Burnout is an operations issue

"Burnout has quietly become the norm in today's workplace, rising at alarming levels. Yet most organizations still assume burnout as an individual issue that could be solved with resilience workshops, wellness apps, or additional resources such as PTO/vacation time. In my experience as an HR leader and culture change strategist in workplace mental health, adding additional resources can be part of the broader strategy to support employee burnout; however, they do not proactively prevent it from happening in the first place."

"Rather than reviewing their operational design, many organizations expect additional investment, like wellness apps or resilience workshops, to serve as a magic cure for all workplace stressors, shifting the burden of addressing workplace stressors entirely onto employees. This " carewashing " approach not only oversimplifies complex workplace issues but also risks absolving leadership from its responsibility to address the root causes of things like employee burnout."

"If organizations double down on solely resources, they will face unfortunate costs with psychological safety, inefficient cycles of operations, and undermining employee long-term performance. Additionally, misunderstanding the root cause of burnout does not hold leaders accountable for creating an impactful solution. For example, in recent years, mental health and wellness apps have surged in popularity as organizations aim to prioritize employee well-being, including burnout."

Burnout has increased across workplaces and is often treated as an individual problem solvable by resilience workshops, wellness apps, or extra PTO. Adding resources can help support employees but does not proactively prevent burnout. Burnout stems from operational and workflow flaws such as unreasonable stakeholder expectations, toxic leadership behaviors, inefficient processes, and manufactured urgency. Reliance on wellness investments shifts responsibility onto employees and constitutes 'carewashing,' oversimplifying root causes and enabling leadership inaction. Overemphasis on individual resources harms psychological safety, creates operational inefficiencies, and undermines long-term employee performance. Effective prevention requires redesigning operations and holding leaders accountable.

Read at Fast Company