What’s leading to higher workplace burnout?

New research has found that there’s a growing strain on today’s workers as many feel burned out and even more so than before.

According to a survey of 1,500 professionals across Canada from talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half, 47 per cent reported feeling burned out, and 31 per cent indicated they are more burned out now than they were the year prior.

In 2024, Robert Half reported 42 per cent of workers were experiencing burnout, while in 2023 the number was 33 per cent.

The survey identified several key factors contributing to burnout among Canadian workers:

• Heavy workloads and long hours (39 per cent)
• Emotional or mental fatigue from high-stress tasks (38 per cent)
• Insufficient work-life balance (28 per cent)
• Lack of management support or recognition (28 per cent)
• Lack of professional growth opportunities (28 per cent)

The highest burnout levels were reported among:

• Professionals in the legal and HR fields (59 per cent)
• Working parents (51 per cent)
• Millennial professionals (50 per cent)

“In addition to being an increasingly worrying issue for professionals, burnout is a major challenge for employers as well,” said Koula Vasilopoulos, senior managing director at Robert Half, Canada. “When employees are burned out due to heavy workloads and understaffed teams, businesses risk decreased productivity and morale, losing valued team members, and revenue loss due to falling behind on key timelines for critical projects.”

Countering workplace burnout

Burnout isn’t just affecting workers — it’s also impacting businesses. The heavy workloads cited by workers as the top driver of burnout are partly a consequence of longer hiring cycles.

According to a separate survey of more than 1,050 managers, 39 per cent said burnout among existing staff is a major challenge they face when unable to fill a necessary role. Other repercussions they report facing include decreased productivity (40 per cent), delayed project timelines (34 per cent), higher turnover (30 per cent), and lost revenue (24 per cent).

To combat burnout culture, workers indicated the best ways their managers can help:

• Encourage time off and/or mental health days (34 per cent)
• Hire permanent or contract professionals to ease workloads (33 per cent)
• Help prioritize projects and manage timelines (30 per cent)

“As burnout continues to rise, managers need to be proactively mitigating it by working to fill gaps on the team, embracing flexible staffing solutions, encouraging time off, prioritizing workloads and maintaining open communication about employee wellbeing,” Vasilopoulos added.