Part 2: Recognising Burnout – Signs and Symptoms in Your People

 10 Part Blog Series: Understanding & Combating Burnout in the Workplace

Burnout can be sneaky. 

It doesn’t always announce itself with a loud crash or a big warning sign. It often starts with small, subtle shifts—before it spirals into something that cannot be ignored. 

As HR professionals, recognising Burnout early is crucial.

When you understand the signs and symptoms, you can act quickly to prevent further harm. But, the first step is knowing what to look for. The earlier Burnout is spotted, the sooner you can help prevent its escalation.

Signs and Symptoms of Burnout

Burnout doesn’t look the same for everyone. While some may show clear signs, others may mask their exhaustion or disengagement. Here are a few common symptoms to watch for:

• Emotional Symptoms: Cynicism, irritability, lack of enthusiasm, feeling disconnected from work or colleagues.
• Physical Symptoms: Chronic fatigue, trouble sleeping, headaches...

Stress and the Burnout Connection: Why Your Coaching Approach Might Need a Shift

Stress.

It’s the word that echoes through nearly every coaching conversation these days. Clients are overwhelmed, juggling too much, and constantly “on.”

For many, stress has become so much of the norm that they barely spot the warning signs when something else comes knocking: Burnout

If you’re a coach, you might find that your tried-and-tested techniques—those powerful tools that usually create breakthroughs—are suddenly falling flat.

It’s not you, and it’s not your clients. The truth is, Burnout changes the game and the way in which your clients are able to make decisions.

The Invisible Line Between Stress and Burnout

Stress and burnout are connected, but they’re not the same.

Stress is the body’s response to pressures and challenges.

Burnout, however, is what happens when chronic, unmanaged stress takes over. It’s more than just exhaustion; it’s a deep physical, emotional, and mental deple...

The Role of Boundaries in Preventing Burnout

When was the last time you—or your clients—said “no” without guilt?

For so many of us, the word “no” feels loaded. It’s tangled up with fear of letting others down, losing opportunities, or being seen as selfish.

Yet saying “no” is often the most powerful thing we can often do to protect our energy, our time, and ultimately, our wellbeing (even though boundaries and non-negotiables are about so much more than just saying no).

As coaches, we know that Burnout doesn’t happen overnight.

It creeps in slowly, often masked by phrases like “just this once” or “I’ll rest after this project.”

One small “yes” at a time, our clients find themselves stretched beyond their limits. They feel trapped, believing their worth is tied to how much they can give, how much they can do, and how well they can meet everyone else’s expectations.

The truth is, boundaries are not just important—they’re non-negotiable.

Boundaries Are an Important Foundation ...

Why “Self-Care” Won’t Fix Burnout: A Wake-Up Call for Coaches

If self-care were the solution to Burnout, we wouldn’t be facing a global Burnout crisis!

The truth is, bubble baths, yoga, and meditation can’t fix what’s broken.

While these practices might provide temporary relief, (and I personally love them all) they don’t address the core issues that lead to Burnout.

For coaches supporting clients on the brink of burnout—or those already in its grip—it’s time to challenge the myth of self-care as a cure-all and go deeper.

Burnout isn’t just about stress.

It’s a complex interplay of stress, unmet needs, toxicity, a loss of sense of self, and poor boundaries (or as I prefer to call them non-negotiables).

The two biggest factors being Toxicity and Loss of Self

This is the Burnout Equation, and until we address these issues, Burnout will persist, no matter how many wellness apps or mindfulness routines your clients adopt.

The Problem with Self-Care

The problem with traditiona...

Understanding Burnout: So Much More Than Tired!

Burnout. A term thrown around in conversations about stress and overwork, but all too often misunderstood—even by experienced coaches. Many assume that Burnout is simply a matter of being tired, overwhelmed, or needing a break. But Burnout is far more complex than that.

It’s a systemic issue deeply rooted in how we live, work, and interact with the world.

As coaches, our role is to understand burnout in all its complexity—not just for our clients, but for ourselves too. And that means going beyond surface-level solutions like reducing workload or recommending a holiday. Because, let’s face it: without addressing the root causes, those strategies are just sticking plasters on a much deeper wound.

