The 5 causes of burnout (and what your organisation can do)

When someone is signed off with burnout, the first instinct is often to look at the person. Could they not handle the pressure? But research points elsewhere. Burnout arises mainly from how work is set up, not from a lack of perseverance on the employee’s part. That is good news, because it means there is a great deal an organisation can do about it.

The research firm Gallup mapped five main causes of burnout based on thousands of employees (Gallup). We will walk through each of them, with a recognisable example and with what you can do about it in practice.

1. Unfair treatment at work

Employees who feel they are treated unfairly are far more likely to experience burnout. This is about arbitrariness, favouritism, unclear or unequal rules, and the sense that effort goes unnoticed. It erodes trust, and trust is exactly what people need in order to cope with pressure.

Think of someone who consistently gets the difficult jobs while a colleague who puts in less effort is promoted sooner. It is not the workload itself that wears them down, but the feeling that things are not being done fairly. That gnaws away at you, even outside working hours.

What you do about it: put clear, consistently applied agreements and transparent decision-making in place. Explain why choices are made, so that they can be followed. A culture in which people feel heard and mistakes can be discussed is strongly linked to psychological safety.

2. An unmanageable workload

Even motivated people run out of steam when the workload is structurally too high. It is not only about the amount of work, but also about the feeling of having no grip on it. Those who work hard but can see the finish line keep going. Those who work hard with no prospect of relief do not.

What you do about it: make workload something that can be discussed, and take a serious look at priorities, staffing and planning. Give teams room to say what does not fit, and then actually act on it. There is a role here for measuring resilience too, because a resilience assessment reveals where pressure is building before it leads to absence.

3. Unclear communication from managers

When people do not know what is expected of them, it drains their energy. Shifting priorities, unclear goals and poor feedback create uncertainty, and uncertainty is tiring. You keep mulling over whether you are working on the right thing at all.

What you do about it: invest in clear expectations and regular, honest feedback. A brief weekly moment to confirm priorities often makes more difference than a major reorganisation. This is leadership work, and it can be developed.

4. Lack of support from the manager

This may well be the most powerful factor. Employees with a supportive manager are 70 percent less likely to suffer recurring burnout (Gallup). A manager who is available, thinks along, and has an eye for how things are really going is a direct protective factor.

The good thing is that this does not call for grand gestures. Often it is the manager who asks in good time how things are going, and genuinely listens, who makes the difference between someone who feels supported and someone who feels left to cope alone.

What you do about it: equip managers to have the right conversation and to pick up signals early. How to equip managers for this is something you will be able to read soon in a separate article on the role of the manager.

5. Unreasonable time pressure

Working under constant high tension, with deadlines that are structurally too tight, wears people out. The occasional peak is no problem; in fact, a short sprint can be energising. The problem arises when the peak becomes the norm and there is never any recovery left.

What you do about it: keep an eye on the rhythm between effort and recovery. Schedule rest after peaks rather than planning straight over the top of them. Resilience is not about always pushing on, but precisely about recovering in time.

The common thread: it lies in the working environment

What stands out about these five causes is that they are nearly all about the working environment and leadership, not about the employee themselves. That means prevention pays off most when you tackle both sides. You strengthen people’s resilience, and you improve the conditions in which they work.

The PR6 model is useful for that. It makes resilience concrete and measurable across six domains, so that you can develop it in a targeted way. Linked to an approach that also takes the working environment into account, you get prevention that genuinely works instead of treating symptoms.

What this means for you

The value of these five causes depends on where you sit.

For you as an employee they are a mirror. If you recognise several of these factors in your own situation, that is not a sign of weakness but a signal that it is down to your work and not to you. That insight makes it easier to raise the issue: you do not have to say “I cannot cope”, but can name which factor in your work weighs too heavily.

For you as a manager they are a list of levers you can genuinely pull. Four of the five lie directly within your influence: fairness, workload, clarity and support. You do not need to be a psychologist to make a difference; above all, you need to be present and honest.

For the organisation the message is that prevention is not only about resilience training for individuals, but just as much about how work is organised. Anyone who focuses on the employee alone is mopping the floor with the tap still running.

In closing

Burnout is not a matter of weak employees, but largely of how work is organised. The five causes Gallup identifies can each be influenced. Start by getting a clear view of where the pressure sits, and from there tackle both the person and the environment.

Want to know where the risks lie in your teams? Take a look at the Resilience Scan, or read how to prevent burnout as an employer.

Sources

• Gallup, Preventing and Dealing With Employee Burnout
• ArboNed, Verzuim door stress blijft toenemen

Frequently asked questions

What is the main cause of burnout?

Research by Gallup shows that burnout arises mainly from how work is organised, not from the employee's resilience alone. Unfair treatment, an unmanageable workload and a lack of support from the manager weigh the heaviest.

Is burnout down to the employee or the organisation?

Both, but the organisation holds the biggest levers. Personal resilience helps, but the work-related causes (workload, direction, fairness, support) largely determine whether people can keep going. That is why prevention works best when it addresses both the individual and the working environment.

Can you spot burnout early?

Yes. The causes themselves are often visible before someone drops out: a rising workload, cynicism, withdrawal, or the sense of being left to cope alone. A supportive manager who has the right conversation, together with a periodic resilience assessment, helps you pick up those signals in time.