Tips & Expert Advice for Dealing With Work Burnout

Tips for Dealing With Work Burnout

While making a change and recovering from burnout might seem difficult, not doing so can lead to longer-term mental and physical health issues. The good news is that there are ways to recover. If you’re feeling burned out at work, it’s important to pause, reassess your priorities and values, learn to set firm boundaries, and reach out to your community.

Here are some of our favorite tips for dealing with work burnout:

Schedule Regular Breaks

Scheduling regular breaks is essential for burnout recovery because it gives your mind and body time to rest and reset. When you’re burned out, your stress system is overloaded, and constant work only makes it worse. Breaks—especially ones that include movement, nature, or relaxation—can help lower stress hormones, boost focus, and improve mood.

Try setting a timer to step away every 60–90 minutes, and include longer breaks during the day and week. Think of rest not as a luxury, but as a tool for healing and rebuilding your energy reserves.

Set Firm Work Boundaries

Burnout often stems from blurred lines between work and personal life, especially with remote work or always being “on call.” Define clear start and end times for your workday, and stick to them. Avoid checking emails after hours, and communicate your limits with coworkers if needed. Setting these boundaries gives your brain a chance to shift out of “work mode,” reducing chronic stress and helping you recharge more fully.

Actually Utilize Your Time Off

Using your time off to do things you genuinely enjoy is vital for burnout recovery because it helps replenish your emotional energy and reconnect you with what feels meaningful. Simply “not working” isn’t always enough: active rest through hobbies, social time, or creative activities gives your brain a break from stress and boosts positive emotions. Whether it’s hiking, painting, reading, or spending time with loved ones, choose activities that bring joy or peace. Making space for pleasure reminds your nervous system what balance feels like.

Develop Your Identity Outside of Work

When your sense of self is tied only to your job, setbacks at work can feel overwhelming. Exploring other roles—like friend, parent, artist, volunteer, or hobbyist—creates a fuller, more resilient sense of who you are. Try spending time on interests that have nothing to do with your job. This shift not only brings joy but also reduces the emotional weight work holds in your life.

Try Replacing Screen Time With a Brief Mindfulness Practice

Scrolling often feels like rest, but it can overstimulate your brain and increase anxiety, especially if you’re consuming negative or endless content. In contrast, mindfulness practices, like deep breathing, body scans, or simply noticing your surroundings, help you slow down and reconnect with the present moment. Even a few minutes can lower stress hormones, improve focus, and give your brain the true break it needs to recover.

We’ve reviewed the leading mindfulness apps that make adopting a mindfulness practice easy and enjoyable. These can be especially helpful when you’re trying to break a screentime habit—put the app on your home screen in a place where you’ll reach for it first instead of social media.

Find a Mentor

One contributing factor to work burnout comes from feeling like you don’t have enough support and don’t know where to turn when you have an issue. It can be easy to want to withdraw, but finding community and mentorship can be a helpful way to mitigate burnout and find solutions before problems worsen.

If there’s someone in your company whom you admire, consider asking them to grab a quick coffee or even a virtual meeting. Lucas Botzen, HR & Career Expert and CEO of Rivermate recommends, “You could simply comment matter-of-factly, ‘I’ve always liked your style of management and would really love to hear more about how you juggle work-life balance.’ Be clear about what you want, be considerate of your mentor’s time, and be responsible with their feedback.”

If there’s no one at your workplace with whom you think you could connect, try widening your search to the internet: “Online spaces like Fishbowl, Team Blind, Slack groups, subreddits, or even Discord servers can be safer ways to get support, swap stories, and learn how others made it through similar situations,” says Kate Broeking (she/hers), COO of ThynkStack.

How to Prepare for a Talk to Your Manager or HR Person About Burnout

So, you’ve tried all the tips we’ve listed above but you’re still burnt out. Sounds like you might need to tell someone in your workplace and see if you can come to a reasonable solution to help you get out of the rut you’re in.

Before you talk to HR or your manager about your experience with burnout and how it’s impacting you, prepare how you’re going to approach the issue. Dr. Erica Pieczonka, Organizational Psychologist & Leadership Coach at Dream Lab Coaching recommends understanding exactly which factors are contributing to your burnout: “What is your role? Poor time management, lack of boundaries, saying yes to too many things? What is your employer’s role? High demands, constant fire drills, poor leadership, lack of flexibility?” This way, you can come to the conversation with concrete ideas of what changes could make a significant difference for you.

