Why is Burnout an Inclusion Issue?

Burnout has become a critical issue in workplaces across the globe. Nearly everyone will experience symptoms of burnout at some point in their career – in fact, recent research estimates that around half of us are grappling with it right now.

Emerging data shows this challenging issue is highly correlated with low feelings of inclusion. It’s time we move beyond seeing burnout purely as a symptom of long hours or high-pressure environments.

During a recent event hosted by DCA, our CEO Lisa Annese and a panel of industry-leading experts explored burnout as an inclusion issue, unpacking key considerations, the need for an intersectional approach, and why a proactive approach to preventing burnout is crucial.

Lisa Annese, