21 Facts About Burnout You Need to Know

The World Health Organization officially recognized burnout as an occupational phenomenon in 2019.¹

The WHO official symptoms of burnout include low energy, increased mental distance from one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.²

In 2020, 76% of US employees experienced burnout.³

Common causes of burnout include workload, perceived lack of control, and insufficient rewards.⁴

Burnout can lead to severe physical health problems, including cardiovascular diseases.⁵

Burnout has been clinically grouped into three subtypes: frenetic, under-challenged, and worn-out.⁶

A 2020 study identified five distinct phases of burnout: the honeymoon phase, the onset of stress, chronic stress, burnout, and habitual burnout.⁷

Employees with high levels of burnout are 2.6 times more likely to be actively seeking a different job.⁸

Burnout costs between $125 to $190 billion annually in healthcare costs in the U.S. alone.⁹

Despite the costs of employee turnover, organizations are more likely to invest in recruiting new employees than they are in retaining existing talent.¹⁰

81% of employees will seek out workplaces that support mental health when exploring future roles.¹¹

Women report higher rates of burnout than men, potentially due to societal pressures and work-life balance challenges.¹²

Burnout is more prevalent among millennials than other generations.¹³

Physicians are at a particularly high risk for burnout, with rates 10% higher for burnout and 17% higher for dissatisfaction with work-life balance than the US workforce average.¹⁴

Remote workers are spending more hours working than in-office colleagues, raising concern around remote burnout.¹⁵

3 in 5 workers reported experiencing negative mental and physical impacts due to work-related stress in 2021. 26% noted a lack of interest, motivation, or energy, 32% reported emotional exhaustion, and 44% noted high levels of physical fatigue.¹⁶

The most common sources of stress for American adults are work, money, and health.¹⁷

Research has shown that efforts to “fix” burned out workers rather than address the job situation often fail.¹⁸

When cynicism is the primary source of burnout, focusing on others can lead to a reduction in burnout associated with cynicism.¹⁹

When exhaustion is the primary source of burnout, engaging in self-care activities (such as a 10-minute meditation session, cooking a nice meal, or even taking a nap) can alleviate burnout.²⁰

When inefficacy is the primary source of burnout, compassion (both toward self and others) focused on bolstering a positive sense of self lowers reported burnout.²¹

  • Sources

  1. "Burn-out an 'occupational phenomenon': International Classification of Diseases." May 28, 2019. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
  2. World Health Organization. "Burn-out an 'occupational phenomenon'." https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
  3. Eagle Hill Consulting. "COVID-19 Increases Burnout Among U.S. Employees." July 15, 2020. https://www.eaglehillconsulting.com/insights/covid-19-employee-burnout/
  4. Mind Tools Content Team. "Avoiding Burnout: Maintaining a Healthy, Successful Career." MindTools. https://www.mindtools.com/apt37nj/avoiding-burnout
  5. Melamed, S., Shirom, A., Toker, S., Berliner, S., and Shapira, I. "Burnout and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: Evidence, Possible Causal Paths, and Promising Research Directions." Psychological Bulletin 132, no. 3 (2006): 327-353. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7062224_Burnout_and_Risk_of_Cardiovascular_Disease_Evidence_Possible_Causal_Paths_and_Promising_Research_Directions
  6. Montero-Marín, Jesús, and Javier García-Campayo. “A Newer and Broader Definition of Burnout: Validation of the ‘Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire (BCSQ-36).’” BMC Public Health 10, no. 1 (June 2, 2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-302.
  7. Stefan De Hert. “Burnout in Healthcare Workers: Prevalence, Impact and Preventative Strategies” Local and Regional Anesthesia Volume 13 (October 1, 2020): 171–83. https://doi.org/10.2147/lra.s240564.
  8. Agrawal, By Ben Wigert and Sangeeta. “Employee Burnout, Part 1: The 5 Main Causes.” Gallup.Com, May 16, 2024. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/237059/employee-burnout-part-main-causes.aspx.
  9. Goh, Joel, et al. "The Relationship Between Workplace Stressors and Mortality and Health Costs in the United States." Management Science 62, no. 2 (2016): 608-628. https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2014.2115
  10. Future Workplace, LLC and Kronos Incorporated, Employee Engagement Lifecycle Series (November 2016). See additional survey details at: https://www.kronos.com/about-us/newsroom/employee-burnout-crisis-study-reveals-big-workplace-challenge-2017
  11. “Workers Appreciate and Seek Mental Health Support in the Workplace.” Https://Www.Apa.Org, n.d. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-well-being/2022-mental-health-support.
  12. McKinsey & Company. "Women in the Workplace 2020." October 2020. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace
  13. Gallup. "Millennials Are Burning Out." July 18, 2018. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/237377/millennials-burning.aspx
  14. Shanafelt, Tait D., et al. “Burnout and Satisfaction with Work-Life Balance Among US Physicians Relative to the General US Population.” Archives of Internal Medicine 172, no. 18 (2012): 1377-1385. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22911330/
  15. “Remote Working’s Longer Hours Are New Normal for Many,” February 2, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-02/remote-working-s-longer-hours-are-new-normal-for-many-chart.
  16. “The American Workforce Faces Compounding Pressure.” Https://Www.Apa.Org, n.d. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-well-being/compounding-pressure-2021.
  17. Statista. “Common Daily Life Stressors Among U.S. Generation Z Adults in 2018,” November 21, 2018. https://www.statista.com/statistics/943836/life-stressors-for-generation-z-adults-us/.
  18. APA PsycNet. “Finding Solutions to the Problem of Burnout.,” 2017. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-23694-007.
  19. Schabram, Kira, and Yu Tse Heng. “How Other- and Self-Compassion Reduce Burnout Through Resource Replenishment.” Academy of Management Journal/˜the œAcademy of Management Journal 65, no. 2 (April 1, 2022): 453–78. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2019.0493.
  20. Schabram and Heng, “How Other- and Self-Compassion Reduce Burnout Through Resource Replenishment.”
  21. Schabram and Heng, “How Other- and Self-Compassion Reduce Burnout Through Resource Replenishment.”