Burnout is no longer just a personal struggle—it’s a company-wide issue with serious consequences for performance, culture, and the bottom line.

Across industries, employees are emotionally drained, managers are stretched to their limits, and HR teams are overwhelmed by the growing volume of mental health concerns. The old ways of addressing burnout—offering a wellness stipend, a few mental health days, or a traditional EAP—aren’t cutting it anymore.

Workplace burnout is now a business risk—costing U.S. companies an estimated $125 to $190 billion each year in healthcare expenses alone. It drives absenteeism, lost productivity, rising disability claims, and high turnover. And for organizations that aren’t paying attention, it could quietly drive major disruptions.

But burnout is also preventable if you know what to look for and are willing to treat it as the systemic issue it truly is.

What is employee burnout?

Employee burnout is a state of chronic stress that results in emotional exhaustion, detachment from work, and reduced performance. It often builds over time—making it difficult to identify early—and can show up in ways that look like disengagement or low motivation.

You may notice employees becoming unusually irritable or withdrawn. They might seem less confident in their work, struggle to concentrate, or begin questioning the value of their role. Some may stop speaking up in meetings, miss deadlines, or start calling in sick more often.

And burnout isn’t just a concern for high-pressure industries. A recent national survey found that 40% of U.S. workers experience burnout, with the highest rates among project managers, healthcare workers, community service professionals, and educators. Meanwhile, 54% of mid-level employees reported feeling burned out in the past year—compared to 40% of entry-level employees.

Burnout doesn’t discriminate, but it often hits the most committed and hardest-working employees first.

The high cost of employee burnout

When burnout goes unaddressed, it doesn’t just affect morale—it directly impacts organizational performance and costs. According to Gallup, 76% of employees say they’ve experienced burnout at some point, and 28% feel burned out “very often” or “always.” That kind of chronic exhaustion doesn’t stay contained.

In a separate Gallup study, burned-out employees are:

• 63% more likely to take a sick day
• 2.6 times more likely to be looking for another job
• Less confident, less engaged, and less productive overall

Replacing employees due to burnout is expensive, with turnover costs averaging around $15,000 per lost employee.

HR professionals are feeling the effects too. In one SHRM report, over 50% of HR teams reported working beyond their capacity, with many citing understaffing as a major factor contributing to their own burnout.

How to prevent and address employee burnout

Burnout isn’t just an individual problem—it’s a reflection of organizational systems. Preventing it requires thoughtful, proactive strategies that go beyond perks and check-the-box programs. Here’s what that looks like in practice.

Prioritize manager support and training

Managers are your first line of defense against burnout, but they’re also some of the most impacted. They’re balancing their own workloads while trying to support employees, navigate change, and maintain team morale.

Equipping managers with the right tools and training to recognize burnout signs, create safe team dynamics, and have supportive mental health conversations can make a huge difference. When managers feel supported themselves, they’re far better positioned to support others.

Reassess workloads and expectations

In many organizations, high performers are rewarded with more responsibilities, but not necessarily more time or resources. This imbalance risks burning out your best people and reinforces a culture where overwork is normalized.

Instead, take time to evaluate role expectations, adjust workloads, and ensure priorities are realistic. Encourage teams to focus on outcomes, not just output. And make sure high performers aren’t silently paying the price for their success.

Go beyond surface-level mental health support

Traditional EAPs often involve long wait times, confusing access processes, and limited session availability. For someone already burned out, these barriers can feel insurmountable.

A more effective approach includes fast access to high-quality care, personalized support plans, and seamless coordination between HR, managers, and providers. Employees shouldn’t have to work harder just to feel better.

Create space to rest and recharge

Preventing burnout isn’t just about offering PTO—it’s about creating a culture where people actually feel safe taking it.

This might mean modeling time off at the leadership level, encouraging boundaries between work and personal life, and giving people the flexibility to manage their energy in ways that work for them. For some, that might be a mental health day. For others, it might be shifting hours or working from home when needed.

The point is that time to rest shouldn’t feel like an exception. It should feel like part of how work gets done.

Build a culture of fairness and connection

Burnout often stems from feeling undervalued, invisible, or stuck. It’s intensified by favoritism, lack of transparency, or inequities in pay and promotion.

Creating a culture that actively supports fairness, inclusion, and real human connection is essential. This means listening to employee feedback, addressing systemic gaps, and giving people meaningful ways to grow—not just more work to do.

Provide mental health support that meets the moment

Preventing burnout starts with giving employees access to effective, easy-to-use mental health care. Traditional EAPs often fall short, offering limited provider networks, long wait times, and confusing processes that discourage use—especially for employees already feeling overwhelmed.

HR teams should look for modern mental health solutions that offer fast, personalized access to care—including therapy, coaching, and digital resources. These platforms should make it easy for employees to identify their needs through a short assessment and quickly get matched with the right support. Ideally, employees can schedule their first appointment within a few days, not weeks—removing barriers to care and encouraging early engagement, which is key to preventing burnout.

When care is easy to access and tailored to each person, employees are more likely to engage early—before burnout becomes a crisis.

Employee burnout prevention is a business strategy

Organizations that invest in preventing employee burnout aren’t just doing the right thing for their people—they’re making a smart business decision.

Burnout directly impacts your most critical metrics: retention, productivity, engagement, and healthcare costs. When employees are mentally depleted, they’re not just struggling to meet expectations—they’re more likely to miss work, disengage, or leave altogether. Replacing them isn’t just disruptive—it’s expensive.

That’s why forward-thinking companies are treating mental health not as a perk, but as a pillar of operational success. They’re embedding it into their leadership practices, workflows, and culture because they know that preventing burnout strengthens every part of the business.

When employees feel supported, they show up with more energy, focus, and creativity. Teams communicate better, turnover slows, and leaders can focus on growth instead of damage control.

Burnout prevention isn’t just a people strategy—it’s a performance strategy. And in today’s climate, it may be the most important investment your organization can make.

This post was contributed by Spring Health.

About Spring Health
Spring Health, one of Castlight’s Ecosystem partners, is a complete global mental health solution for employers and health plans. By integrating products for members, providers, and customers, Spring Health uniquely delivers personalized care for every individual—ranging from digital tools and meditation to coaching, therapy, and medication—ensuring the right care at the right time. Certified by JAMA Network Open and the Validation Institute for demonstrating net savings for customers, Spring Health also equips global business leaders with intelligent technology, real-time insights, and clinical expertise to support diverse and evolving organizational needs.