The WELLB Leader's Guide to Burnout
Notice strain, listen without assumptions and address the conditions around your people.
By WELLB · Maria Tralongo · October 2026
Notice changes without diagnosing
Exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, irritability or withdrawal may be reasons to check in, but they are not proof of burnout. Changes can have many causes. Avoid assumptions about someone's motivation, health or private life. A quieter colleague or a camera switched off is not a diagnosis.
Connection before problem-solving
Ask how the work is feeling and whether demands are manageable. Listen without pressing for medical details or treating a wellbeing conversation as a performance test. You might ask: ‘What is making this week harder, and what support would be useful?’ Make it safe to say that capacity is limited.
Review demands, not just habits
Clarify priorities and realistic deadlines. Look at workload, staffing, autonomy, fairness and role expectations. What can wait, be simplified or be delegated? Breaks and relaxation resources may help, but they cannot resolve an ongoing mismatch between demands and available support on their own.
Protect privacy and offer choices
Offer confidential support without demanding proof of participation or personal results. A manager does not need access to journals, assessments or coaching conversations. Explain available workplace support, including an employee assistance program where offered, and encourage appropriate health advice when concerns persist.
Keep checking the conditions
Agree a practical adjustment and a time to review it together. Look for changes in working conditions and capacity, rather than monitoring private wellbeing data. WELLB's proposed employer reporting is aggregated, opt-in where required and protected against identifying small groups. It is not an employee-surveillance tool.
Original WELLB guidance informed by Gallup's 2018 and 2020 workplace articles and the supplied ActivTrak manager guide. No third-party graphics or text are reproduced.
Why workplace wellbeing deserves attention
Historical Gallup research highlights associations between frequent burnout and employee outcomes—not a forecast for your team or proof of what WELLB will achieve.
reported feeling burned out very often or always
Gallup article published March 2020; not a current Australian prevalence estimate.more likely to take a sick day
Association reported in Gallup's 2018 study of nearly 7,500 full-time employees.as likely to actively seek another job
Same 2018 study; seeking another job is not the same as resigning.The 2020 prevalence figure and 2018 study description are separate sources. These are associations, not evidence of cause, and are not WELLB client results. Organisational conditions matter.
General wellbeing information, not individual medical advice. In immediate danger call 000. Lifeline: 13 11 14.
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