Causes of Professional Burnout: Workload Mismatch—The Overwork Epidemic
The Overwork Epidemic: What’s Going Wrong?
High performers get rewarded with more work. It’s the classic corporate bait-and-switch. Crush your deadlines? Congrats—here’s more. Solve problems efficiently? Fantastic—here are five more to handle. Before you know it, your top talent is drowning under an unsustainable workload while the clock ticks closer to burnout.
Organizations love to preach about efficiency and productivity, but here’s the reality: too many companies are running on a business model of overwork. Employees are expected to perform at 110%—every single day. The result? They’re stuck in survival mode, running on fumes, and constantly teetering on the edge of exhaustion.
Dr. Christina Maslach, a leading burnout researcher, has identified workload mismatch as one of the six key drivers of burnout. When job demands exceed human limits—whether that’s due to excessive hours, unrealistic expectations, or a relentless flow of tasks—it’s a direct path to mental, emotional, and physical depletion. Overwork isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a structural failure that leads to disengagement, turnover, and a workforce running on burnout autopilot.
Why This is a Leadership Problem (Not an Employee Problem)
If your team is constantly working late, struggling to keep up, or experiencing high turnover, you don’t have a “low resilience” problem—you have a workload problem. And it starts at the top.
Too many organizations confuse hustle with high performance. But real high performance isn’t about squeezing out every last drop of energy until people collapse. It’s about sustainable productivity—the kind that allows employees to perform at a high level without sacrificing their health and well-being.
Here’s what happens when workloads spiral out of control:
Decision fatigue skyrockets, making even small tasks feel overwhelming.
Cognitive function declines, leading to more mistakes and slower thinking.
Motivation plummets, because who wants to give their best when there’s no finish line in sight?
Turnover increases, and the best employees—the ones you’ve overloaded—are the first to leave.
How to Fix It: Smarter Work, Not More Work
1. Stop Rewarding Efficiency with More Work
Let’s get one thing straight: just because someone is good at their job doesn’t mean they should take on double the workload. High performers should be protected, not punished. If they’re constantly buried under tasks, they’ll eventually burn out—or worse, leave for a company that values balance.
What to do instead:
Balance workloads instead of dumping extra tasks on your best people.
Acknowledge efficiency with real rewards—higher pay, more autonomy, meaningful career growth.
Recognize that overloading top performers creates a ripple effect—once they burn out, everyone else has to pick up the slack.
2. Set (and Enforce) Sustainable Work Hours
It’s not enough to say you care about work-life balance—you have to back it up with action. If leadership isn’t modeling sustainable workloads, employees won’t believe it’s possible.
What to do instead:
Make “after-hours work” the exception, not the expectation.
Encourage employees to fully disconnect outside of work—no guilt, no 11 PM emails.
Lead by example: if leadership is working 24/7, employees will feel pressure to do the same.
3. Eliminate the ‘Always-On’ Culture
Technology has blurred the lines between work and personal life, and companies are way too comfortable with 24/7 availability. Employees shouldn’t feel like they need to respond to emails at midnight or be “on-call” at all times. Constant availability doesn’t mean better results—it means chronic stress and long-term exhaustion.
What to do instead:
Implement communication norms (e.g., “no emails after 6 PM” or “no Slack messages on weekends”).
Set clear expectations for response times—immediacy is not a KPI.
Respect employee boundaries. If they’re off the clock, they’re off the clock.
4. Fix Broken Workflows with Better Systems
A lot of overwork isn’t about too much work—it’s about poorly designed work. Inefficient processes, redundant tasks, and lack of proper delegation force employees to work harder than necessary.
What to do instead:
Automate repetitive tasks where possible.
Streamline decision-making—endless meetings and approvals slow everything down.
Hire enough people to do the job properly. “Do more with less” is not a long-term strategy—it’s a shortcut to burnout.
5. Give People Time to Recover
High-intensity work is fine—but only if it’s balanced with recovery. Athletes don’t train at maximum effort every day because it leads to injury. Why do we expect employees to do the corporate equivalent?
What to do instead:
Build in actual recovery time after peak periods of stress.
Encourage (and enforce) time off—employees shouldn’t feel guilty for taking PTO.
Recognize that recovery isn’t just about vacations—it’s about daily habits, workload balance, and company culture.
Final Thoughts
Workload mismatch isn’t just an HR issue—it’s a business issue. When employees are overworked, companies suffer. Productivity declines, creativity tanks, and turnover skyrockets. The best employees don’t stick around for burnout—they leave for places that value their time and talent.
If you want a high-performing team, prioritize sustainable workloads. Protect your top performers instead of squeezing them dry. And most importantly? Build a culture where efficiency is rewarded with support, not punishment.
Burnout isn’t inevitable. But ignoring workload mismatch? That’s a choice.
Article References
The sources cited in the article:
Dr. Christina Maslach. “Dr. Christina Maslach UC Berkeley Psychology” Dr. Maslach UC Berkeley Profile
Forbes. “Reduce Burnout Risk: Fix the Workplace Mismatches.” Forbes - Reduce Burnout Risk: Fix the Workplace Mismatches
American Psychological Association (APA). "Why We’re All Burned Out and What to Do About It.” APA - Burned Out
Forbes. “The 6 Causes of Professional Burnout and How to Avoid Them.” HBR - The 6 Causes of Professional Burnout
Mindgarden. “Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).” Mindgarden - Maslach Burnout Inventory