If you have a good relationship with your direct manager, it could be a good idea to start an informal, collaborative conversation to see if you can come up with a solution. Katie Roland, Chief Human Resources Officer at KCSA Strategic Communications, advises, “I generally encourage starting off less formally, as grace and space allow people to be less defensive. Approach your manager, HR person, or leadership with the best-case assumption. If you are starting informally, I’m not sure you need to present documentation. You can note that you have tracked the pattern, but providing documentation can feel aggressive.”

However, if you’re unsure of how your manager or HR team will respond to your request, it may be smart to start with concrete documentation. Botzen recommends saying something like, “I’ve been working 60-hour weeks since Q1, and I’m noticing fatigue, loss of motivation, and anxiety that’s affecting my ability to focus or sleep.” Back that up with emails showing work after hours, any proof you have that your workload is more than that of your peers, or feedback showing shifting trends in performance.

Follow up any conversations you have with management or HR with another email so it’s clear that you’re serious about your needs, plus you’ll have documentation if you need to have a more formal conversation later if nothing changes.

If You Have a Mental Health Diagnosis

There’s a tricky two-way street we haven’t discussed yet: burnout can lead to depression and anxiety, and depression and anxiety can contribute to burnout. If you already have a diagnosis or suspect one could apply to you, this significantly changes how you can approach work burnout, as you can get a formal letter from a healthcare provider making it clear that you need to make a change. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you cannot be discriminated against for needing work accommodation for any form of disability, including a mental health diagnosis.

Broeking notes, “Burnout and depression can overlap, which is why I recommend that anyone dealing with burnout check in with their GP or a therapist to get support. It’s especially important if you’re noticing signs like persistent low mood, disrupted sleep, loss of interest in activities or withdrawal, panic attacks, or executive function challenges like trouble concentrating. Another sign to seek support is when rest, time off, or workload changes don’t bring any relief. If you’re doing all the ‘right things’ but still feeling bad, it’s time to reach out.”

If you’re already working with a therapist or psychiatrist, they could potentially write you an official letter you could submit to your workplace. However, not all therapists provide these notes. If your current mental healthcare provider doesn’t supply these letters, Broeking says your GP is your next best bet. They should be familiar with this process, but if not, you could refer them to a free resource like the Job Accommodation Network to ensure you get a letter that will work.

Example of an Accommodation Letter

Botzen says this note doesn’t have to go into too much detail, and that it actually shouldn’t disclose too much, according to HIPAA. Here’s a sample letter he gave us:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing as the treating physician for [Employee Name], whom I have in my care for a medical condition. Due to this condition, I recommend that they take leave of absence from work starting [start date]. I project the leave as [X weeks/months], but it could be adjusted depending on medical improvement.

If leave is not possible, I recommend temporary modifications. This may be a reduced schedule, flexible hours, remote work, or altered responsibilities.

You are welcome to call my office with any questions regarding this note.

Sincerely,

[Name, Credentials, Contact Info]

Talking to Your HR Person or Manager About Formal Accommodations

Once you have a letter from a healthcare professional, you still need to have a conversation with either HR or your manager to discuss what your “reasonable accommodations” could look like. Come to this conversation with concrete ideas of what could improve your situation, but remain flexible and open to collaboration. And remember, you do not have to disclose your exact diagnosis to HR or your manager unless you want to.

Roland advises, “From a legal perspective, you only need to disclose what is related to the accommodation you are seeking. If you are not seeking formal accommodation but believe it’s important to share with your team, manager or colleague, only disclose what you’re comfortable with. If you have a strong relationship with HR or a direct manager, and you trust that disclosure won’t result in stigma or harm, it can open doors to formal or informal accommodation and support.”

Botzen recommends saying something like, “I’d like to discuss something significant. I’ve experienced some health problems that are affecting my ability to work at my best. I’ve been in touch with my healthcare provider, and I have a letter of recommendation for some temporary accommodations that will allow me to heal. I’d like to discuss this with you and find out what can be done. I truly love my role here, and I don’t want to stop being engaged. I just need some temporary help.”

Who to Talk to About Your Work Burnout

If you’re working at a larger company, you’ll likely have an HR team (or at least one dedicated employee) with whom you should start the conversation about accommodations. However, if you’re at a smaller firm, you might not have this option.

