More benefits, same burnout: What's missing?

Burnout has moved beyond well-being and is now directly impacting retention, productivity and workforce stability across industries.

Last year, 55% of U.S. employees reported feeling burned out at work.¹ That means more than half the workforce is navigating ongoing work- and life-related stress at any given time. Employees experiencing burnout are also three times more likely to leave their organization within the next year.¹

The impact extends beyond turnover. Mental health-related leaves now last an average of 72 days and are among the leading drivers of employee leave² after musculoskeletal and pregnancy-related reasons. This adds another category of long-duration short-term disability leave, increasing disruption for employees, managers and teams.

For employers, the warning signs are becoming harder to ignore. Burnout is showing up in disengagement, rising absence trends and growing pressure on workforce planning.

Together, these signals point to something larger. Burnout is placing sustained pressure on your people and your organization’s ability to support them.

While 3 in 4 employees say they feel comfortable asking for leave, half still worry it could put their job at risk,3 highlighting a clear gap between sentiment and reality.

What is holding them back³:

• 5% worry it could impact their job security
• 25% are concerned about loss of pay
• 29% do not want managers or peers to view them negatively

That pressure shows in how employees make decisions about their careers. Research shows workers often feel forced to prioritize work over their mental health, with at least 20% scaling back their careers in recent years to protect their well-being⁴.

Managers are feeling it too. Nearly half say they are under pressure to prioritize the organization’s needs over the wellbeing of their teams.4

That tension can make it harder to create space for open conversations or encourage employees to use available support. Left unaddressed, it reinforces a cycle in which employees push through, even when support is available, prolonging burnout instead of preventing it.

Many employers already offer meaningful mental health support, but ease of access and usability remain the real challenge when employees need it most.

Even with expanded offerings, awareness remains limited. Only a third of workers fully understand the mental health resources available to them.⁴

In moments of stress, that lack of clarity becomes a barrier. An employee may think twice about asking for help after a demanding quarter, unsure how time away might be viewed. A manager may recognize the need for support but feel uncertain about where to direct someone or how to start the conversation.

With resources spread across EAP, wellness programs, health benefits and leave, employees are left to make sense of it in real time while already under pressure. As a result, support is often delayed or missed altogether.

That’s where timing and program design matter. Support that starts early and connects across the employee journey, with clear communication, simple access and coordinated return-to-work, is more likely to reach employees when they need it.

Employers are moving beyond fragmented programs and rethinking how support shows up day to day. The focus is shifting toward creating more connected, intuitive experiences that employees can trust and act on when it matters.

What that looks like in practice:

• Manager and employee training to recognize mental health concerns
• Executive leadership commitment to mental health support
• Mental health champions and resource groups that drive awareness and engagement
• Policies that support transitional return-to work for mental health and other conditions
• Return-to-work approaches that consider mental and emotional readiness, not just physical recovery
• Flexible work schedules that allow employees to access care during business hours

When resources are visible, practical and reinforced through workplace culture, employees are more likely to seek help earlier. The strongest strategies take shape through consistent behaviors, clear communication and leadership support that position mental health resources as part of everyday work, not just moments of crisis.