Burnout symptoms and early warning signs

Burnout rarely arrives overnight. It shows up as a cluster of small changes — in your energy, your mood and how you relate to work. Spotting them early makes recovery easier.

The core signs (WHO)

The World Health Organization describes three dimensions of burn-out: exhaustion, mental distance or cynicism about your job, and reduced professional efficacy. The signs below are how those dimensions commonly show up day to day.

Physical signs

• Tiredness that does not lift after sleep or a weekend off
• Changes in sleep — trouble falling asleep, waking early, or sleeping much more
• Headaches, stomach or bowel problems without another clear cause
• Getting ill more often, or feeling “weak and susceptible to illness” — one of the CBI’s own questions

Emotional signs

• Feeling emotionally drained or numb
• Irritability and impatience with colleagues, customers or family
• Dread on Sunday evenings or before the working day
• Thinking “I can’t take it anymore”
• A loss of satisfaction or sense of achievement from work

Work and behaviour signs

• Struggling to start work; low energy and poor concentration once there
• Detaching from the job and from colleagues; doing the minimum
• Doubting the value of your work or your own competence
• Making more mistakes, or taking longer to do routine tasks
• Using food, alcohol or other substances to cope or switch off
• No energy left for family and friends in your free time

Mayo Clinic’s self-check covers many of the same points and notes that these signs can also reflect other conditions, such as depression — so they are a prompt to look more closely, not a diagnosis.

Early warning signs

The earliest signs are often subtle: your recovery time stops working (a weekend no longer resets you), you start skipping things that recharge you — exercise, friends, hobbies — to keep up with work, and small setbacks feel bigger than they should. If you notice these, it is the best time to act: protect recovery, have a conversation about workload, and check in with yourself using the burnout test.

Symptoms that need a doctor

• Exhaustion lasting more than a few weeks, or getting worse
• Low mood or loss of interest most of the day, nearly every day, for two weeks or more
• Chest pain, palpitations, breathlessness, fainting, or unexplained weight loss
• Thoughts of harming yourself or that life is not worth living — please seek help today

Frequently asked questions

What are the first signs of burnout?

Often small ones: rest stops restoring you, you drop the things that recharge you to keep up with work, and you start dreading the working day.

Can burnout cause physical symptoms?

People with burnout often report fatigue, sleep changes, headaches and stomach problems. Because these can have other causes, see a doctor if they persist.

Is feeling cynical about work a sign of burnout?

Yes. WHO lists increased mental distance from your job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to it, as one of burn-out’s three dimensions.

Take the free burnout test

Sources

1. World Health Organization, "Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases" (28 May 2019)
2. Mayo Clinic, "Job burnout: How to spot it and take action"
3. NFA, "Copenhagen Burnout Inventory – scales" (item wording, response scales and scoring)
4. World Health Organization, "Depressive disorder (depression)" fact sheet