According to a 2025 survey by The Corporate Mental Health Alliance Australia, almost half of Australians are experiencing some degree of burnout – and it's affecting their work performance.
Let that number land for a moment. Not a quarter of the workforce. Not the occasional struggling employee. Almost half.
If you're a leader, an HR manager, or a business owner, that statistic isn't just a headline. It's a direct message about what's happening inside your organisation right now – whether you can see it or not.
Burnout is Not What Most People Think it is
There's a common assumption that burnout is what happens when someone is a bit stressed or needs a holiday. It's not.
Burnout is a recognised occupational phenomenon characterised by chronic exhaustion, increasing detachment from work, and a genuine reduction in professional effectiveness.
It's the result of sustained pressure outpacing a person's capacity to recover. And by the time it's visible – someone calling in sick repeatedly, productivity falling off a cliff, or a high performer suddenly handing in their resignation – the damage has often been building for months.
Burnout doesn't announce itself. By the time you see it, it's already cost you.
The Real Cost to Your Organisation
Burnout has a measurable price tag, and it's significant. Research consistently links workplace burnout to increased absenteeism, higher staff turnover, reduced output, and greater psychosocial risk liability for organisations.
In an Australian context, where psychosocial hazard regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, failing to address burnout isn't just a cultural issue – it's a compliance one.
Consider what it costs to replace a single employee: recruitment fees, onboarding time, lost institutional knowledge, and the productivity dip while a replacement gets up to speed. Now multiply that by the number of people on your team who are quietly burning out.
The cost of prevention is a fraction of the cost of replacement.
It's Happening in Every Industry
Burnout doesn't discriminate. It shows up in high-pressure corporate environments, healthcare, education, logistics, and fast-growing small businesses, where everyone is doing the job of two people.
The 2025 CMHAA data spans industries and roles, which tells us something important: this is not a niche problem for a specific type of workplace.
It's a systemic issue – and it requires a systemic response.
The Good News: Burnout is Preventable
Here's what's important to understand. Burnout is not an inevitable consequence of a demanding industry or a high-growth phase. It is a preventable condition when organisations understand the real drivers, equip their leaders with the right tools, and build systems that support recovery alongside performance.
The organisations that will come out ahead are not those that remove all pressure – that's neither possible nor desirable. They're the ones that understand the relationship between pressure and recovery, and create environments where people can perform at a high level without burning out.
That's exactly what evidence-based training helps to build.
What This Means for Your Team
If you're reading this and thinking "we're probably fine" – that might be true. But it might also be worth asking a different question: would your team tell you if they weren't?
Burnout often goes unreported because people fear appearing weak, being passed over, or letting their colleagues down. They push through. They work longer hours to compensate for declining focus. They stop raising concerns because they don't think anything will change.
The most proactive organisations aren't waiting for someone to break down before they act. They're building the knowledge, the habits, and the culture that prevent it – and they're doing it now, not later.
If you’re ready to become a proactive organisation, explore the Burnout to Breakthrough training available through MiTraining.
