Organizational Wellness

Are You Suffering from Workplace Burnout? 22 Symptoms That are Clear Warning Signs.

Last Updated Nov 13, 2025

Time to read: 5 minutes

Key Takeaways

Burnout develops when long periods of stress drain a person’s mental, physical, and emotional energy. This steady strain creates a level of fatigue that affects daily performance and makes routine tasks feel heavier and more demanding over time, which leads many people to feel worn down in both work and personal settings.
The three parts of burnout shape the full range of symptoms people notice in their lives. Exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of inadequacy influence how someone thinks, reacts, and performs, and these elements help explain why burnout shows up in physical discomfort, emotional strain, and changes in behavior.
Burnout often appears through deep tiredness, low mood, and reduced focus that disrupts work and personal activities. These symptoms can build slowly and make it harder to stay engaged, complete responsibilities, or enjoy familiar routines, and many people recognize them only after they start to interfere with regular functioning.
Early awareness of burnout makes it easier to take steps that support recovery and long-term well-being. People can reintroduce meaningful self-care, adjust elements of their work environment, reduce exposure to stress sources, and strengthen relationships that offer steady support, and these actions help restore balance and energy.

Burnout isn’t just feeling tired after a long week — it’s a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that can derail your wellbeing and productivity. Alarmingly, burnout rates are climbing, up 32% year-over-year, with three out of four employees reporting they experience burnout at least occasionally.

Recovering from burnout isn’t a quick fix. Depending on how long and how deeply you’ve been struggling, it can take weeks or even months to heal, often requiring lifestyle changes, workplace adjustments, and intentional recovery strategies.

That’s why recognizing the early warning signs is crucial: the sooner you act, the easier it is to prevent burnout from taking hold.

Leverage these tactical tips to identify the key symptoms of burnout so you can take real steps on your recovery journey.

The Most Common Burnout Symptoms by Category

Employee burnout is a serious condition of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion, caused by chronic, unrelenting workplace stress.

While it's classified as an occupational phenomenon rather than a medical disease, its effects are anything but minor. Burnout creates a state of sustained strain marked by deep exhaustion and persistent negative attitudes, especially toward work-related responsibilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Bar chart showing 76% of workers experience burnout at work; 4% never, 20% rarely, 48% sometimes, 21% very often, 7% always. Source: Gallup. Ask ChatGPT

In our article, “4 Ways to Treat and Combat Burnout,” we explain that burnout typically has three core components:

Exhaustion (feeling mentally and physically drained)
Cynicism (detachment or negativity toward your job)
Feelings of inadequacy (believing your efforts aren’t good enough)

It’s important to note that burnout looks different for everyone. One person might feel exhausted and inadequate without seeming cynical, while another might act cynical and disengaged without feeling physically depleted

Want to stop burnout from taking root at your organization? Here’s how to prevent burnout.

Physical Symptoms

These symptoms are connected to the “exhaustion” component of burnout.

Symptom	How It Manifests
Extreme exhaustion and fatigue	You feel overwhelming tiredness that persists even after resting.
Frequent headaches	You experience intense headaches or recurring migraines.
Increased susceptibility to illness	Your immune system feels weakened, leading to frequent infections like colds or the flu.
Insomnia	You struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep, resulting in chronic sleep deprivation.
Muscle pain	You experience unexplained muscle aches and discomfort.
Anxiety	You started with mild symptoms like tension, worry, and restlessness, which have progressed into more severe and constant anxiety.
Loss of appetite	You notice a significant decrease in appetite and changes in your eating habits.

Emotional Symptoms

These symptoms are connected to the “cynicism” component of burnout.

Symptom	How It Manifests
Anger or irritability	You feel easily frustrated or annoyed with coworkers, friends, or family (often over minor issues).
Cynicism	You have negative and skeptical attitudes toward your work and the people around you.
Depersonalization or detachment	You experience a sense of disconnection from yourself and your surroundings.
Depression	You feel persistent sadness, hopelessness, or worthlessness.
Pessimism	You engage in negative self-talk and/or constantly see the glass as half-empty.
Apathy and lack of energy	You lack the energy or interest to engage in daily activities.
Hopelessness	You feel like nothing matters and that things won’t get better.
Loss of enjoyment	You stop doing activities and hobbies you once enjoyed.
Lack of control	You feel powerless over your work or personal life.

Ad for Wellhub’s “Burnout Battle Plan” featuring a purple booklet image and list of benefits like a 6-step plan, practical burnout tools, and productivity boosts. Purple button says “Download your free action plan.” Ask ChatGPT

Behavioral Symptoms

These symptoms are related to the “feelings of inadequacy” component of burnout.

Symptom	How It Manifests
Concentration problems	You struggle to focus on work tasks or personal responsibilities.
Decreased productivity	You notice a drop in your work performance and quality.
Work aversion	You feel a strong resistance to your job and your workplace.
Social withdrawal	You isolate yourself from your social circle and avoid activities you once enjoyed.
Lack of motivation	You experience ongoing feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or worthlessness.
Reduced effectiveness	You feel drained and uninterested in daily tasks and responsibilities.

Managers burn out too. Here’s how to combat burnout in leadership.

I Think I’m Suffering from Burnout—Now What?

If you’ve identified several of these symptoms in yourself, there’s a good chance you’re experiencing job burnout. It’s important to take the necessary steps to recover and prevent the problem from recurring.

Start by following the advice of Dr. Monique Valcour, which we explore in more detail in “How to Treat and Combat Burnout? 4 Actions You Can Take According to an Expert”:

Focus on deep self-care
Look for ways to change your work environment where possible
Limit your exposure to the factors causing you stress and exhaustion
Seek out and nurture supportive connections

Infographic listing four burnout treatment strategies: prioritize self-care, shift perspective, reduce workplace stressors, seek supportive connections.

A Holistic Strategy to Address Workplace Burnout Symptoms

Preventing burnout isn’t simple. High stress, low energy, and mental exhaustion drain teams fast. Supporting your people with a wellbeing program can help them recharge and stay focused.

Offering a wellbeing program gives employees tools to manage stress and avoid burnout: Employees with wellness programs are more than twice as likely than those without to say they have time to care for their wellbeing. And all that goodness comes right back to your business — the vast majority of businesses see a positive return on investment from their wellness program.

Speak with a Wellhub Wellbeing Specialist to banish burnout from your workplace!