Side Effects of Burnout

Alison Butler
May 17, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Oct 31

Burnout.

It's real, and we need to be talking about it. In case you need some reasons WHY, let's dive into some of the many side effects of burnout.

If anything, my hope is that by talking about the side effects of burnout, you will gain a greater understanding of the significant impact burnout can have on our lives and workplaces and be motivated to create change!

Side Effects of Burnout

The World Health Organization now recognizes burnout as an "occupation-related syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed".

Research now shows us that burnout has MANY side effects for both individuals and workplaces

Side Effects of Burnout: Physical Health

Burnout can have a significant impact on your physical health, which in turn impacts workplaces through sick leave and time off.

Physical burnout can include sleep disturbances (insomnia), muscle pain, headaches, and lowered immune function.

Studies have also shown increased risk of specific health challenges, including:

84% increased risk of Type 2 diabetes (Melamed et al., 2006)
40% increased risk of hypertension (von Känel et al., 2020)

Are you paying attention yet?

Side Effects of Burnout: Mental/Psychological Health

Workplace burnout may impair short-term memory, attention, and other cognitive processes essential for daily work activities (Gavelin et al., 2022).

Also, those experiencing untreated burnout are at 180% increased risk of developing depressive disorders (Ahola et al., 2005)

(been there, got the t-shirt!)

Experiencing my own burnout and depression diagnosis journey is why I spend so much time talking about burnout, in the hopes that I can help others on a road to prevention.

Side Effects of Burnout: Organizations/Workplaces

It's probably no secret that with such significant individual impacts, burnout is also going to have significant impact on workplaces.

This includes:

Increased absenteeism (sick leave/stress leave)
Lower productivity
Lower job satisfaction
Higher rates of turnover
Presenteeism (physically there, but not mentally performing)
Increased errors/mistakes (increased risk of safety incidents/accidents)

Source: American Psychological Association

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