Olivia Chen5 Signs Your Team is Burning Out (And How to Catch It Early)
Your best employee just handed in their resignation. They seemed fine last week—maybe a bit quieter than usual, but fine. Now they're leaving, and you're wondering: What did I miss?
Probably burnout. And you probably missed the signs weeks or months ago.
The World Health Organization officially recognized burnout as an occupational phenomenon in 2019, defining it as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn't been successfully managed. It's characterized by three dimensions: energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from work with feelings of negativism or cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy.
Burnout doesn't happen overnight. It builds gradually, with warning signs that managers can learn to recognize—if they know what to look for. The problem is that by the time burnout is obvious, significant damage has already been done: to the employee's health, to their work, and often to the entire team.
This guide will help you spot burnout early, understand its root causes, and take action before it's too late.
Table of Contents
- Why Burnout Matters Now More Than Ever
- The 5 Early Warning Signs
- What's Actually Causing the Burnout
- Having the Conversation
- Structural Changes That Actually Help
- Building Burnout-Resistant Teams
- When It's Already Too Late: Recovery Strategies
- Your Role as a Manager
Why Burnout Matters Now More Than Ever
Burnout has reached epidemic levels. Recent surveys suggest that 52% of workers report feeling burned out, up significantly from pre-pandemic levels. Among managers, the numbers are even higher.
The Business Case
Beyond the human cost, burnout is a business problem:
Turnover: Burned-out employees are 2.6 times more likely to actively seek a new job. Replacing a knowledge worker costs 50-200% of their annual salary.
Productivity: Exhausted employees produce less, make more mistakes, and require more supervision. They're physically present but mentally checked out.
Contagion: Burnout spreads. One burned-out team member affects everyone around them through negativity, dropped balls, and increased workload on others.
Healthcare costs: Burnout contributes to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, and other health problems. This shows up in healthcare spending and absenteeism.
Innovation: Burned-out employees don't innovate. They're in survival mode, focused on getting through the day rather than improving things.
Why Now?
Several factors have intensified burnout in recent years:
Blurred boundaries: Remote and hybrid work eliminated the commute that once separated work and home. For many, the workday never really ends.
Always-on culture: Slack, email, and mobile devices make employees perpetually reachable. The expectation of constant availability has become normalized.
Uncertainty: Economic volatility, layoffs, and organizational changes create chronic stress. People work harder to prove their value, accelerating burnout.
Understaffing: When organizations run lean, the remaining employees absorb the work of departed colleagues. "Doing more with less" often means doing too much.
Manager burnout: Managers themselves are burning out at record rates. Burned-out managers can't effectively support their teams, creating a cascading effect.
The 5 Early Warning Signs
Burnout rarely announces itself. By the time someone says "I'm burned out," they've been struggling for months. Learning to spot early signs gives you the opportunity to intervene before it's too late.
Sign 1: Declining Performance From Previously Strong Performers
This is often the first objective indicator—and the most frequently missed because it's gradual.
What to watch for:
- Output quality or quantity declining over weeks
- Missed deadlines that were previously met easily
- More errors or oversights requiring rework
- Tasks taking longer than they used to
- Strategic work getting dropped in favor of just keeping up
Why it matters: High performers don't suddenly become mediocre. When you see sustained performance decline in someone who was previously excellent, something is wrong. The instinct is often to address the performance issue directly, but that misses the root cause.
What you might hear:
- "Sorry, I've been slammed lately"
- "I just need to get through this week"
- "I don't know where the time goes"
The subtle version: Sometimes the decline isn't in output but in engagement. They're still completing tasks but no longer offering ideas, pushing back on problems, or going above and beyond. They're meeting the minimum, not leading.
Sign 2: Withdrawal and Reduced Engagement
Burned-out employees often retreat from workplace interactions and culture.
What to watch for:
- Someone who was previously vocal in meetings going quiet
- Declining optional meetings or events they used to attend
- Shorter, more transactional communication
- Less participation in Slack channels or informal chats
- Avoiding collaboration or deferring to others
- Working increasingly unusual hours to avoid interaction
Why it matters: Withdrawal is a protective mechanism. Burned-out employees don't have the energy for engagement, so they conserve by pulling back. They're not being antisocial—they're exhausted.
What you might hear:
- "I just need to focus on my work"
- "I'm fine, just tired"
- Shorter responses to open-ended questions
- Declining invitations with vague excuses
The remote work challenge: In remote environments, withdrawal is harder to spot. Someone can be checked out while still appearing on Slack with a green dot. Pay attention to communication patterns, not just presence.
Sign 3: Increased Cynicism and Negativity
A shift from constructive criticism to pervasive negativity is a classic burnout signal.
