The burnout signs business owners should be aware of

Burnout is a state of emotional and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. As a business owner, being aware of the signs could help you spot when it might be affecting you or your team.

According to a survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) (17 January 2025), two-thirds of employees are increasingly concerned about being overworked, and 60% believe their employers prioritise profit and productivity over their wellbeing.

Burnout could have a material impact on your business.

First, employees who are feeling stressed are less likely to be engaged with their work, and they could be more likely to make mistakes. Second, the CIPD report also noted that it may cause employees to take time off, which could stall your operations or place additional pressure on other team members.

It’s not only your employees on whom you might want to consider the effect of burnout. You could also experience its impact, which may harm your ability to make decisions or carry out your usual tasks.

In addition, exposure to prolonged stress as a business owner might mean you’re not in a position to support your employees who are also experiencing burnout.

The signs of burnout are varied and might not appear as you’d expect. So, familiarising yourself with them could help you identify when it might be a threat to your business.

4 things about burnout that business owners should know

1. Burnout may be linked to anxiety or depression

While the World Health Organisation doesn’t consider burnout to be a mental health condition or illness, it does have similarities to, or links with, health conditions.

For example, people who are experiencing burnout might also show signs of anxiety or depression, such as feeling hopeless, experiencing emotional detachment, or feeling unmotivated. Another key symptom is exhaustion, which could mean employees find it difficult to maintain productivity or show the same care as they previously did.

If someone’s performance has unexpectedly slipped, arranging a chat to understand what is behind it and how you might offer support could be beneficial.

2. Burnout can affect employees who are most passionate about their job

If someone is experiencing burnout, you might assume that they are using it as an excuse to avoid work or that it’s because they’re unmotivated. However, this often isn’t the case.

Speaking to the Guardian (15 February 2026), Amelia Nagoski, author of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, said: “If working hard cured burnout, so many of us would be cured.”

Indeed, she added that burnout often affects people who feel very passionate about their job because they overly commit themselves, which can lead to exhaustion. So, it could be that burnout affects your most productive and engaged employees.

3. A short holiday or reducing working hours may not ease burnout

When people are feeling stressed, a break could be a useful way to reset and come back to work refreshed. If someone takes a holiday and is still showing signs of stress or anxiety, it could be due to burnout.

A short break often isn’t enough to relieve the symptoms of burnout because the underlying issues haven’t been fixed. Similarly, simply reducing working hours may not support an employee affected by burnout either, particularly if there’s still an expectation to manage the same amount of work.

One way to ease burnout is to separate work from your personal life, and use your personal time doing things you love, such as pursuing a hobby or spending time with friends. For your employees, making it clear that they don’t need to respond to emails or calls outside of working hours could help them carve out time for themselves and enable them to be more productive when at work.

4. Burnout can cause physical symptoms

Burnout is a mental state, but it may cause physical symptoms associated with high stress, such as headaches, muscle tension, high blood pressure, and an irregular heartbeat.

If you or your employees experience these signs, it’s important to seek medical advice, especially if they’re occurring frequently. Doing so could rule out other potential causes and highlight how you might reduce workplace stress that may support wellbeing.

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Please note: This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.