It Bears Repeating – Burnout Requires a Collaborative Approach
- Jan 16
- 5 min read
Written by Britt-Mari Sykes, Career Counsellor
Britt-Mari Sykes, Ph.D., CDP, is a career counsellor and founder of CANVAS Career Counselling, working remotely with clients across Canada.
Burnout affects both employees and leaders across all sectors of the workforce, at different ages and stages of their careers, and the numbers seem only to be increasing with each passing year. Burnout remains a hot topic, and as a Career Counsellor, I hear about clients' experiences with burnout regularly. Framing each of these experiences is a pervasive “burnout narrative” that centres on the individual and on adaptive strategies for coping with, managing, or recovering from it. This narrative ignores broader systemic factors that contribute to burnout, as well as workplace environments, policies, and attitudes, all of which can contribute to burnout.
Without addressing the multiple contexts that underlie burnout, we will continue to see the numbers rise. It bears repeating that burnout requires a much broader collaborative approach.
The misplaced burden of responsibility
Too often, the burden and responsibility for burnout are disproportionately placed on the individual employee, significantly undermining their confidence, self-perception as a professional, and their assessment of their skills, abilities, and work ethic. This also reinforces the perception that burnout can and should be “fixed” by the individual through lifestyle changes, a mindset shift, a strategy, or better boundary-setting and management.
Of course, any of these approaches, used singly or in combination, can be useful. However, the person experiencing burnout still faces contextual factors, especially an unchanging work environment, that do nothing to “fix” burnout. On the contrary, they can exacerbate it.
The intersectionality of burnout
What does burnout sound like? Consider the following six examples:
“I took some time off due to burnout. The time off certainly improved my well-being and helped me reconnect with other important areas of my life. But I am returning to the same work environment and the same entrenched issues. Even if I return with a different attitude, I still face the same unchanging issues every day. I am worried I will slide back into burnout.”
“I was thriving in my last role. I got promoted to a role I am not suited for. Being told I need to challenge myself or step out of my comfort zone is so shallow and misplaced. I’ve gone from thriving to struggling every day.”
“The responsibilities in my current role are constantly changing with little warning, support, guidance, or time for questions. I am floundering and never feel I am on top of what needs to be done every day.”
“I love what I do, but I feel I can’t bring my full self to work. It’s emotionally exhausting not feeling authentic day in and day out.”
“I am exhausted and struggling to manage my responsibilities at work. Is anyone else going through this? I don’t feel I can talk openly or confidentially about this with any of my colleagues.”
“I value the quality of our work, but it seems that those around me don't share the same commitment. This difference in professional values wears me down daily.”
What did you notice in each of these examples? Each experience is compounded by unchanging and unresolved workplace issues, mismatched roles and responsibilities, and a lack of guidance and clarity. This speaks to poor communication and management, an environment that does not cultivate trust, shared values, and personal safety.
Ignoring burnout leaves work environments vulnerable to it
Work environments that ignore the reality of burnout or its systemic causes, or that classify addressing burnout as time-consuming and expensive, are less likely to review and evaluate themselves, their workplace policies, the environment they have created, and how employees experience both the workplace and their work.
Work environments that ignore the impact a particular culture has on employee experiences and on how employees react to, engage with, and commit to these environments are laying the foundations for burnout.
This foundation also contributes to lower productivity and retention, higher employee disengagement and isolation, and unhealthy and disrespectful dynamics among leaders and employees, as well as within employee teams. Left unaddressed or ignored, burnout's manifestations in the workplace do, in fact, become expensive and time-consuming.
10 common workplace contributors to burnout
The internal culture of a workplace, discriminatory, disrespectful, and/or toxic, creates sustained, unhealthy levels of mental, emotional, and physical stress among employees. This is a recipe for maintaining burnout in the workplace, not resolving it.
Inadequate and/or unsafe training or supervision.
A consistent lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities.
Mismatching employee skills and experiences with roles leaves them floundering, guessing, and feeling lost day to day in their tasks and responsibilities.
Roles and responsibilities that leave little room for encouraging and accommodating professional growth and development, leaving employees feeling unfulfilled and bored in their careers.
Unrealistically high or overly low expectations are placed on employees without guidance or clarity about those expectations.
The workload on employees, long hours, and little or no flexibility for employees to address personal health, child-care, or eldercare issues.
Few, if any, guidelines or supervision for assessing collegial and team dynamics, and no established mechanisms to implement changes.
Poor, unassessed management and leadership practices, irregular feedback, sloppy agendas, unclear directives, or even the sanctioning of employees who ask questions.
Leaders and managers who neglect or ignore their own burnout send a message that burnout won't be met with understanding, support, or collaborative change.
Each of these examples hinders the growth and intentional cultivation of a work culture rooted in an awareness of burnout and mutual support for those experiencing it.
7 shifts work environments can make
Recognize and acknowledge the reality of burnout. Burnout exists across professions, workforces, workplaces, and career stages.
Recognize and acknowledge that leaders and managers experience burnout. Burnout isn’t limited to employees.
Recognize and acknowledge that burnout is multi-contextual and therefore requires a creative, supportive, and multi-faceted response.
Be open to assessing and questioning the work environment. What may be contributing to burnout among employees, or, conversely, what supports and resources are in place that may need revising?
Work collaboratively with employees. Work towards developing an integrated approach to burnout that combines positive workplace policies, supports, and resources with the needs of employees experiencing burnout. Integrative, collaborative, and creative approaches that focus on the dignity of individual employees build healthier, more vibrant workplaces with lower burnout rates and higher employee satisfaction and retention.
With open acknowledgement, the regular monitoring and assessment of all facets of the workplace becomes not only possible but also a cultural value. They are considered an integral part of business practice, not a waste of time and resources.
It bears repeating, until attitudes shift and a commitment is made toward collective solutions, rates of burnout will continue to rise.
Britt-Mari Sykes, PhD, CDP, is a Career Counsellor and Consultant. Contact here to start a conversation about burnout.
Britt-Mari Sykes, Career Counsellor
Britt-Mari Sykes, Ph.D., is a Career Counsellor and founder of CANVAS Career Counselling, working remotely with clients across Canada. Britt-Mari offers a reflective and strategic process to clients, one that integrates their lived experiences, values, and aspirations. This experiential approach to career counselling helps clients gain greater clarity and perspective and design practical steps towards a more meaningful relationship with work and career.
