Prevent burnout

Manage stress and burnout in the workplace

Stress can be a big problem, but it doesn't have to be. Give your people the tools they need to manage stress effectively and prevent burnout with our industry-leading programmes.

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Help your people manage stress and avoid burnout
Build skills to optimise resilience and performance

Ready your organisation for long-term growth
Take an approach that's tried, tested and backed by science

What is burnout?

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical or mental exhaustion. It’s caused by excessive or prolonged stress and can manifest in a variety of symptoms. In the workplace, you might notice your people seem less motivated, less productive, more irritable or more withdrawn. These are all common signs of burnout.

Interestingly, there’s a higher risk of burnout for individuals in people-orientated professions and those who have regular client or customer contact. They often end up ‘going the extra mile’ for their clients, but not replenishing their personal resources. Over time, stressors can build up and coping skills decrease, eventually leading to burnout.

Why is preventing burnout so important for organisations?

When employees experience burnout, they can’t think, feel or perform at their best. This can have huge implications, not only for the individual, but for their teams and the broader organisation.

Burnout is particularly significant when it occurs in leaders. According to the 2021 Global Leadership Forecast, 60% of leaders feel “used up” at the end of every workday – a strong indicator of burnout. When leaders struggle with burnout, they are less able to manage and care for others. They are also more likely to take sick leave and be actively looking for another job. This quickly impacts on those who rely on them.

What’s more, leaders are natural role models. When leaders display behaviours that put them at risk of burnout, it can lead to the adoption of similar behaviours in their colleagues and teams – putting them at risk of workplace burnout too.

How can organisations help prevent employee burnout?

A crucial part of preventing burnout is improving individuals’ ability to manage stress.

Stress will always be a part of life – both in the workplace and out. Trying to avoid stress isn’t the answer to preventing burnout. Instead, organisations need to make sure their people have the skills they need to manage stress and other challenges effectively. We call these 'psychological skills', and they are skills we can all develop when we have the right support.

stress

is the most commonly reported adverse psychological experience^*

60^%

of leaders feel “used up” at the end of every workday^†

1 in 3

people are reporting high or extremely high levels of stress^‡

*Positive data from a Professional Services Firm (n=1408; Spring 21), †2021 Global Leadership Forecast, ‡Positive data from a Professional Services Firm (n=1408; Spring 21),

Solutions

Preventing burnout with Positive

At Positive, we champion a ‘leaders-first’ approach to preventing burnout. Leaders are powerful drivers of organisational behaviour, and particularly important when it comes to tackling issues such as burnout.

With our Positive Leaders programme, you can build a set of core psychological skills in your leaders, enabling them to better manage stress and adversity. This reduces the chance of your leaders experiencing burnout, allows them to better support their teams, and establishes role models for healthy, protective behaviours.

To ensure maximum impact, we recommend pairing Positive Leaders with Positive Executive, a one-off transformational masterclass for your executive team that builds shared understanding and motivation for change. For the rest of your organisation, we offer talks to improve understanding around topics like resilience, burnout and social connection, while our tailored insights work can help you better understand the impact of burnout on your organisation and how you’re making progress.

A blended, four-part programme to build core psychological skills in your leaders. Prevent burnout in your most influential employees, establish role models for protective behaviours and drive positive change from the top.

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“If you’re wondering how to power up the performance of your leaders and teams, Positive’s for you. Top-notch science made practical for daily use.”

Christoph Schwaiger
Chief Executive Officer at Hofer

How we work

A scientific approach to preventing burnout

Our mission is to empower your people with a set of core psychological skills. We do this by combining data, behaviour change science and social learning, to make sure you see results that last.