Understanding and combating burnout at work: actionable insights for HR and business leaders

In this episode of the Verve Healthcare Unlocking Workplace Wellbeing podcast, Verve Healthcare CEO Steven Pink speaks with workplace psychotherapist Iulia Popescu to explore why burnout remains one of the most pressing – yet misunderstood – challenges in modern organisations.  

 

With 63% of UK employees now showing symptoms like exhaustion and disengagement, and burnout costing businesses £102 billion annually, their conversation couldn’t be timelier for HR managers and employers. 

 

This article distills key insights from their discussion while integrating latest data on workplace stress, suggesting steps for creating environments where teams thrive rather than merely survive. 

Steven asked Iulia to outline the problem. She said: "One thing that I've seen and again and again is how many leaders and how many managers sometimes are under constant pressure to perform, but they are rarely given the the space to truly recover and that usually happens when boundaries get blurred, when emotional support is minimal, and often the culture rewards people for pushing past their limits. It doesn't always look like a crisis, it usually gets there quite slowly, but over time that kind of constant stretch without pausing, without having a break can leave even the most capable people feeling burned out, disconnected, and unsure how to to take a break, how to stop, or when to when to stop." 

 

This aligns with the World Health Organization’s definition of burnout as chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed. 

Iulia described burnout as creeping into organisations quietly, often masked as dedication. She shared the example of ‘Brad’ – a fictional composite of real cases – who took pride in constant availability until exhaustion made him operate at half his usual productivity. This mirrors recent findings that burnt-out employees take 63% more sick days and account for 33% of resignations. 

 

Three critical warning signs emerge: 

 

 

Iulia says: "These aren't just performance issues, they're often signs of emotional struggles or disconnection. Addressing them means you're trying to create a culture, a mindset where everyone feels safe to express their concerns, where feedback isn't feared by people, and where we can have emotional being as part of how we define success, success at the team level, but also personal personal success." 

Iulia shared the fictitious story of Brad - an amalgamation of situations that she has seen:  

 

"Brad was always known for being busy. and being busy was always a result of always saying 'yes', to more tasks, more reports, extra meetings, , last minute requests. He took them all without any hesitation and he also had a pride on himself about being reliable and helpful. 

 

"But underneath, he was running on empty and every 'yes' that he carried with him was like a silent resentment. He was always tired, emotionally drained, and losing the sense of self.  

 

"He wasn't lazy sor disorganized. He never learned that his own needs mattered.  

 

"I think many high performers believe that rest is something to be earned, not something essential.  

 

"So how I approached this particular situation; we reframed the narrative. Burnout isn't proof of dedication, it's mostly a proof of imbalance. Rest isn't a reward. it's more like a requirement for for high performance.  

 

"So, working with him, we practiced boundaries like learning how to say, 'I can't right now, but i can help tomorrow'. Building an awareness when it comes to rest and to be able to rest without feeling guilty. I know everyone talks about boundaries and shutdown times, but they are so important. The moment we implement boundaries, but integrating and maintaining them was a successful outcome for for the person." 

Steven and Iulia discussed the 2025 Gallup report that showed a record low levels of disengagement at the manager level, with Gallup's 2023 Global State of the Workplace Report citing excessive workloads, targets and a dearth of information and support during periods of pressure (we covered both of these in two of our other podcast episides - Karen Richardson described the communications vacuum that exists when managers clam up when they think they need to have all the answers, and Sam Sloan spoke about how unsupported managers or those under pressure tend to have a micromanagement approach. Have a listen) 

Managing expectations is not just about agreeing deadlines, it's about setting and respecting both employer and employee expectations: 

 

 

Workplace statistics reinforce the benefits of a proactive approach to preventing burnout. People need: 

 

If micromanagement is stalling your team, we’re here to help. Get in touch today and let us help you keep your people healthy, happy and productive with access to mental health, physiotherapy and private GP services. Our pay-as-you-go Verve On Demand service means you only pay for the appointments that your staff use, while our Verve Health Assessments can help spot an issue before it escalates into a big problem. 

 

If you have a specific healthcare supply need, then we are also happy to bespoke our service so that you get exactly what your people need.