Feeling burnt out after only a few days back at work? Experts say your employer might not be entirely to blame

Feeling burnt out after only a week back at work? Your boss or workplace might not be entirely to blame.

Scientia Professor Gordon Parker, who wrote the book Burnout: A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Pathways to Recover, says research suggests that some personality types are more prone to the condition.

The academic psychiatrist from the University of New South Wales said that while stressors experienced at work or home can lead to burnout, predisposing personality traits also play a major role.

Professor Parker – who specialises in mood disorders – said high-achievers with “perfectionistic traits” are prone to burnout due to their own high performance standards.

“That explains why any profession which demands perfectionism and high standards, like the law or medicine, presents a high rate of burnout,” he said.

“They’re particularly dedicated, reliable and conscientious workers who are committed to doing the best job they possibly can.”

While the term burnout – describing a form of emotional exhaustion that can occur in response to persistent and unrelenting stress – was coined only 50 years ago, experts believe it’s been around for centuries and is on the rise.

Professor Parker, who has five decades of experience as a clinician and researcher, said there has been a “distinct increase” in people experiencing burnout.

“I think one of the true factors for the increase is the way in which we’re encouraged to work,” he said.

“The concept of being constantly on and constantly available is, I think, a huge factor in generating burnout.”

But Professor Parker, a leader in his field, said burnout was no longer considered to be exclusively a work-related issue with new parents and those caring for the elderly or disabled also at risk.

“In our studies, we found a very high percentage of people, who were not in formal work, really suffering from burnout,” he said.

“We saw a lot of women, during COVID, trying to maintain a job while home-schooling their kids and sometimes caring for elderly parents or relatives.

“They’re the so-called ‘sandwich generation’ and someone who’s looking after a frail relative or has demanding parental responsibilities is just as vulnerable.”

The founder and former executive director of the Black Dog Institute acknowledged the ongoing debate about whether burnout is simply depression.

“Burnout and depression are not the same,” he said.

“However, the kicker is that when people develop burnout, they commonly develop secondary depression and anxiety symptoms.

“They will frequently present to GPs but medical practitioners are generally not trained in diagnosing burnout, and so they’ll often put the person on antidepressants.”

In 2020, Professor Parker and his fellow researchers from UNSW’s School of Psychiatry and Black Dog Institute surveyed more than 1000 burnout sufferers.

“In our research, we actually came up with six differing constructs, and one is of cognitive difficulties. Essentially, people with burnout described foggy thinking,” he said.

“We found the syndrome consisted of not just exhaustion, but also cognitive dysfunction, withdrawal and disconnection from the world and those around you, and reduced work performance, commonly accompanied by depression, anxiety and insomnia.

“We collated the burnout symptoms we identified into our own measure.”

The Sydney Burnout Measure is a checklist of 34 burnout symptoms, with a high score on our measure indicating that you might have burnout.

The researchers say the key to managing burnout is identifying whether the presenting problem is actually burnout or another condition.

If it’s burnout, the key drivers – including any personality contribution – need to be determined.

“As a first step, the causes of your burnout need to be identified, so you can work to reduce their impact,” Professor Parker said.

“Once you identify some of the triggers – whether it’s your personality, the workplace or your boss – there’s a period of self-reflection or re-evaluation.

“If the person is really perfectionistic, then they should work on their perfectionism so you’re addressing the predisposing factor and not just the triggering precipitating factors.”

The good news is that it is possible to recover from even the most severe cases of burnout.

“If people are burning out and they put strategies into play then, in fact, they can usually bounce back and get along pretty reasonably,” Prof Parker said.

“When it gets to that second burnt out stage, where you’ve lost elasticity, it really requires major work by the individual and the help of a therapist.”

Professor Parker said treating burnout requires implementing “common sense” strategies like completely disconnecting from work outside of business hours, making time for self-care and speaking up about workplace stressors.

“Talk to your boss, if possible,” he said.

“Burnout imposes a huge economic cost to the community if people leave your company or they can’t get to work.”

For those with perfectionistic tendencies, experts suggest approaching tasks with the goal of getting it done rather than trying to make it perfect and to avoid black and white thinking.

“If somebody is perfectionistic, then cognitive-behavioural therapy may be totally beneficial,” said Prof Parker.

Meanwhile, another burnout specialist urges prevention over recovery.

Founder of The Big Refresh, Nick Orchard, says it’s time to scrap the resolutions and instead focus on preventative systems to protect against rising stress and exhaustion.

In 2020, while in a senior government role, Mr Orchard experienced a near-fatal burnout episode.

He woke behind the wheel, travelling at 130km/h on the wrong side of the road, with no memory of how he got there.

That crisis and his recovery became the foundation of The Big Refresh, a coaching program designed to help professional teams, high performers, executives and creatives “beat burnout, reclaim clarity, and build lasting momentum”.

Mr Orchard – who has worked in government, non-profit leadership, teaching, and even as a hip-hop artist – says burnout has hit “crisis levels”.

Last year health insurer Bupa reported 70 per cent of working Australians experienced burnout.

The 2025 TELUS Mental Health Barometer found 41 per cent of respondents were under constant stress and more than one-third at high mental health risk.

“Burnout doesn’t hit us like a truck. It’s an insidious creep that takes hold slowly over time,” Mr Orchard said.

“It begins to shape how we perceive ourselves, our work, the people around us, our ability and our worth.”

The performance coach says most workplace wellness efforts miss the mark by focusing on recovery rather than prevention, addressing the problem only after the damage is done.

Instead of pressure-filled resolutions, Mr Orchard urged professionals to create systems that build boundaries and protect energy.

“The industry has normalised exhaustion as the price of success, but burnout isn’t a badge of honour - it’s a warning sign that’s been ignored for too long,” he said.

“Prevention, he insists, doesn’t require massive lifestyle overhauls.

“It just requires paying attention to the early signs and acting on them.”

British podcaster, author, entrepreneur and life coach Jay Shetty this week urged his social media followers to “stop glamorising burnout”.

“We need to stop glamourising overworking. Please,” he posted.

“The absence of sleep, good diet, exercise, relaxation and time with friends and family isn’t something to be applauded.

“Too many people wear their burnout as a badge of honour and it needs to change.”