What to watch for:
- Complaints without suggestions for improvement
- Eye-rolling or dismissive responses to new initiatives
- "What's the point?" attitude toward work
- Negative interpretation of neutral events
- Loss of the benefit-of-the-doubt toward colleagues or leadership
- Increased sarcasm or gallows humor
Why it matters: Cynicism is one of the WHO's three defining characteristics of burnout. When someone who was once optimistic and solution-oriented becomes persistently negative, their relationship with work has fundamentally changed.
What you might hear:
- "They never listen anyway"
- "This is just going to be another [failed initiative]"
- "I don't see why we bother"
- "Whatever, just tell me what to do"
Distinguish from valid concerns: Not all negativity is burnout. Sometimes critical feedback is warranted. The difference is whether the person offers constructive alternatives and seems invested in improvement, or has given up entirely.
Sign 4: Physical and Emotional Exhaustion Signals
Burnout manifests physically and emotionally, often in visible ways.
What to watch for:
- Appearing tired or drained consistently
- Mentions of sleep problems, headaches, or illness
- Increased irritability or emotional reactions
- Difficulty concentrating in meetings
- Taking more sick days
- Changes in appearance or self-care
Why it matters: Burnout isn't just psychological—it has physical effects. Chronic stress impairs sleep, weakens immune function, and affects cognitive capacity. These aren't personal problems separate from work; work is causing them.
What you might hear:
- "I'm exhausted all the time"
- "I can't turn my brain off"
- "I've been getting sick a lot lately"
- "I just need a vacation" (especially if recent vacation didn't help)
What you might observe: Cameras off when they used to be on. More frequent "sorry, I lost track of time" moments. Appearing distracted or foggy. Quick frustration with minor setbacks.
Sign 5: Expressions of Hopelessness or Being Stuck
When employees feel their situation can't improve, they've often reached an advanced burnout stage.
What to watch for:
- Comments suggesting nothing will change
- Feeling trapped or seeing no path forward
- Loss of interest in career development or growth
- Questioning the value of their work
- Expressions of feeling overwhelmed with no end in sight
- Resignation or learned helplessness
Why it matters: Burnout creates a sense of powerlessness. People feel they can't change their circumstances, can't leave, and can't sustain the status quo. This is dangerous territory—both for work performance and for mental health.
What you might hear:
- "It doesn't matter what I do"
- "This is just how it is"
- "I'm just trying to survive until [date/event]"
- "I don't know how much longer I can do this"
Take seriously: These expressions should prompt immediate supportive conversation. They may indicate severe burnout, depression, or consideration of resignation.
What's Actually Causing the Burnout
Identifying signs is only half the battle. To address burnout effectively, you need to understand its causes—which often differ from what managers assume.
Workload and Capacity Issues
The most obvious cause is simply too much work:
- More responsibilities than hours to complete them
- Unrealistic deadlines and expectations
- No relief from sustained high-demand periods
- Work accumulating during time off
But here's the insight many managers miss: workload is relative to capacity. The same workload that one person handles easily may overwhelm another, depending on their skills, circumstances, and other demands. Context matters.
Lack of Control and Autonomy
Feeling powerless is exhausting. Burnout increases when employees:
- Have little say in how they do their work
- Can't influence decisions that affect them
- Are micromanaged rather than trusted
- Face constant shifting priorities they can't control
- Experience rules and processes as obstacles rather than enablers
Research consistently identifies lack of control as a top driver of burnout—sometimes exceeding workload in importance.
Inefficient Systems and Processes
A 2023 study found that "ineffective processes and systems" was the number one driver of burnout—ahead of workload. Employees burn out when they:
- Fight against systems that don't work
- Complete busywork that adds no value
- Navigate unnecessary bureaucracy
- Redo work due to poor handoffs or unclear requirements
- Waste time on meetings that could be emails
This is particularly frustrating because it's fixable. People can tolerate working hard on meaningful things; working hard on pointless things is demoralizing.
Unclear Expectations
Not knowing what success looks like creates constant low-grade stress:
- Ambiguity about priorities and what matters most
- Shifting expectations without communication
- Different stakeholders wanting different things
- Not understanding how performance is evaluated
- Feeling judged on criteria that weren't shared
Employees can't succeed if they don't know what success means.
Insufficient Recognition
Feeling that effort goes unnoticed is deeply demoralizing:
- Accomplishments not acknowledged
- Credit going to others
- Only hearing feedback when something's wrong
- No sense of making a difference
- Compensation and advancement not reflecting contribution
Recognition isn't just nice—it's essential fuel. Without it, motivation depletes.
Values Misalignment
People burn out when their values conflict with their work:
- Being asked to do things they find unethical
- Working on things they don't believe matter
- Operating in a culture that contradicts their values
- Feeling that the organization's direction is wrong
This kind of burnout is particularly corrosive because it attacks meaning and identity, not just energy.
