Burnout is the experience of not enough; too little energy, meaning, connection, and agency over time
You’ve been the most passionate person in the room for years. You’ve championed every campaign, mentored every new hire, and answered emails at midnight because you believe in the work. Lately, you’re dreading Mondays. The big deadline is three weeks away, and you can’t bring yourself to care whether you meet it or not. You’re going through the motions and telling yourself that you’re just tired. But you’re wondering, secretly, if something is wrong with you.
Something is wrong!
And, it might be burnout.
Contrary to common belief, burnout is not a sudden dramatic collapse. It is a gradual draining of energy, and by the time most people recognize it, they are already well into the trajectory.
What burnout is (and is not)
In 2019, the World Health Organization formally recognised burnout and defined it as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is not classified as a medical condition and, unhelpfully in my view, focuses on workplace causes only.
The leading researchers in this field, Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter, identify three hallmarks:
- exhaustion (the depletion of physical and emotional resources),
- cynicism (a growing detachment or negativity toward one’s work), and
- inefficiency (reduced professional efficacy and productivity).1
These three dimensions tend to compound each other, which is why burnout, once established, can be difficult to recover from without help.
Burnout is also not the same as stress. Stress, colloquially, is the experience of too much. For example, too many demands and too little time. Burnout is the experience of not enough; too little energy, meaning, connection, and agency over time. You can feel stress and still be happy and engaged. Burnout is what happens when too many stressors deplete your energies for too long.
The nonprofit sector: A high-risk environment
The numbers for our sector are worrying. According to a 2024 report from YMCA WorkWell and Charity Insights Canada, 58% of nonprofit staff report experiencing burnout, with the figure rising to 71% among leaders. A separate analysis from the Charity Insights Canada Project found that burnout and workload pressure as drivers of staff turnover rose from approximately 28% of organizations in 2023 to 35% in 2024.
These figures indicate a burnout crisis in our sector.
The three stages of burnout
Broadly described, burnout is a progressive process with identifiable stages. Understanding these stages, and where you or someone on your team might be, are the first steps to effective intervention.
Stage 1: Onset of burnout
Work is no longer consistently enjoyable. Some days are fine; others are draining. There are moments when we feel irritable, have difficulty concentrating, or a vague sense of dread before certain meetings or tasks. Sleep may become less restorative. At this stage, most people assume they just need a good weekend or a short holiday and sometimes that helps, temporarily.
Stage 2: Adaptation to burnout
Difficult days now outnumber good ones. Procrastination increases; and our enthusiasm for previously meaningful work is muted. Physical symptoms like persistent fatigue, headaches, and more frequent illness appear. Cynicism begins to creep in. Tasks and responsibilities we used to enjoy or find easy, are now much more difficult.
Stage 3: Burnout
The three hallmarks of burnout are now evident: significant exhaustion, consistent cynicism or detachment, and loss of efficacy. Work feels futile and you may feel emotionally absent. At this stage, people often begin to seriously consider leaving the sector entirely.
When you reach burnout, you experience significant mental and physical health conditions. Recovery at this stage typically requires medical intervention and other sustained supports for recovery.
Signs to watch for
One of the challenges of burnout is that the people most affected are often the last to recognize it. And, if they do, they are reluctant to say, “I think I’m burned out.” High performers in particular are apt to ignore signals and reframing depletion as mere tiredness. As a leader, there are signs worth watching for in yourself and others:
- a previously engaged person becomes noticeably less present or communicative
- someone who was once reliable begins missing deadlines or making uncharacteristic errors
- cynicism, sarcasm, or pessimism appears in someone who was previously constructive
- physical complaints (fatigue, headaches, frequent illness) become a recurring theme
- a person begins distancing themselves from the organization’s mission or outcomes
None of these signals, on their own, confirms burnout, but a cluster that persists warrants your attention.
Where to start
Dr. Neha Sangwan, physician and burnout researcher, whose book Powered By Me informs this series, offers a powerful but simple starting point: check in with your body. Before your mind has caught up, your body has often already begun to register the onset of burnout. Persistent tension, creeping heaviness of certain tasks, constant fogginess in your thinking or disrupted sleep are typical symptoms of burnout. If your symptoms are significant, please see your doctor.
Reflection: Where are you on the continuum?
Take a moment to consider which stage of the burnout continuum you may be experiencing. What useful information about burnout do you now have that you didn’t have before?
This article is the first in a four-part series on burnout in the nonprofit and charitable sector.
Next month: Burnout is not just caused by overwork. We explore the six drivers of burnout — including fairness, community, and meaning — and what they mean for nonprofit leaders and organizations.
Lucy White is a certified coach specializing in burnout recovery and mental fitness for nonprofit and charitable sector professionals. and a skilled nonprofit executive with over thirty years’ experience leading associations and other nonprofit organizations. Lucy is a Certified Positive Intelligence Coach and a Certified Burnout Coach. She completed the Positive Intelligence Mastery Program and is a member of the International Coach Federation. She can be reached at lucy@lucywhite.ca or www.lucywhite.ca
- Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111.
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