8 Leadership Practices That Slow Team Burnout

Burnout is often treated as an individual stress-management problem, but it more frequently reflects how work is designed, led, and experienced daily. Leaders influence team vitality through the expectations they set, the clarity they provide, the recognition they offer, and the psychological safety they create. Personal stress management helps, but it cannot offset chronic overload, poor communication, or cultures that reward exhaustion. Preventing burnout requires a systemic approach that changes team dynamics, workflows, and workplace norms. Research indicates leaders can account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement, and a large survey found managers strongly affect mental health and burnout-related support.

"Burnout in the workplace is typically framed as an individual failing of stress management, to be solved with better self-care practices or wellness perks. In reality, burnout is far more often a reflection of how work is designed, led, and experienced every day. Specifically, leaders shape the conditions that influence team vitality through the expectations they set, the clarity they provide, the recognition they offer, and the psychological safety they create."

"While personal stress management practices matter, they cannot compensate for chronic overload, poor communication, or cultures that reward exhaustion. Preventing burnout requires a systemic approach, and leaders are uniquely positioned to influence the team dynamics, workflows, and workplace norms that determine whether people can perform at a high level without sacrificing their health and engagement."

"Leaders are central to the conversation about burnout prevention because research shows that leaders can account for at least 70 percent of the variance in team engagement. What that means is that leaders have a huge influence on how well their teams function. In addition, a survey of 3,400 people across 10 countries by The Workforce Institute at UKG revealed that a person's manager (69%) impacted their mental health more than their doctors (51%) or therapists (40%), and at the same level as their spouse or partner (69%)."

"The survey also found that work stress negatively impacted employees' home life (71%), well-being (64%), and relationships (62%). Further, employees experiencing burnout rate the support they receive from managers 33 points lower than employees experiencing none of the burnout dimensions."

Read at Psychology Today