Interpersonal Friction
Difficult relationships are exhausting:
- Conflict with colleagues or managers
- Lack of social support
- Toxic team dynamics
- Feeling excluded or disrespected
- Poor communication creating constant friction
We're social beings. When work relationships are negative, work becomes draining regardless of the tasks themselves.
Having the Conversation
When you spot burnout signs, the next step is talking about it. This conversation requires skill.
Approach with Curiosity, Not Judgment
Your goal is to understand, not to fix (yet) or to evaluate.
Do say:
- "I've noticed [specific observation]. I wanted to check in on how you're doing."
- "You seem [tired/stressed/different than usual]. What's going on?"
- "How are you feeling about your workload lately?"
- "What's taking up most of your mental energy right now?"
Don't say:
- "Your performance has been slipping"
- "You need to get it together"
- "Everyone is stressed, you need to deal with it"
- "What's wrong with you lately?"
Start from a place of care, not accountability. The accountability conversation, if needed, comes later.
Listen More Than You Talk
Your role in the initial conversation is to understand, which means listening:
- Ask open-ended questions
- Let silence do work (don't fill every pause)
- Resist the urge to offer solutions immediately
- Reflect back what you hear
- Acknowledge emotions without dismissing them
Many burned-out employees have never had anyone ask how they're doing and actually wait for the answer.
Ask About Causes
Once you understand that someone is struggling, explore why:
- "What feels most overwhelming right now?"
- "What aspects of work are draining you?"
- "If you could change one thing, what would it be?"
- "What would make the biggest difference for you?"
Don't assume you know the cause. What you think is driving burnout might not be what the employee experiences as the main problem.
Avoid Common Mistakes
Don't dismiss or minimize:
- "We're all stressed" invalidates their experience
- "It'll get better after [project/quarter]" offers hollow hope
- "You just need a vacation" may not address root causes
Don't make promises you can't keep:
- Be honest about what you can and can't change
- Better to say "let me look into this" than to overpromise
Don't add to the burden:
- This conversation shouldn't feel like another task for them
- Be mindful of the energy even talking about burnout requires
Follow Up
One conversation isn't enough. Schedule follow-ups to:
- Check how they're doing
- Report on actions you've taken
- Assess whether changes are helping
- Continue building trust
Burnout recovery takes time. Consistent support matters more than one dramatic intervention.
Structural Changes That Actually Help
Individual conversations are necessary but insufficient. Addressing burnout requires structural changes.
Workload Management
Audit and adjust workloads:
- Review what's actually on everyone's plate
- Identify and eliminate low-value work
- Say no to new requests that exceed capacity
- Build sustainable pace expectations
Build in slack:
- Teams operating at 100% capacity have no room for the unexpected
- Target 80% utilization to allow for variability
- Protect time for recovery after intense periods
Triage and prioritize:
- Not everything can be urgent
- Be explicit about what matters most and what can wait
- Give employees permission to deprioritize
Increase Autonomy
Let people control how they work:
- Focus on outcomes, not methods
- Reduce unnecessary approval requirements
- Trust people to manage their time
- Involve employees in decisions that affect them
Reduce micromanagement:
- Recognize that control impulses may be making things worse
- Shift from monitoring activity to supporting outcomes
- Give space for people to find their own approach
Fix Broken Processes
Identify friction points:
- Ask: "What's frustrating about how we work?"
- Find the processes people work around, not through
- Look for repeated complaints about the same things
Eliminate busywork:
- Question reports no one reads
- Cancel meetings that could be async
- Remove approval steps that don't add value
- Stop activities that exist only because they always have
Improve handoffs and communication:
- Unclear handoffs create rework and frustration
- Document processes that rely on tribal knowledge
- Make expectations explicit
Create Boundaries
Establish norms around after-hours work:
- Make clear that immediate response isn't expected outside work hours
- Model good boundaries as a leader
- Address people who create urgency culture
Protect focus time:
- Block time without meetings
- Create norms around interruptions
- Allow people to manage their availability
Enforce PTO:
- Actively encourage people to use time off
- Ensure coverage so people can truly disconnect
- Don't contact people during vacation unless essential
Recognize and Appreciate
Make recognition a habit:
- Acknowledge good work when it happens, not just at reviews
- Be specific about what was valuable and why
- Ensure recognition is distributed fairly
Connect work to impact:
- Help people see how their work matters
- Share customer feedback and success stories
- Link individual contributions to team and company outcomes
Building Burnout-Resistant Teams
Beyond addressing active burnout, how do you create conditions where burnout is less likely to occur?
Psychological Safety
Teams where people feel safe to speak up, take risks, and admit mistakes are more resilient:
- Respond constructively to bad news
- Normalize asking for help
- Treat mistakes as learning opportunities
- Invite dissenting perspectives
When people can raise issues early, problems get solved before they cause burnout.
