Are you just tired or is it burnout?

We all have periods when we watch the clock at work, counting the hours to the end of the day, because we feel tired, stressed, or just frustrated or bored. Unaddressed tensions with colleagues, inconsistent and unfair management or unrealistic deadlines can leave us feeling disconnected and unmotivated.

Pressures in our personal lives can also contribute to periods of work feeling like a struggle. Usually, however, it’s a temporary phase. The deadline passes, workplace dynamics shift, and you get some sleep or take time away from work. Your motivation starts to come back, and you begin to feel more on top of things again.

Burnout has a different quality. Along with exhaustion, it comes with a sense of cynicism, detachment or negativity towards work, and a reduced sense of effectiveness or accomplishment.

Common factors contributing to burnout

It may feel like a very current concern, but the term burnout was first coined in the 1970s by US psychologist Professor Christina Maslach, co-creator of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. She identified six factors that make burnout more likely: work overload, lack of control, insufficient rewards, breakdown of workplace community, absence of fairness, and value conflict.

According to the latest BACP 2026 Public Perceptions Survey, work-related burnout is on the increase, affecting nearly one in five UK adults, rising from 16% in 2025 to 19%. It is particularly common among younger adults, with 30% of 25 to 34-year-olds and 22% of 16 to 24-year-olds reported experiencing it.

There is unlikely to be one simple explanation for the increase, but I know from my own practice that more people are simply overworked, expected to absorb the workloads of colleagues who’ve left, and to be available after their contracted hours.

Anxiety about job security and economic uncertainty can make it feel risky to complain or refuse unreasonable requests. Many are working without the security of a permanent contract. Younger workers may be particularly exposed because they often have less security, autonomy and influence over their working conditions.

Red flags for burnout

So how do you know when you’re reaching burnout?

Exhaustion may be the most obvious sign, but it is not simply feeling tired. You might wake already depleted, struggle to recover during time off or find that even small tasks feel disproportionately demanding.

The second dimension of burnout, cynicism or detachment, can show up as irritability, numbness or a loss of empathy. You may become unusually critical of colleagues, dread contact with clients or customers, or feel disconnected from work you once valued. 

The third element, feeling like nothing you do is good enough or makes much difference, can be particularly undermining, potentially affecting confidence and relationships outside of work. 

One of the difficulties with burnout is that our instinctive responses can deepen it. Feeling that we are falling behind, we may work longer hours, take on more responsibilities or become increasingly driven to 'get it right’.

At the same time, the activities that help us to decompress, such as exercising, eating well, getting outside, seeing friends, making time for interests or hobbies, are often the first things we abandon because we feel too busy or tired. Our world gradually narrows around work, while our capacity to cope continues to shrink.

Burnout is rarely simply an individual failure of resilience. Workload, insecurity, lack of control, poor management, conflicting values and an absence of recognition or fairness can all contribute to creating a 'toxic' workplace. Self-care may help, but it cannot compensate indefinitely for an unhealthy working environment.

How therapy can help

Often, it takes concern from loved ones to convince someone experiencing burnout that they need to seek professional support. The person may feel so overwhelmed that they find it hard to imagine how ‘just talking’ can help. Therapy for burnout is not a quick fix, but it can be pivotal for people in this situation. Burnout can isolate you, and therapy offers somewhere to finally admit how bad things have got. It can be a great relief to feel like you’re no longer alone, and that someone understands.

Therapy for burnout involves unravelling the beliefs and behaviours that are keeping you stuck in a toxic environment. Perhaps your self-worth has become tied to productivity, you find it difficult to disappoint people, or asking for help feels like admitting failure.

When clients come to me with suspected burnout, we explore what is happening both within and around them. We look at past patterns that may have created vulnerability, as well as the work environment itself, and what changes are needed and possible.

Therapy can also provide space to process anger, grief or fear that may have been hidden beneath the drive to keep functioning. We look at how to reconnect with what sustains you in your personal life, including rebuilding relationships that feel distant or damaged by your current struggles. 

Sometimes the ultimate task is to shift the boundaries within a current role; sometimes it is to acknowledge that the role or organisation is no longer sustainable. Being tired is a signal to rest. Burnout may be a signal that something more fundamental needs to change.

References

Maslach, C (2003). Burnout: The Cost of Caring. Los Altos, CA: Malor Books.

BACP. Public Perceptions Survey 2026. https://www.bacp.co.uk/news/news-from-bacp/2026/12-june-work-burnout-is-the-last-thing-people-will-admit-to/