We asked Kate Broeking, COO of ThynkStack, about the best steps to take depending on your situation:

“Larger companies may have a dedicated accommodation team, but smaller companies are more likely to have an HR generalist or outsource to a third party. If your company has any sort of HR representative, start there. You can simply ask, ‘Who handles accommodations and how can I learn more about the process?’ without disclosing anything or sharing personal details.

If there’s no HR team, your next step might be your manager. In that case, you’ll need to decide if it feels safe to disclose, knowing that they may be the one reviewing paperwork with personal medical information on it. You can ask if they’re willing to bring in a third party HR consultant to preserve confidentiality, but they’re not required to do this. If they don’t have an established process or your manager says they’ve never dealt with an accommodation request before, you can refer them to the Job Accommodation Network to get free, expert consultation on how to navigate the process.”

Real-Life Example of Using FMLA

Laura Handrick, SPHR, Retired HR Executive, has utilized the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when she needed accommodations and time off. Here’s her story:

“The Family Medical Leave Act allows workers to take (unpaid) time off to address health issues of their own (including mental health), or a family member. Often, companies don’t want to lose an employee for up to four months to FMLA, so they’ll consider alternatives. Once, when I was caring for my dad on hospice at home, I was getting completely burned out. My full time job and my caregiving was too much together. Fortunately my boss understood, and rather than having me take FMLA leave (unpaid), I was offered a less stressful position that I could do from home between my caregiving duties. It can be helpful to share what’s going on at home with your manager.

I’ve also been in a burnout situation in a software company that openly practiced ageism in the workplace. In that situation, rather than be honest with my discriminatory supervisor, I simply put in for FMLA leave based on my husband’s legit medical condition. Had the workplace been less toxic, I may have asked for a temporary part time schedule. But thankfully, the law allowed me to take up to four months of unpaid FMLA leave, which gave me time to look for another position.”

If Your Burnout Is Caused by a Toxic Work Environment

Maybe you don’t have or need a formal mental health diagnosis, but instead, your burnout is worsening because you’re having to deal with a toxic environment—whether that’s a culture where everyone is overworked or a specific colleague or manager who’s pushing all your buttons. Whatever the case, document, document, document.

Keep a personal log (ideally on a private computer/email instead of your work email) documenting any extra hours you’ve worked, any negative comments or bullying you feel you’ve received, or any other specific incidents with the date, time, and exactly what was said. Roland notes, “Burnout often stems from patterns, and clear documentation helps establish them. Documentation also allows you to step back and look at the bigger picture. Sometimes seeing things in writing or sharing with someone in writing can give you perspective.”

Then, if your workplace has any sort of confidential reporting system or a compliance office, Botzen recommends starting there, especially if you’ve had ongoing issues with someone in HR or management. Follow a reporting policy as lined out in your employee handbook if applicable, remembering to keep everything documented and in a separate folder for easy access.

If things progress or you can’t get anywhere within your organization, you could take things to the next level with an external organization, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a union representative, or an employment lawyer or even a trained therapist could help you figure out how to best stand up for yourself.

Avoiding Burnout in Future Positions

Let’s face it, sometimes there isn’t a way to fix work burnout without leaving your current job and finding a new position elsewhere. When this is the case, how can you determine you’re not walking right back into another toxic workplace?

When first checking out a potential employer, Botzen recommends reading through Glassdoor reviews, looking for specific patterns: “Are former employees complaining about high turnover, absence of support, poor management, or ‘overwhelming workloads’? If lots of posts over a period of time say the same thing, it is likely a systemic issue.” You can also check LinkedIn to see how long employees have stayed in their positions at the company.

When you interview, ask specific questions about work/life balance, though you can frame it as more curious and less “I want to work less.” For example, Broeking suggests asking, “I noticed you mentioned fast growth, how are you making sure that growth stays sustainable for the team?” Additionally, ask about PTO—is it truly time off or are employees expected to check in on their down time?

Roland also recommends asking for a copy of the employee handbook and checking for overly rigid or petty language. Additionally, if the company has social media, how do they talk about their employees there?

Be suspect of any language around “high performance,” “we’re a family,” or anything that overly glorifies hustle culture. Also ask about how they acknowledge good work, and what they expect the employee in this position to do differently from the person who was in the role before. Any vague language here is another red flag.