Adam Grant, Glassdoor’s Chief Worklife Expert, doesn’t mince words when it comes to employee well-being: “If work is exhausting people to the point that they’re using their paid time off to recover, you might have a burnout culture.”
By the looks of it, more companies than ever are wrestling with this issue. Glassdoor reviews mentioning burnout have increased 32% year-over-year as of Q1 2025 — the highest since data collection began in 2016. Some other telltale signs of burnout are mentions of insufficient “work-life balance” and “unsustainable” workloads. But a lack of proper resourcing isn’t the only culprit. Feeling overlooked and unrecognized can also be a contributing factor.
While burnout can be troubling on a personal level, it also has huge implications for employee retention. The pipeline from burn to churn is a short one: reviewers who mentioned burnout were 59% more likely to apply for a new job on Glassdoor soon after leaving their review.
Key strategies for addressing employee burnout
Burnout seems to start slowly, then quickly escalates. Before your workforce becomes fried, check out these five strategies for building a healthy, sustainable culture where employee well-being is prioritized from the start.
1. Implement and reinforce clear boundaries
Without written policies on expected working hours, it’s easy for employees to feel like they need to be available 24/7. To curb this, be upfront about standard office hours and specify how to handle after-hours communications. Promoting the use of email scheduling and do-not-disturb settings on messaging platforms also lets people know it’s OK to not be available.
And remember, if the boss is always burning the midnight oil, it may implicitly suggest to employees that they’re expected to stay. Do your best not to glamorize hustle culture and encourage employees to log off at a reasonable time.
2. Make well-being a strategic priority
When workforce well-being is core to your company values, it signals that it's part of the fabric of your company culture. Do your values cover themes like empathy, trust, or teamwork? If not, that’s a great place to start. Transparency is another major factor in building a healthy company culture. Are people free to express their ideas and opinions in meetings? Is the rationale behind difficult decisions communicated humanely? This can be especially important during times of change or uncertainty, when the risk of burnout is great.
From a financial standpoint, there are also numerous tangible resources and services that organizations can invest in to prevent employee burnout. Things like flexible work arrangements, ergonomic equipment, and expanded care benefits (such as mental health coverage) can go a long way in helping employees feel supported.
A recent poll of more than 3,000 professionals on Glassdoor showed that 77% of employees feel anxious about their post-PTO return.
3. Encourage and normalize the use of PTO days
Paid time off should be sacred. Unfortunately, the delight of PTO is often tainted by the dread of having to return to work. A recent poll of more than 3,000 professionals on Glassdoor showed that 77% of employees feel anxious about their post-PTO return.
Leaders should encourage employees to take time to recharge, and model what it looks like to do so responsibly. That means actually using their allotted time off throughout the year, and truly stepping away from their work by delegating, logging out completely, and checking back in when they return.
Also, offering different PTO options — such as volunteer days and Summer Fridays — can help employees meet their unique needs. Highlight your PTO policies often, and be sure to clarify if there are separate resources available, like short-term leave, in cases of illness or caregiving.
4. Regularly acknowledge and reward contributions
Mary Poppins was right: “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” Recognition and rewards show team members that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed — but don’t wait until the end of a project to pile on the praise. A little encouragement goes a long way and can take various forms, from public shout-outs to some extra PTO. Another easy win (or the bare minimum, really) is celebrating important milestones such as work anniversaries, reaching a goal, or a team member’s promotion.
5. Practice active listening
Being attuned to your workforce and maintaining a pulse on how employees are feeling throughout the year is a powerful way to beat burnout. This can include:
- Sending anonymous employee surveys and sharing the results to spark dialogue.
- Engaging in your Company Bowl™ on Glassdoor, where you can join real-time, anonymous conversations with employees.
- Encouraging employees to leave reviews on Glassdoor, then monitoring their feedback to look for trends in employee sentiment.
- Conducting exit interviews with departing employees to understand what role, if any, burnout played in their decision to leave.
The way forward: Prevention as a path to retention
With burnout rates on the rise, it’s more important than ever to check in on your team before they check out. Even if you don’t see any obvious signs yet, tackling burnout head-on involves a two-pronged approach. Palliative strategies, like offering additional PTO days during high-pressure periods, can help relieve symptoms of stress. But the root causes of burnout may still linger. That’s where prevention comes in. By investing in good habits from the get-go, like fostering a culture of transparency, you can get ahead of problems before they start.
Not sure where to start? Glassdoor can help.