“I’m so burned out, but I will sleep through Sunday and it’ll get better” is equal to saying “I broke my arm, I’ll put a band-aid on it, and it’ll get better.”
Burnout is much more serious. It’s the emotional equivalent of your body waving a white flag. Overworking nowadays has become something you’ll get praised for. “Hustle culture” convinces us that productivity equals worth.
That’s why some people who start to burn out feel guilty for being “weak.” But it simply means that you’ve been taking from your capacities without giving back to them. Whether you’re working from home, managing teams, freelancing late into the night, or doing creative arts, learning how to avoid burnout at work is one of the most valuable skills you can have. Let’s learn together.
How to Know That You Start to Burn Out
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. According to research by the Boston Consulting Group, one of the world’s largest consulting firms, which asked 11,000 employees, 48% of all workers are currently burned out [1].
Burnout doesn’t affect everyone equally. People who make small efforts to support their mental health, for example, by using Breeze Wellbeing, a mental health tool accessible 24/7, are less likely to be overstressed in their workplaces. Hence, their overall mood and productivity are less likely to decline.
Burnout builds slowly. Subtle changes come first: it’s harder to wake up in the mornings, tasks that once felt easy now seem impossible, all work-related news seems daunting, old interests no longer bring much pleasure, etc. Common signs of burnout include:
- Exhaustion. No matter how much you rest or sleep.
- Irritability. Every small message in Slack makes you wonder why everyone is so slow. This irritability rarely ends with work.
- Cynicism and irony. For example, losing empathy for coworkers or making ironic comments about someone’s words.
- Sleep problems. Difficulty falling asleep/waking up.
- Decline in productivity. The most frequent sign of decline in productivity is when tasks that felt easy/routine now seem too draining.
- Loss of motivation. You don’t care about the things that bring joy both in work and at home.
- Physical symptoms. Headaches, muscle pain, digestive issues, heartache, sweating, etc.
Research shows that not all employees find it harder to avoid burnout at work. Which professions/industries are more susceptible to burnout?
- Healthcare professions. According to the CDC, 46% of healthcare workers reported feeling burnout in 2022 [2].
- Agriculture.
- Finance– & insurance-related workplaces
- Education and academia. Gallup’s questionnaire showed that 44% of K-12 teachers feel burned out constantly or often.
- Corporate roles, especially project management.
- Technology. Contributing factors include constant innovation pressure, high workload, “always-on” work culture, stress linked to AI replacement, etc.
- Creative professions. Because of the lack of work-life balance.
Besides certain professions, there are personal traits that make it harder for a person to understand how to prevent burnout in the workplace. For example, perfectionists, people with unhealthy lifestyles or without healthy coping strategies, individuals with certain mental health conditions.
How to Avoid Burnout at Work: 5 Step-by-Step Strategies
Preventing burnout in the workplace sounds simple in theory: adjust your lifestyle, change your mindset, prioritize your well-being. But in practice, combining new changes with constant stress and routine hustles may be very challenging. These five step-by-step strategies focus on realistic changes you can make to avoid burnout at work.
Adjust Your Ways of Working
The pressure to “do more” is one of the fastest paths to burnout. Indeed, modern workplaces glorify productivity over well-being. Naturally, employees who slow down might feel and be perceived as failures.
But the truth is that working constantly isn’t the same as working effectively.
- Step 1. Progress over perfection.
Instead of chasing every KPI or staying late to meet unrealistic expectations, focus on progress over perfection. Create a to-do list at the beginning of the week without expectations to complete it all, it’s important. Expect to complete only high-priority tasks; other tasks will be a bonus.
- Step 2. Set boundaries.
These boundaries should be steel-hard. Your time and energy in the company are limited resources — protect them. Stick to clear working hours, mute notifications after work, and don’t let colleagues take advantage of you. Saying no doesn’t make you unhelpful because your contract doesn’t oblige you to complete tasks for your colleagues.
Burnout thrives in chaos, so structure is a natural burnout killer. Remember: rest can’t be earned, rest is a must.
Change Your Perspective
- Step 1. Your work isn’t your whole identity.
If work consumes your thoughts 24/7, burnout is inevitable. Your job is part of who you are. It’s easy to believe that professional achievement equals self-worth. But this belief devalues everything you achieve outside of the workplace: your family, your hobbies, your desires, your needs.
- Step 2. Reframe how you see your job.
One of the most reliable ways to prevent burnout in the workplace is to understand that work is not a reflection of your value. Maslow’s pyramid says that self-actualization is only the tip of the pyramid. So, the other roles you play among many, such as being a friend, partner, sibling, are as crucial. When you stop viewing your career as your life’s measure, pressure loses its power.
- Step 3. Treat your job as a means of survival if you don’t like what you’re doing.
Not feeling excited about your job is okay. It’s easy to say “Leave your job” or “Just pursue your passion.” However, if you’re unsure about what you like or are hesitant about the current job market, it’s okay to wait and plan your future more effectively.
Not every season of life needs to be inspiring. But striving for something inspiring should be present at any given time.
Prioritize Yourself
You can’t pour from an empty cup. Yet most of us try to. How to prevent burnout in the workplace?
- Step 1. Learn to treat yourneeds as non-negotiable:
- Sleep well. 7 hours minimum, but some people may need up to 10 hours to feel rested. Not only will you feel better after getting enough sleep, but it also has numerous benefits for your physical health and your productivity.
- Eat balanced meals. Stable blood sugar = focus and emotional balance.
- Move regularly. We’ll break down this point in the next section.
- Step 2. Schedule something to look forward to. Small events like dinner with a friend, a day off, a solo movie night. Anticipation releases dopamine, a natural mood booster.
- Step 3. Have a hobby. Having a hobby a person is passionate about is a sure way to avoid burnout at work. This hobby shouldn’t earn you money or bring any external validation. It may be hard to put effort into something else after having a draining day at work. Here’s a list of low-energy hobby ideas you can easily integrate into your routine:
- Chess
- Puzzles
- Reading
- Journaling (voice, written, digital, creative, with prompts)
- Philosophy learning
- Gardening
- Painting, doodling
- Photographing with an old digital camera
- Crotcheting
- Becoming an expert on random topics
- Embroidery
- Making fancy drinks (cocktails, coffee, cute ice)
Move Your Body
Movement is one of the most underrated tools for avoiding burnout at work. You don’t have to become a marathon runner or spend hours at the gym. The goal isn’t intensity but consistency.
A recent 2025 study from the Journal of Affective Disorders examined 7,000 employees from various industries. Those who engaged in ≥25 minutes per day of moderate activity plus 30–60 minutes of light activity had 62% lower odds of burnout compared to inactive employees [3]. This happens due to neurochemical mechanisms such as lowering cortisol and the release of endorphins.
If typical sports or gym workouts feel impossible for you, there are plenty of alternatives that still count as movement:
- Step 1. Ride a bicycle to work instead of driving.
- Step 2. Try seated exercises that support back health and upper-body strength.
- Step 3. Do household activities like cleaning, gardening, or even playing with your pet. They activate your muscles similarly to walking and also boost dopamine.
- Step 4. Dance alone in your kitchen, at a class, while cleaning your apartment.
Consistency is key. Treat these five to ten minutes of movement not as a “should.” Imagine something you love doing and think of ways you can introduce movement to it.
Do a Medical Check-Up
Sometimes burnout can be a symptom of something deeper.
- Step 1. Medical check-up as a regular burnout prevention plan.
Hormonal imbalances, vitamin deficiencies (like B12 or D3), thyroid problems, even chronic infections can mimic or worsen burnout symptoms.
- Step 2. Consult both a physician and a mental health professional.
If your exhaustion feels disproportionate to your workload, it’s worth checking both physical and mental well-being. A therapist can help you understand whether what you’re experiencing is classic burnout or part of a broader mental health condition, such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, BPD, etc.
- Step 3. Medical check-up as an act of self-love.
When you’re checking your body, it can significantly improve self-worth and help in preventing burnout in the workplace. It’s how your mind understands, “I’m worth checking in on.”
Long-Term Consequences of Non-Addressed Workplace Burnout
If you have to just wait until burnout goes away, we have bad news for you. Although bunout can be “concealed,” if not addressed at the roots, there is a high probability it’s going to resurface. If you don’t answer the question, “How to avoid burnout at work?” for yourself, here are the potential consequences you may face:
- Mental toll. Chronic burnout leads to anxiety, depression, and emotional instability. There are a few mechanisms behind this correlation. First, reduced prefrontal cortex activity and overactivation of the amygdala prevent healthy emotional regulation [4]. Second, Emotional exhaustion undermines reward sensitivity, contributing to anhedonia, the inability to get pleasure from anything [5].
- Cognitive decline. Persistent stress affects memory, focus, and decision-making. Cognitive decline is more commonly known nowadays as “brain fog.”
- Physical symptoms. Generally speaking, burnout weakens the immune system, which, in turn, increases the risk of heart disease, chronic pain, insomnia, and gastrointestinal issues.
- Career impact. Without intervention, burnout can lead to disengagement, frequent absences, and a lack of ambition. People who once loved their profession may lose passion permanently, associating their work with emotional pain. In turn, no career may lead to poverty, which contributes to the decline of physical health.
The moment you realize something feels off. Pause, don’t push harder. Accept that now you need rest. Don’t feel the urge to “avoid burnout at work as soon as possible.” Live through it and use this as an opportunity to learn more about your body.
Remember that caring for your mental health is the foundation of everything else. Start with small changes: either the ones we offered or the ones that feel good personally to you.
Sources:
- Half of Workers Around the World Are Struggling with Burnout. Boston Consulting Group. June 2024.
- Health Workers Face a Mental Health Crisis. CDC. October 2023.
- The association between physical activity and burnout among healthy Korean employees: Identifying recommended physical activity ranges. Journal of Affective Disorders. June 2025.
- Neurophysiological Markers of Emotion Processing in Burnout Syndrome. Security in Organizational Psychology. December 2017.
- A Two-Wave Study On The Associations Of Burnout With Depression And Anxiety: The Mediating And Moderating Role Of Perceived Family Support. Psychological Reports. November 2021.