What Burnout Really Is

Burnout isn’t just about exhaustion; it’s the result of prolonged stress, unmet needs, a loss of your sense of self, and a lack of boundaries (or as I prefer to say, your non-negotiables).

In my work, I’ve encapsulat...

December is here, you've been waiting for this since the summer.

Your summer holiday didn't cut it.  

The exhaustion.

The brain fog.

The constant and never ending to do list.

The mistakes you've started to make.

The balls you've started to drop.

It's all being noticed.

You've started conversations about getting a coach, because you're starting to feel like a failure, but oh the irony, you haven't had the time to confirm a coach, or the budget, and you definitely start a coaching relationship this side of Christmas.

You can't fit anything else in this side of Christmas.

You can't slow down.

You can't stop.

You can't switch off.

You're counting down the days.

It's all going to be better after Christmas.

The new year is going to be different.

You're going to make some changes.  Or you say you will.

But the reality really is that you're just hoping that the change will come from other people. Because the thought of change, of making change, of creating change, it's just to...

12 years ago my body was giving me a lot of signs that something needed to change, and I ignored them all.

Two periods of Burnout, three chronic health conditions, five books, hundreds of talks, and several hundreds of clients later, and I'm still here banging on about Burnout.

And it's getting worse.

I'm often asked, and even did my TEDx about whether I should be even trying to prevent Burnout.  "What if it's the 'awakening' that people need to experience to make the changes that they need to make in their lives". And I get it.

Because I didn't pay attention.  I didn't pay attention the first time, and I didn't pay attention the second time.

I had to go through those two periods of Burnout before I really started to make the change.

And I now believe that I went through those two periods of Burnout so that nobody else needs to.

If I could turn back the clock, I would.  Living with the aftermath of Burnout is not fun.  I live with and manage my conditions as best I can, but some...

Burnout: The Science and the Woo

Last week I was called an anomaly when it came to Burnout because of the work I do and the understanding I’ve created about Burnout from Science and what they called Woo.

And whilst this has been in many ways accidental, my thirst for knowledge and joining the dots has played a part on the learning and skills I’ve acquired when it comes to understanding ourselves and Burnout.

In my teens, I remember my Mum being ill.  A hysterectomy, an operation on her sinuses, an under-active thyroid diagnosis.  And in my twenties, she was then diagnosed with Diabetes, she developed angina, and the issues have continued to grow and develop.

Every time a doctor or consultant has changed her medication for one condition, there has been an impact on anther condition, and sometimes with near fatal outcomes.

I never understood why she couldn’t just be admitted to hospital, and treated as a person, instead of all of her conditions being treated in isolation.  Seen my m...

It's August, I'm enjoying a month off and having some down time and creating some headspace.

September always feels like the start of a year for me. 

It's that back to school feeling. 

My birthday.

And with the last three months of this year including the official launch of the Burnout Club, the rebrand of the Burnout Club, the launch of F*ck Burnout, a couple of trips and some big speaking gigs, some new qualifications and training and a new policy liaison group role, it's going to be a busy end to the year.

So why is now the time to reduce my prices?

January marks my 11th anniversary of being self-employed and so much has changed during that time, but perhaps the biggest, is that I no longer want to create an empire, and I'm slowing down a lot of my corporate work to focus more on coaching and the growth of the Burnout Academy and Burnout Club.

The Burnout Academy training and accreditation is creating waves rather than ripples of change, and I'm seeing this and the impact of ...

When I share my story and experience of Burnout, I'm often asked whether I would choose Burnout based on what I know now and where I am now in my life.

And the answer is always no.

I've made some really stupid decisions in my life, I've cocked things up royally, and I've done some stupid things. 

I'd do a lot of things very, very differently if I had to do them again, but I don't regret them. 

I know that changing any of these things would have changed the direction of my life in some way, so I wouldn't change them.  I can use them as learning.  And some of them I can now laugh about.

Whilst I've made my peace with my Burnout, and I know I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if I hadn't experienced it, I would NOT choose Burnout to be where I am today.

If I could go back and change it, I would.  And if I could go back and stop it, I would.

Burnout has given me a lot.

It's made me realise what's really important in life.  It's given me work with real meaning and purpose.  It's ...