The True Cost Of Burnout

91% of UK adults continuing to experience high levels of pressure and stress in the last year. This statistic is taken from the Mental Health UK Burnout Report 2026*. The saddest thing about this statement perhaps is that when you read that number, you may not be surprised, let alone shocked. It begs the question: what have we done to our workplaces and indeed our society that these high levels of pressure and stress are normal? It’s worth considering that it is improbable you are one of the 9% of UK adults who don’t feel this.

Why do high levels of Burnout matter?

Well one could go old school and talk about wanting people to have fulfilled and happy lives. Or, maybe slightly less optimistically, we could reflect on the negative impact that this has on individuals and those close to them. But as Brian Dow, Chief Executive of Mental Health UK writes: “Crucially, this isn’t just a mental health and wellbeing crisis anymore - it’s an economic one.”

When this pressure and stress leads to burnout the result can be loss of motivation, poor performance, increased absenteeism and ultimately people leaving their profession. Not because they weren’t up to the job but because the structures of their employment or profession were not up to supporting them.

What is burnout?

The World Health Organisation define Burnout as: …a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterised by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and
• reduced professional efficacy.”

Psychology Today describes Burnout as: “…a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking or romantic relationships” 

A familiar story

I’m aware my story is very far from unique and definitely not special, but to offer some personal experience: I went through burnout in my early 40s. I had a young family, I worked in a demanding job with long hours, lots of internal politics and I had elder care responsibilities too. Just to add to the cocktail we also had financial pressures leading to a sense that we were always on the financial edge. Looking back, we were very fortunate, no-one went cold or hungry, but things didn’t feel secure and I felt under constant pressure to try and get promoted as a way to earn enough money to meet rising costs. The way I had succeeded in doing that in the past was to work harder and be more present than the competition. A vicious spiral that led me to a place where I felt isolated, ashamed of what I felt was my failure and I became detached from my family, my friends and colleagues. I ceased to be present as a leader and employee but more importantly I stopped being present as a father and a husband. It was grim and it felt like there was no way out.

What happened?

I was fortunate that my employers spotted there was an issue. They didn’t know what to do but they gave me a chance to step away from work for a few weeks to try and sort things out. Needless to say, the emphasis was on me sorting myself out, not the organisation sorting out the contributing work pressure. However, it gave me a much needed break and was progressive for the time.

My next bit of good fortune was having a dear friend who is a Buddhist priest. I often joke with him that everyone needs a friend who is a Buddhist priest. We’ve known each other since we were 12, so when I was broken, he seemed a sensible person to speak to about my situation. He suggested mindfulness; and my heart sank. Whilst I’d respected the path he’d taken I knew it wasn’t for me. But what I didn’t know at that point was that mindfulness can be a practical, pragmatic tool and that it would be invaluable in helping me navigate pressure and stress.

Despite my scepticism, I went on a two-day retreat where I learnt that if my thoughts were overwhelming me, then having a different relationship with my thoughts might be able to help. I haven’t looked back. 

What happened next?

This new toolkit helped me to sense when I was getting over-loaded and I started to learn more about setting and sticking to boundaries. It helped me to manage myself better and I worked successfully in both the public and private sector as an employee for many years until I set up my own consultancy, offering the same toolkit to my clients.

What didn’t happen?

The structures around me did not improve. Changes made by the organisations I worked for, routinely seemed to make matters worse for the people in those organisations.  More pressure, more stress: for me, my teams and my peers – unsustainable and relentless. Often put forward as routes to ‘efficiency’ these changes in reality appeared to be a variety of ways to get more work for free. 

Again – so what?

Brian Dow explains that his contention about burnout being an economic crisis is aligned with the government’s Keep Britain Working Review led by Sir Charlie Mayfield.  In the review he makes it clear that poor mental health is now among the biggest drivers of people leaving the workforce.

The way that we are designing and running our organisations is fundamentally flawed and will undermine their financial success whilst driving key people away, with some of them leaving due to burnout.

» READ MORE: Top burnout speakers for your organisation

Hope!

I believe there is hope and that perhaps strangely it is built into the market forces that are currently being misunderstood by our corporate leaders. My experience of the next generation is that they are way more capable and savvier than most of mine were at the same age. They know about wellbeing and the importance of looking after one’s mental health. Also they are aware of their options and can see through lip-service from employers.  My sense is the most capable will leave employers who don’t look after the wellbeing of their staff and will move to companies who genuinely want to build a sustainable workforce, a team that care about each other as well as the organisation.

The organisations that succeed will do so because they understand the dangers of burnout: the cost in human and financial terms. By putting in place genuine structures that support high performance and high levels of wellbeing, organisations will enjoy sustained success and business owners, their clients and their employees will reap the rewards.

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