We are three months into the new year, and burnout seems to be a pandemic globally.
In addition to the pressures associated with fresh beginnings, new projects, and looming deadlines, numerous employees are grappling with the stress stemming from the demands placed on them both professionally and personally.
According to multiple workplace surveys compiled in 2025, over 43% of employees globally report burnout, up from 38% just two years earlier.
Burnout, overwhelmingly linked to work, is the result of continuous unmanaged stress that leads to debilitating emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. Despite years of trying to mitigate burnout, it remains on the rise in workplaces across the world.
As burnout increases, so does its impact on organisations and individuals. The price is high – companies bear the real costs of absenteeism, staff turnover, employee disengagement, and low performance. For the individual, progress and success in life and relationships are derailed by the physical and mental health tolls.
Perks and quick fixes don’t work
As burnout has shifted from a fringe risk to a mainstream workplace challenge, organisations have deployed a range of wellbeing tactics to try to improve support for struggling and at-risk employees.
“Burnout isn’t caused by a lack of treats or incentives - it’s the result of a chronic mismatch between what’s being asked of people and what they realistically have the capacity to give,” explains Jean Rodrigues, a coach supervisor at SACAP (South African College of Applied Psychology).
She notes that wellness days, spa vouchers, free food or access to wellbeing apps may soften the edges of stress in the moment - but when workloads remain unrealistic, boundaries are vague, or recovery is encouraged in theory but undermined in practice, these perks can feel superficial or even like gaslighting.
Burnout is a signal of organisational culture
For Kaylynn Philander, SACAP’s Coaching Manager, burnout is not an individual failing but a cultural signal - the fire alarm highlighting deeper structural and systemic issues.
This perspective is backed by research that shows that cultural and organisational factors such as long hours, unclear role expectations, and poor management practices are powerful predictors of burnout.
Kaylynn says, “A strong coaching culture creates space for reflection, supportive leadership and sustainable performance. The workplace becomes a place where people feel heard, boundaries are respected, and well-being is woven into everyday work. Managers and leaders who adopt a coach-like approach help prevent burnout by fostering connection, clarity and psychological safety, particularly in high-demand environments.”
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In teams with healthy cultures, leaders check in on energy and capacity, not just outputs. People can express limits without fear of penalty. Language around performance shifts - worth is not equated with busyness. To achieve this, organisational leaders need basic coaching skills and to intentionally develop themselves as leaders-as-coach.
What a coaching culture feels like
Jean describes a strong coaching culture as one where stress can be held rather than simply endured:
- Leaders regularly check on capacity and energy, not just results.
- People can name limits and reprioritise work without fear of judgement or reprisal.
- Clear communication norms reduce misunderstandings and unnecessary urgency.
- Moments of reflection and micro-recovery are normal parts of the day.
“Coaching cultures help teams metabolise stress rather than silently accumulate it,” Rodrigues says.
In such environments, pressure still exists, but it’s structured in ways that do not erode psychological safety or agency, and people don’t have to wait for a crisis to get support.
Why leaders make or break the culture
She describes how adept leaders adapt their style to context:
- Directive leadership is used briefly and transparently in real emergencies, not as default control.
- Pacesetting leadership is balanced with capacity checks and recovery modelling.
- Affiliative leadership combines safety with clear expectations.
What truly protects people from burnout, Rodrigues says, is leader self-regulation - containing pressure rather than passing it on.Coaching skills are high leverage
Targeted coaching skills training can deliver profound shifts quickly when it equips leaders to:
- Listen deeply without rushing to fix
- Ask questions that build clarity and capacity
- Have boundary-respecting conversations
- Spot early signals of burnout
- Regulate themselves in difficult moments
Read more | How to transform stress into your greatest asset This kind of training reframes leadership from “driving harder” to holding better, and its impact spreads beyond individuals to reshape team norms and expectations – and the company culture.
Burnout prevention doesn’t start with asking people how they would cope better, but with examining what we are asking them to cope with, and why. Kaylynn says, “We don’t get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we’re doing it.”
She reminds organisations that stress itself won’t disappear. But when there is enough safety, clarity and agency, most people can manage stress without being consumed by it.
