Burnout is best treated as an organizational problem. Christina Maslach, who co-developed the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Michael Leiter find in their 2016 paper that the greater the mismatch between the person and the job, the greater the likelihood of burnout. Gallup's 2018 study adds that the main drivers are unfair treatment, unmanageable workload, lack of role clarity, weak manager support, and unreasonable time pressure, all of which the employer can manage.
What does Maslach's research say causes burnout?
In their 2016 review in World Psychiatry, Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter state that "the greater is the mismatch between the person and the job, the greater the likelihood of burnout." Their areas of worklife model names workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values as the places where job and person can fall out of fit.
The implication is practical. If one resilient person burns out in a team where others are also fraying, the useful question is what the team's conditions are doing, not what is wrong with the individual.
What do the numbers show about causes?
Gallup's 2018 study of nearly 7,500 full-time employees found that 23% felt burned out at work very often or always, and another 44% sometimes. The drivers it identified were mostly managerial and structural.
| Gallup finding (2018) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Unfair treatment: likelihood of high burnout | 2.3 times more likely |
| Workers who strongly agree they know what is expected | 60% |
| Supported by manager: likelihood of regular burnout | about 70% less likely |
| Full-time workers reporting burnout very often or always | 23% |
Unfair treatment, unclear expectations, and weak manager support all appear in these findings. None of them is a personality trait.
Why do managers sit at the center?
Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report, covering 2025 data, found global employee engagement fell to 20%, its lowest level since 2020, and that manager engagement has dropped by nine points since 2022. Yet within best-practice organizations, 79% of managers were engaged. The gap suggests that how organizations equip and support managers is a choice, not a given.
What should leaders do instead of offering resilience workshops?
Resilience training alone asks people to absorb conditions that the organization controls. Use the six areas as an audit.
- Workload: compare real demand with capacity at team level, not person by person.
- Control: let teams decide how work gets done within clear goals.
- Reward: check that recognition and pay match the effort people actually give.
- Community: protect time for real connection, on Zoom and in person alike.
- Fairness: review how assignments, promotions, and discipline are decided.
- Values: test whether daily decisions match the values on the wall.
Treat survey results as team-level data, and give managers clear expectations and real support, since expectations and manager support both appear in Gallup's findings.
What does this mean for hybrid and remote teams?
The framework does not change by location. Whether people meet on Zoom or in person, the same six areas apply. The risk in remote settings is that strain stays invisible, so build regular check-ins into team routines instead of relying on individuals to speak up.
FAQ
Is burnout a personal weakness?
No. Maslach and Leiter find that the greater the mismatch between the person and the job, the greater the likelihood of burnout. That places the cause in how work is designed and managed.
What is the Maslach Burnout Inventory?
It is the burnout measure that Christina Maslach and Susan Jackson published in 1981. Leaders can use it alongside the six areas of worklife to understand where strain concentrates.
Can an individual cause burnout in themselves?
Individual factors can matter, but the research focuses on the fit between person and job. Leaders should look at the work environment first.
What is the first step for an HR leader?
Review the six areas of worklife with team-level data, then pick the one with the largest gap and agree one concrete change with managers.
Burnout is a signal about how work is designed, led, and rewarded. If you want a second view on your team's culture and your managers' support, we can help you map the gaps and plan practical changes. Book a free consultation
Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal or clinical advice. Sources (captured 2026-09-30):
- Maslach and Leiter, Understanding the burnout experience, World Psychiatry (2016): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4911781/
- Maslach and Jackson, The measurement of experienced burnout, Journal of Occupational Behaviour (1981): https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205
- Gallup, Employee Burnout, Part 1: The 5 Main Causes (July 2018, nearly 7,500 full-time employees): https://www.gallup.com/workplace/237059/employee-burnout-causes-experiences.aspx
- Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026 (2025 data): https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx