According to Spring Health’s 2026 Workplace Mental Health Annual Report, 74% of employees have experienced burnout, while 61% of HR professionals say employee burnout has increased in the past year. Traditional burnout is generally easy to spot with missed deadlines, behavioral issues, absences, and visible disengagement. These warning signs allow employers to address the issue and help employees manage their burnout. However, a quieter, less obvious version is becoming more prevalent.
Silent burnout refers to employees who are struggling with burnout but do not exhibit the classic symptoms. These employees may even be high performers and seem fully engaged—until they hit their breaking point, resulting in severe consequences, such as a health crisis, resignation, or a sudden collapse in work performance or quality. In Spring Health’s report, HR leaders estimate that 30% of employees are experiencing silent burnout.
It can be easy to miss, but thoughtful employers can take deliberate actions to understand this type of burnout and the risks it poses to both their organizations and their employees. Our recent HR Insights article discusses the difficulty in identifying burnout, the importance of addressing it, and strategies to help mitigate this risk.
Click the following link to read: Addressing Silent Burnout in the Workplace.
