How to Overcome Burnout

In last month’s post, I shared thoughts on burnout—an issue that touches nearly every workplace. Burnout isn’t just stress or feeling overwhelmed; it seeps into every corner of life. The combined weight of professional and personal responsibilities makes it especially difficult to manage. While it’s often framed as an “individual problem,” burnout is structural too—shaped by workplace cultures and systems. That’s why recovery requires both personal resilience and organizational change. The good news? Burnout is manageable—and reversible. Here’s how.

1. Reframing Workloads and Stress

Unmanageable workloads are a major driver of burnout. At the individual level, setting boundaries—like saying “no” and outlining existing priorities—can reset expectations and help prevent overload. Develop a project tracker that keeps tabs of the work you have going on from daily, ongoing activities to special projects. When a new project is about to be dropped on your desk, consult your availability and time constraints on the tracker and then set the appropriate boundaries. It can help you work with your manager, too, to reprioritize work and refocus on the most urgent organizational needs instead of trying to tackle everything at once. At the organizational level, then, leadership that prioritizes initiatives, balances workloads, and builds in moments of recovery can transform work from purely transactional to genuinely supportive. 

2. Meeting Basic Needs

Burnout often worsens because we neglect the basics—nutrition, movement, and rest. Constant “go mode” leaves us fatigued, foggy, and disengaged. Intense focus on what we must do to get through the day overtakes our mental state to focus on accomplishing one task after the other. Yet, we know that the more we try to fit everything in, the less productive we become. It is important to recognize these moments of overwhelming convergence of responsibilities and pause. Even small actions like stepping away from the desk for a walk can reset the body’s stress response, improve focus, and regulate hunger hormones. Companies can help too—by encouraging real breaks, discouraging “Zoom lunching,” and modeling these behaviors at the leadership level.

3. Building Daily Resilience

Mental resilience is an important skill to develop when coping with burnout. It isn’t built on big gestures like sabbaticals and expensive retreats — it’s created through small, consistent habits. Short pauses throughout the day, like closing your laptop and taking a deep breath, can calm the nervous system as effectively as long vacations. The trick is to find what works for you and develop a daily, reliable ritual that helps you center your mind and calm your nervous system. And the added bonus? Unlike a fabulous vacation, these habits are immediate and accessible. For me, walking to the office printer used to be a grounding reset. The printer was usually sufficiently far away that it would take a few minutes to get there and back. I might even bump into a co-worker and have a quick chat. By the time I returned to my desk I felt calmer and more together to continue with my work.  Now, I rely on quick stretches or yoga via my favorite apps to stay centered. Even a fifteen minute break between meetings is enough for me to quickly reset and reorganize my mind. Organizations can support employees by offering access to wellness tools, reducing back-to-back meetings, and encouraging breaks between calls.

4. Preventing Quiet Cracking

Finally, it is important to remember that burnout doesn’t always show up dramatically. It is not necessarily a loud argument or vociferous objections. Sometimes it’s a slow fade—what has been called “quiet cracking.” Its main symptom, which often goes unnoticed, is continued demotivation and disheartening by employees to the point when disengagement builds to a crescendo until the spark is gone. The antidote is to find your community and actively build connections. Strong workplace communities, peer check-ins, and open conversations help lighten the mental load. One striking example of how employees and the organization came together to address burnout is a hospital that hosted free group lunches where physicians could share experiences (Time). The result? Stronger bonds, less burnout, and better outcomes.

👉 Burnout recovery is possible—but it works best when both individuals and organizations commit. Leaders who model healthy boundaries and prioritize well-being build teams that are not just more productive, but also more resilient and fulfilled.