![A garden workbench crowded with unfinished tasks, and a chair pulled just out of reach of it](https://viacara.com/img/content/burnout-work-feature-light.webp) # Burnout at Work Burnout has one official definition and it stops at the job. The three dimensions, the UK numbers and what a professional can change. Burnout at work is the only version of burnout with an official definition. That definition is narrow, and it rules out everything outside the job. Knowing where the boundary sits changes what you can ask for. It also changes who you might ask. ## The only *official* definition The World Health Organization added burn-out to ICD-11 in 2019. It made two things clear at once. > Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed... Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life. So burn-out is about the job. Not the marriage, not the caring, not the year you have had. ICD-11 also files it among the reasons people contact health services, rather than among the diseases. It describes a situation you are in. It is not a condition you have. Source: [WHO: burnout occupational phenomenon](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/burnout-at-work/#ref-1) ## The three *dimensions* Maslach and Leiter set out the model most research still uses. > The three key dimensions of this response are an overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment from the job, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. Their short names are exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy. Exhaustion is the one people notice first. The model treats all three together, which is why exhaustion on its own does not describe it. Cynicism here means distance. You stop caring about work you used to care about, and the not caring feels like protection. Source: [Maslach & Leiter 2016](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/burnout-at-work/#ref-2) ![A lavender armchair beside a potting bench with a seed tray and mug, the cluttered bench behind now covered](https://viacara.com/img/content/burnout-work-mid-light.webp) What sits inside your control, and what does not ## How *common* this is The Health and Safety Executive counts this every year for Great Britain. In 2024/25 around 960k workers had work-related stress, depression or anxiety. Those cases cost about 22m working days. That is 52% of all work-related ill health in the same year. The average case took roughly 23 days off work. That is a mean, and it says nothing about how long any one person needs. Mental Health UK polled more than 4,000 UK adults in November 2025. Of those asked, 91% reported high or extreme pressure or stress in the past year. That is one poll, not official statistics. We would not build a claim on it alone. Sources: [HSE: work-related stress 2025](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/burnout-at-work/#ref-3), [Mental Health UK: burnout report 2026](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/burnout-at-work/#ref-4) ## What *causes* it, and how old that answer is HSE names workload first: tight deadlines, too much work and too much responsibility. Lack of managerial support comes next, then bullying, reorganisation and unclear roles. That breakdown is not from last year. HSE draws it from survey responses averaged over 2009-12, so it is the older picture rather than the current one. We would rather tell you the age of the number than let it look fresher than it is. Source: [HSE: work-related stress 2025](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/burnout-at-work/#ref-3) ## What a professional can and *cannot* do A professional cannot reduce your workload. They cannot change your manager, rewrite your contract or fix a badly run organisation. NICE has no guideline on burnout. Its nearest document is NG212 on mental wellbeing at work, and it addresses employers. The levers it names mostly belong to someone other than you. What a professional can do is work on what the job is doing to you. That covers the exhaustion, the cynicism and the sense of having become useless at something you were good at. They can also help you decide. Staying, changing the terms or leaving are all decisions, and burnout makes every one of them harder to think about. Source: [NICE NG212](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/burnout-at-work/#ref-5) ## What the research has *not* settled Maslach and Leiter name the gap themselves. > the relative dearth of evaluative research on potential interventions to treat and/or prevent burnout Describing burnout has gone a great deal further than treating it. Anyone promising you a proven burnout treatment is ahead of the literature. Source: [Maslach & Leiter 2016](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/burnout-at-work/#ref-2) ## Support that is *not* therapy If a professional feels like too much right now, these are lighter places to start. [Mind Infoline](https://www.mind.org.uk) Adults England Wales Information on mental health support and where to find it, including support at work. Standard call rates Weekdays 9am to 6pm closed on bank holidays [Call](tel:+443001233393) Our [UK crisis page](https://viacara.com/crisis/gb/) lists people you can talk to at any hour. Thanks for your interest. We're not taking on new clients at the moment. ## Want to work out what the job is *costing* you? We ask what matters to you, then find professionals who fit. Leave your email and we'll let you know as soon as we're ready for you. This conversation helps us find you the right support. What you share helps us understand what you're looking for and find someone who fits. Your email keeps you updated on what's happening next and isn't shared with anyone we introduce you to. [Privacy policy](https://viacara.com/privacy) [Terms of service](https://viacara.com/terms) ## References 1. World Health Organization (2019). *Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases*. [Link](https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases) 2. Maslach, C. & Leiter, M. P. (2016). *Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry*. World Psychiatry. [doi:10.1002/wps.20311](https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311) 3. Health and Safety Executive (2025). *Work-related stress, depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain, 2025*. [Link](https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/assets/docs/stress.pdf) 4. Mental Health UK (2026). *The Burnout Report 2026*. [Link](https://mentalhealth-uk.org/burnout/) 5. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2022). *Mental wellbeing at work (NG212)*. [Link](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng212) ## Related ### [Burnout or Depression](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/burnout-or-depression/) Is this burnout or depression? The workplace research says the line is fragile. The autistic burnout research says the difference matters. ### [ADHD and Burnout](https://viacara.com/support/burnout/adhd-and-burnout/) There is no good evidence on ADHD and burnout. One Swedish study of 20 working adults, what it found, and what nobody has measured yet. ### [Understanding Anxiety](https://viacara.com/support/anxiety/) Learn about anxiety, its symptoms and how therapy can help. Find the right practitioner for anxiety support. ### [Waiting Until It Gets Serious](https://viacara.com/support/men/waiting-until-crisis/) Men often hold on until something breaks. The figures on midlife men are hard reading, and there is a lot of room before that point. ### [Sleep Problems and Insomnia](https://viacara.com/support/sleep/) Insomnia is thought to affect around 1 in 3 people in the UK. Find a professional who works with sleep and with what keeps you awake. ### [Work and Career](https://viacara.com/support/work-and-career/) Changing career, stepping up, speaking, running a business or competing. How a coach can help you move forward, and when a therapist fits better.