What is burnout? And do you have it?

Burnout affects nearly 20% of the workforce, with symptoms like fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Photo / Getty Images

By Serena Solomon of RNZ

You might not have performed at Auckland’s Spark Arena or have had a film made about your journey reclaiming te reo Māori, but you probably can relate to the idea of taking a break “for a wee while” or having “a cup of tea and a lie down”.

Those were the quaint plans suggested by award-winning singer-songwriter Marlon Williams this week when he announced a break from public life. The news follows a big year for Williams, who released what is arguably the most consequential album of his career in 2025, his first in te reo Māori. A documentary about the album’s creation was also released.

In his statement announcing the unknown length of rest, Williams spoke of the toll his work took on him.

“It’s such a blessing to do what you love, it can be easy to overlook the toll it can take over time, on body and soul.“

While Williams didn’t mention the word burnout, his statement has some of the hallmarks of someone experiencing some level of it, which can have physical and psychological manifestations.

Marlon Williams is taking a step back from touring after some special Kiwi dates. Photo / Ian Laidlaw

It harks back to the shock resignation of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2023. She famously described herself as no longer having “enough in the tank to do [the job] justice”. Even though her language was very burnout-y, Ardern later denied that her resignation was because of burnout.

However, feelings of burnout in New Zealand’s workforce remain stubbornly high, sitting at just under 20% according to research from Massey University.

What is burnout?

Burnout is typically described as utter physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion, according to New Zealand-based clinical psychologist Mike McKinney, who wrote the book Beating Burnout: Helping the All-or-Nothing Personality to Find Balance.

“What I’m seeing are issues like fatigue, loss of energy, sleep disruption.

“There’s that cynicism that comes with burnout where they’re just losing connection with people, their job, their role and their place in the company, and that sense that I’m getting overwhelmed and I can’t do anything about it.”

Burnout can have four dimensions, explains Dr Jarrod Haar, a professor of management and Māori business at Massey University. They are emotional and physical exhaustion, mental distancing where someone doubts the significance of their role, cognitive impairment where significant mistakes increase and emotional impairment.

Dr Jarrod Haar, Professor of Human Resource Management at AUT. Photo / Supplied

“So that’s when you can’t control your emotions at work. That might be the normally quiet, you know, silent person at work who all of a sudden starts getting really angry and yelling at people, and we’re all like, ‘Wow, what’s with that guy?’.”

Sure, yelling or crying at work might happen once in a while to everyone, but if it jumps to a few times a week, that could be a warning, Haar adds.

What causes burnout, and why is it so common?

Leadership expert Suzi McAlpine outlines six common causes of burnout in her book Beyond Burnout: A New Zealand Guide. They are overwork, isolation, lack of control, unfairness, insufficient reward (that isn’t always to do with salary), and mismatched values with the organisation they work for.

Another contributing factor can be a busy home life, she says. This might include parenting kids or demanding activities outside of work.

Suzi McAlpine is an executive coach, workshop facilitator, professional speaker and author of international leadership blog, The Leader's Digest.

Burnout is a new field of study that has piqued the interest of researchers in recent years. Haar began studying burnout rates in New Zealand’s workforce in 2020. In the 16 waves of data since, the rate has never dipped below 17% and is now sitting at about 19.7%, he says.

“It’s probably quite an established phenomenon for many decades, but I think especially since Covid, it’s become one of these almost kind of established things that just seems to be sticking with the workforce.”

I’m burnt out. What should I do?

Taking time off work might be intuitive, but it won’t solve the problem completely, says McKinney.

“I encourage people to take some time off, but not an extended break, because what they’re actually doing is removing themselves from the environment, which intuitively makes good sense ...

“But, if you’re not looking at what’s happening for you or what’s happening in the workplace ... it’s a break, and then you’re going to go back to the same environment with the same demands and the same expectations.”

He advises burnt-out people to speak with their supervisors about any unfair expectations or lopsided responsibilities. Learning breathing techniques or taking frequent breaks during the day can help employees downregulate their emotions, says McKinney.

“I think also taking time outside of work, whether that’s physical things like going for a run, going for a walk, going for a swim, doing yoga, things that help the nervous system to settle down.”

Another area that can help immensely is getting good sleep, says McKinney.

“When [employees] are strung out, they tend to take their thoughts to bed with them.

“So we’ll talk about finding a routine to wind down in the evening so that when they go to bed, they can actually get some sleep.”

If you can’t afford to take time off, talk with your employer about reducing hours and workload or removing a particularly taxing task, advises McAlpine. She worked with a surgeon who struggled with burnout. It wasn’t surgery that was taking its toll, but the administration in her role. Removing the admin part of her job helped alleviate burnout.

Experts advise addressing workplace demands, practising self-care, and seeking support to manage burnout. Photo / 123rf

Reconsidering what you do outside the home will also help.

“Say no to everything that you can do outside of work to make rest and recovery a priority,” she says.

What about small business owners or sole traders?

Often, we are not the best judge of our own burnout, so that means getting some outside assessment, especially if you’re a sole trader, says Haar. (It’s worth noting that parents can feel burnout from their role as caregivers.)

“I’m always encouraging people that if your loved ones, if your family, friends, whānau are saying, ‘Hey, you know, are you all right? Because you’re reacting totally differently’

“You know, you need to react to that ...”

Going to your GP is a good first step, whether you’re a sole trader or you work for a large company, he says.

“I think those individuals, the entrepreneurs, the business owners can be especially challenged because you know their whole personality gets caught up in being that entrepreneur as well.

“So it’s just a reminder that you’ve got to take care of yourself to last long in business.”