complaints (Bakker et al., 2023; Salvagioni et al., 2017). There is also evidence of associations with cardiovascular diseases and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (Salvagioni et al., 2017; Bakker et al., 2023). Overall quality of life and well-being can also be affected.

An important point: These associations do not mean that burnout inevitably leads to a particular illness. Rather, the studies to date show increased risks or associations, particularly when strain persists over a longer period.

What can managers and organizations do?

Burnout prevention is not solely the responsibility of individual employees. Individual measures can help people deal with strain and strengthen their own recovery. At the same time, managers and organizations also need to shape working conditions so that demands remain manageable over the long term. Reviews and meta-analyses show that both individual and organizational interventions can reduce burnout, or exhaustion in particular. Approaches that combine individual measures with changes to working conditions appear especially promising (Awa et al., 2010; Bes et al., 2023).

But where can concrete action begin? A useful starting point is to look at the specific work situation: Which job demands are currently particularly taxing, and which resources are available? Prevention means more than reducing strain; it also means strengthening the conditions that help employees manage demands over the long term. This gives managers various starting points in everyday work.

1. Discuss strain in concrete terms

Managers have an important role in noticing strain early and seeking solutions together with employees. The first step can therefore be to take a closer look at the specific work situation: Which demands are currently particularly taxing, and where are bottlenecks emerging?

Regular one-on-one conversations provide a suitable setting for this. Instead of asking a general question such as “How are you?”, concrete questions can help:

• How are you experiencing your current workload?
• Which tasks are particularly demanding for you at the moment?
• Where are the biggest bottlenecks right now?
• Are there tasks or expectations that are currently difficult to reconcile?
• Are there any job demands that have been taking particularly large amounts of energy over a longer period?

The aim is to notice strain in the specific work situation early and consider together what can be changed.

2. Make resources visible

Alongside demands, it is worth looking at the job resources available to employees. The same job demand can be more or less manageable depending on how much discretion, support, or clarity a person experiences in their work.

The conversation can therefore explore together:

• Do I have sufficient autonomy and discretion to shape my tasks?
• Do I receive sufficient social support, as well as feedback and appreciation?
• Are my role and expectations clear, and do I have sufficient development opportunities?
• Are sufficient time and staffing resources available?

The point is not to collect as many resources as possible. Which resources are particularly important can vary from person to person and according to the work situation. What matters is therefore identifying the specific resources that are missing for the individual or that can be strengthened.

3. Clarify priorities together

When a conversation reveals that job demands are too high or difficult to reconcile, simply naming the strain is not always enough. Often, it is also necessary to clarify what actually takes priority.

Managers can therefore work with employees to clarify: What needs to be done now? What can wait? What can be dropped or delegated?

Clear priorities can help reduce unnecessary time pressure and conflicting expectations.

4. Protect boundaries and recovery

Recovery and clear boundaries between work and leisure also play an important role. Managers influence the implicit expectations of everyday work. For example, when messages are sent late at night or quick responses are taken for granted, this can create a constant sense of needing to be available.

Clear expectations regarding working hours, communication, and availability can help reduce such strain and enable sufficient recovery time. Managers should also model these boundaries themselves.

5. Shape working conditions at the organizational level

Burnout prevention should not, however, be solely the responsibility of individual managers. Organizations create the conditions within which leadership and individual self-management can take place at all. Demands should therefore be considered not only at the individual level, but also addressed structurally.

In concrete terms, this can mean, for example:

• Review workloads regularly: Can tasks and goals realistically be managed with the available staffing resources?
• Define tasks and responsibilities clearly: Who is responsible for what, and which expectations take priority?
• Identify staffing shortages early: Recurring overtime or a persistently high workload should not be treated as an individual problem affecting particular employees.
• Improve workflows: Unnecessary meetings, frequent interruptions, duplicated work, or inefficient processes can be deliberately reduced.
• Allow discretion: Where possible, employees should have influence over how and in what order they carry out their tasks.
• Enable participation: Employees can be involved in decisions that directly affect their working conditions.
• Establish rules for availability and communication: For example, clear expectations about when emails must be answered and when they need not be.
• Support managers: Managers also need time, resources, and training to recognize strain in their teams and respond appropriately.
• Evaluate strain regularly: For example, through employee surveys, team conversations, or other structured approaches — and, above all, by subsequently implementing concrete measures.

What can employees do themselves?

Employees can also actively observe and influence the strain they experience. Self-management is an important part of prevention.

1. Notice signs of strain early

Persistent exhaustion, increasing distance from work, or the feeling of achieving less and less should not automatically be dismissed as a “normal stressful phase.” It can help to pause regularly and ask: How am I currently feeling about my work? Which demands take up particularly large amounts of my energy? And has anything changed over a longer period?

2. Clarify tasks and priorities

Not every task has to be completed at the same time. Making open tasks visible and deliberately setting priorities can help reduce the feeling of being constantly overwhelmed. If the workload remains too high or priorities are unclear, this should be discussed with the manager.

3. Actively plan recovery

Recovery is not a reward for having finished all tasks. Sufficient recovery is an important prerequisite for remaining effective over the long term and being able to cope with job demands. Regular breaks, sufficient free time, and activities outside work help restore the resources that have been used. Recovery time should therefore be planned as deliberately as possible and actually taken.

4. Mentally switch off from work

Even after the working day has ended, work can remain present in our thoughts. A deliberate transition between work and leisure can help people gain mental distance. This could involve, for example, a short walk after work, a personal closing ritual, or deliberately recording unfinished tasks for the next working day.

5. Seek support

If strain remains high over a longer period or early warning signs increase, it makes sense to seek support early. This could mean a conversation with the manager, with colleagues, or with another suitable contact person. If the strain is already noticeably affecting well-being or health, professional support (e.g. psychologists, doctors, psychotherapists) can also be helpful.

Burnout prevention begins before burnout

Burnout prevention does not mean removing every demand from everyday working life. Work can be demanding, challenging, and stressful at times. What matters is that demands and resources remain in a sustainable balance over the long term and that sufficient opportunities for recovery are available.

This cannot be achieved at just one level. Employees can notice their own strain, clarify priorities, and ensure sufficient recovery. Managers can address strain early, listen, and seek solutions together with employees. Organizations need to shape the overall conditions so that job demands remain realistically manageable and sufficient resources are available.

Burnout prevention is therefore not a one-off measure, but an ongoing process: Demands and resources should be reviewed regularly, with changes made wherever an imbalance emerges.

References

Awa, W. L., Plaumann, M., & Walter, U. (2010). Burnout prevention: A review of intervention programs. Patient Education and Counseling, 78(2), 184–190.

Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands–Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328.

Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Sanz-Vergel, A. (2023). Job demands–resources theory: Ten years later. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 25–53.

Bes, I., Shoman, Y., Al-Gobari, M., Rousson, V., & Guseva Canu, I. (2023). Organizational interventions and occupational burnout: A meta-analysis with focus on exhaustion. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 96, 1211–1223.

Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422.

Salvagioni, D. A. J., Melanda, F. N., Mesas, A. E., González, A. D., Gabani, F. L., & Andrade, S. M. (2017). Physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout: A systematic review of prospective studies. PLOS ONE, 12(10), e0185781

World Health Organization. (2019). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).