Sustainable Pace
Build teams for marathon performance, not sprint collapse:
- Avoid hero culture that celebrates overwork
- Recognize efficiency, not just effort
- Plan for realistic timelines that don't require crunch
- After intense periods, provide genuine recovery time
Connection and Support
Isolation accelerates burnout. Foster connection:
- Regular 1:1s that include personal check-ins
- Team activities that build relationships
- Peer support and mentorship
- Inclusive culture where everyone feels they belong
Growth and Development
People who see a future are more engaged and resilient:
- Discuss career aspirations regularly
- Provide learning opportunities
- Give stretch assignments that build new skills
- Recognize and promote from within
Stagnation breeds burnout; growth prevents it.
Manager Capacity
You can't prevent team burnout if you're burned out yourself:
- Manage your own workload and boundaries
- Get support from your manager and peers
- Develop skills in coaching and development
- Be honest about your own struggles
Your wellbeing enables your team's wellbeing.
When It's Already Too Late: Recovery Strategies
Sometimes you don't catch burnout early. When someone is already severely burned out, different strategies apply.
Immediate Load Reduction
Severe burnout requires significant intervention:
- Reduce responsibilities substantially (not just marginally)
- Remove the burned-out person from crisis work
- Reassign projects to create breathing room
- Consider whether a leave of absence makes sense
Half-measures don't work. Burned-out people can't "push through" to recovery.
Time Off
Recovery requires time away from work:
- Encourage PTO if available
- Consider leave options (FMLA, disability, company leave programs)
- Ensure coverage so they can truly disconnect
- Don't contact them during time off
Short breaks usually aren't sufficient for severe burnout. Longer recovery time may be necessary.
Role Reassessment
Sometimes the role itself is the problem:
- Is this the right job for this person?
- Are there structural issues in the role that would burn out anyone?
- Could a different role or different focus help?
- What would need to change for this to be sustainable?
The answer might be internal movement, role restructuring, or (in some cases) recognizing that the organization can't provide what this person needs.
Professional Support
Severe burnout may require professional help:
- Connect employees with EAP resources
- Normalize seeking therapy or coaching
- Don't try to be their therapist, but do support access to professionals
- Recognize when burnout has become clinical depression
Long-Term Perspective
Recovery from severe burnout takes months, not weeks. Set realistic expectations:
- Don't expect rapid return to prior performance
- Build up gradually rather than returning to full load
- Monitor for signs of relapse
- Adjust role expectations as needed
Your Role as a Manager
Preventing and addressing burnout is a core management responsibility—not an HR function or an individual employee problem.
What You Can Control
- How you allocate work on your team
- The expectations you set and communicate
- How you respond when people raise concerns
- The norms and culture you create
- How you recognize and appreciate contribution
- Whether you model sustainable work
What You Can Influence
- Broader organizational priorities and timelines
- Processes and systems that affect your team
- Resources available to your team
- Support for struggling employees
- Leadership awareness of burnout risks
What You Must Advocate For
When burnout is driven by factors outside your direct control, your role is to advocate:
- Push back on unrealistic demands from leadership
- Surface systemic issues that are burning people out
- Request resources when the team is understaffed
- Flag when processes need fixing
- Be honest about what's sustainable and what's not
Sometimes the most important thing you can do is tell your boss the truth about what's happening.
Your Own Sustainability
You can't pour from an empty cup:
- Monitor your own burnout signs
- Set boundaries around your own work
- Get support from peers and mentors
- Take your own PTO
- Ask for help when you need it
Manager burnout creates team burnout. Taking care of yourself is taking care of your team.
Conclusion
Burnout isn't inevitable. It's not a character flaw in weak employees. It's a predictable consequence of mismanaged work environments—and it's largely preventable.
The signs are there if you know how to look:
- Declining performance from previously strong performers
- Withdrawal and reduced engagement
- Increased cynicism and negativity
- Physical and emotional exhaustion
- Expressions of hopelessness or being stuck
Catching these signs early gives you the opportunity to intervene before burnout damages employees, teams, and the organization.
But spotting burnout isn't enough. You need to:
- Have supportive conversations that understand root causes
- Make structural changes that address those causes
- Build team conditions that prevent burnout from occurring
- Support recovery when prevention fails
This is real management work. Not process administration, not task assignment—actual leadership that creates conditions where people can thrive.
The cost of getting this wrong is enormous: turnover, lost productivity, damaged culture, and human suffering. The benefit of getting it right is equally significant: engaged employees who do their best work, healthy teams that support each other, and sustainable performance over the long term.
Your people are watching to see whether you notice, whether you care, and whether you act.
What are you going to do?
Burnout often hides until it's too late. Intelogos helps managers spot the early warning signs—like workload changes and engagement patterns—so you can support your team before burnout takes hold. See how Intelogos supports team wellbeing.