Burnout is a concept that we have all heard of and have already covered here, but do we really understand what it means? Imagine enduring each day despite feeling exhausted, demotivated, and disengaged from your work. Burnout, which affects a large percentage of the workforce, is more than just exhaustion. According to studies, a significant portion of workers report feeling burned out “very often” or “always,” and a significant portion report experiencing it at least periodically. What, though, is the cause of this phenomenon? Is it only the workload, or are there more serious, systemic problems at work? We’ll examine the various factors that contribute to burnout and find ways to prevent and deal with it as we investigate this subject, guaranteeing a more engaged and healthy workforce.

Explain The Purpose Of Extra Work

Too often, we see that when someone is tagged as a high-performing and high-potential employee, they are given extra work and additional challenges to stretch their abilities, without being told why. When this happens, these individuals often imagine the worst. High performers are frequently perfectionists with high-achieving mindsets, and when they are suddenly given more to do that feels beyond their capabilities, it can feel defeating and make them think they are being managed out.

What do these high achievers then do? They often disengage and leave—the very thing they think you want but ironically, the exact opposite of your goal. So, the simple answer to addressing success anxiety and performance burnout in your high potentials is to tell them how highly they are thought of and that the challenges you are giving them are purposeful to increase their visibility and skill set.

Additionally, provide them with appropriate resources and support systems (coaches, mentors, access to special learning modules, a fail-safe backup, etc.) and then let them know that you are invested in their success and will provide a safety net to ensure they do not fail.

Angela Heyroth, Principal, Talent Centric Designs

Implement Recovery Time After Major Projects

We’ve noticed that high performers don’t usually burn out from the workload itself—it’s the constant pressure to keep delivering at 100% with no pause. So we’ve made “recovery time” a standard part of how we work. After a major project or sprint, we intentionally slow things down. We have fewer meetings, flexible hours, and even completely open days if needed.

We don’t treat it as a reward. It’s just part of how we work. That shift alone removes a lot of guilt people feel when they need a breather.

We also have regular one-on-one meetings with our top contributors, but we focus on energy, not just output. We ask, “How are you holding up?” before we ask about the next deadline. It opens space for honesty before things get out of hand.

You can’t just say you care about people’s well-being. You have to build it into your week-to-week structure. Otherwise, the pressure never lets up, and that’s when burnout wins.

Vikrant Bhalodia, Head of Marketing & People Ops, WeblineIndia

Reward With Work-Life Balance Benefits

Employees should be encouraged to work hard and play hard. High-performing employees should be rewarded with work-life balance benefits like additional paid time off or a vacation bonus to spend on their vacation. By promoting both achievement and work-life balance, employers create a high-performance culture with reduced burnout.

Susan Snipes, Head of People, Remote People

Create Space For Honest Conversations

As someone who has definitely overcommitted more times than I can count, I know firsthand how easy it is for high performers to push themselves to the limit—until success starts feeling more like a weight than an achievement. HR has a real opportunity (and responsibility) to help employees navigate that fine line between ambition and burnout without sacrificing growth.

Here’s what I’ve found that works:

Create Space for Honest Conversations – High performers often don’t admit they’re struggling until they’re already overwhelmed. I’ve learned that regular, candid check-ins—where we ask how someone is really doing, not just what they’re achieving—can make a huge difference.

Redefine Success Beyond Constant Hustle – It took me a while to realize that more hours don’t always mean better results. Encouraging employees to work smarter, not just harder, by prioritizing impact over sheer effort helps shift the mindset from, “I have to do it all,” to, “I have to do what truly matters.” Plus, use all the skills available, including AI. 

Normalize Taking Breaks Without Guilt – I used to wear my overpacked schedule like a badge of honor, but I’ve learned (the hard way) that rest isn’t a reward—it’s a requirement. Building in recharge time, whether through PTO, taking breaks throughout the day to go for a walk, decompress time, or just celebrating when someone sets boundaries, helps reinforce that success and well-being go hand in hand.

Coach, Don’t Just Manage – Sometimes, high performers need permission to slow down or shift their focus. Having mentors or executive coaches who can help them process their fears around “not doing enough” can be game-changing.

Lead by Example – I’ll be the first to admit that I have to work on this one myself! But when leaders openly prioritize balance—whether that means setting boundaries, unplugging, or delegating—it signals to employees that they can do the same without jeopardizing their career growth.

Ambition is a great thing, but only if it’s sustainable. I truly understand the struggle, and that’s why HR has to champion a culture where success includes thriving, supporting the whole person.

Nurdes Gomez, Director of People Operations, eMed

Foster A Growth-Focused Culture

HR professionals can effectively manage success anxiety and burnout among high-performing employees without dampening ambition and growth culture by following these strategies:

1. Foster a Growth-Focused, Not Only Performance-Focused, Culture

• Reorient from incessant output to ongoing learning and development to alleviate pressure.
• Ask employees to establish personal growth objectives in addition to business KPIs.

2. Make Stress & Mental Health Conversations the Norm

• Train supervisors to identify burnout signs and have open discussions regarding workload and stress.
• Provide mental health resources, including therapy sessions or resilience training.

3. Promote Strategic Breaks & Work-Life Balance

• Institute required breaks, mental health days, or no-meeting days to facilitate decompression.
• Facilitate flexible work arrangements that enable employees to recharge without guilt.

4. Reward Effort, Not Just Results

• Celebrate progress, innovation, and teamwork—not only end results.
• Encourage a culture of embracing calculated risks, minimizing fear of failure.

5. Offer Tailored Career Tracks

• High performers tend to feel they must keep performing—offer diverse career progression tracks that prioritize long-term success over short-term achievements.
• Offer coaching, mentoring, and leadership development to equip them to overcome obstacles.

6. Balance Workload

• Ensure high-performing staff are not continuously overworked. Offload duties and enable teams to distribute the load.
• Periodically review workload distribution via pulse surveys or individual meetings.

With the above methods, HR can create a long-term high-performance culture where people flourish without exhaustion, delivering both business success and employee well-being.

Brayn Wills, HR Manager, ProProfs Training Maker

Encourage Open Communication

I recognize that high-performing employees often push themselves to meet ambitious goals, which can sometimes lead to success anxiety or burnout. To address this proactively, I focus on creating an environment where open communication is encouraged. I make it a priority to check in with team members regularly, offering a safe space for them to share how they’re feeling about their workload or achievements. By providing resources like flexible scheduling, mental health support, or even professional development opportunities, I can help them find balance. It’s about showing genuine care for their well-being while reinforcing that their contributions are valued, not just their output.

Maintaining a culture of ambition and growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of employee health. I work to set realistic expectations by collaborating with leadership to define success in a way that’s challenging yet sustainable. Recognizing accomplishments—big or small—helps build confidence and reduces pressure, so I encourage managers to celebrate progress, not just perfection. Offering training on time management or stress resilience also equips employees with tools to thrive. My goal is to foster a workplace where people feel supported in their drive to succeed, knowing they don’t have to sacrifice their peace of mind to get there.

Matthew Van Rooyen, HR Manager, Mail Tester

Redefine Success Beyond Productivity

Those who are in high-performing areas within their company often feel the effects, and it means they need a support system to avoid crumbling under pressure. Your HR team is often a dedicated group of people (or singular person) who are committed to your well-being. To address the “success anxiety” that employees are feeling while maintaining a culture of ambition and growth, you have to redefine success beyond productivity.

If companies solely focus on output, or put a lot of weight on it, it mitigates the other intrinsic factors as to why most team members joined your company in the first place. When you also focus on things like effort, teamwork, and creative thinking processes, you relieve that pressure for employees to constantly do more. This leads to more long-term success for the company and a healthier work-life balance for employees.

I will also note that psychological safety plays a crucial role. When your team members feel comfortable voicing concerns without fear of judgment, they’re more likely to seek help before burnout takes hold. As an HR professional, I encourage open communication through leadership training, peer support networks, and mentorship programs. This way, those high performers aren’t suffering in silence.

You can also implement data-driven workload management. This is where companies strategically distribute tasks to prevent overburdening their top talent, which helps employees thrive in a culture that balances ambition with well-being.

Navi Hughes, Therapist & Founder, Navi Hughes

Introduce Mindfulness And Somatic Awareness

In competitive work environments, high-performing employees often face a paradox: their ambition and success can trigger anxiety and burnout. HR professionals can foster a culture of growth while attending to employees’ well-being for company longevity. As a somatic trauma therapist, I focus on the mind-body connection and will share how simple practices can address the causes of success anxiety and burnout, while preserving ambition.

Success anxiety arises from the pressure to perform at high levels. High achievers often tie their self-worth to success, pushing themselves beyond sustainable limits, leading to burnout. This manifests as emotional lability and physical symptoms like fatigue, sleep disturbance, and tension/pain. The accumulation of such affects well-being and performance.

Burnout is driven by the belief that “more is better,” leading to a cycle of overwork and depletion. The pressure to meet high expectations triggers the sympathetic nervous system, creating hypervigilance. When prolonged, this inhibits recovery, leading to breakdowns and work disruptions.

HR professionals can introduce mindfulness and somatic awareness programs to help employees reconnect with their bodies. Body scans with muscle relaxation, breathing exercises, and gentle movement help employees identify and release stress. By regularly attuning with their bodies, employees can identify early signs of burnout and take proactive steps to manage stress. Numerous free apps teach these practices, and coaches can lead company-wide seminars.

HR should prioritize self-compassion within the organization. High performers often struggle with perfectionism, believing anything less than flawless performance is unacceptable. HR can offer training to help employees soften their inner critic and can also create an environment where failure is seen as a learning opportunity.

To combat burnout, HR can promote restorative breaks. Employees should be encouraged to step away from work, engage in activities like walking or stretching. Somatic practices such as standing up and shaking the body, pushing against the wall, or getting outside to see the horizon and connect with nature will restore balance to the nervous system, thus allowing employees to return to work refreshed and focused, reducing stress and improving productivity.

By encouraging somatic practices, HR can help employees manage the pressures of success, enabling them to thrive personally and professionally.

Kristy Center, Clinical Psychologist, ReCentered Healing

About Humane HR Perspectives

Our round-up series “Humane HR Perspectives” examines the fundamentals of humanising human resources (HR) from the perspectives of top authorities within and relevant to the industry. Q&A sessions with founders, CEOs, HR professionals, business leaders, and other significant players who are influencing the direction of HR are included in every edition.

Throughout the employee life cycle, we address a wide range of subjects in this series, including recruitment and selection, onboarding, training and development, performance management, employee engagement, pay and benefits, and more. We also go over important topics like compliance, change management in the workplace, morale and welfare, workplace communications, and diversity and inclusion.

The “Humane HR Perspectives” series offers insightful advice and practical examples to help develop a more encouraging, productive, and successful workplace—whether you’re an HR professional, a business leader, or just someone who is enthusiastic about creating a great work environment. Join us as we explore the approaches, difficulties, and triumphs that characterise HR humanisation and acquire unique access to the knowledge and experiences of individuals spearheading the movement.

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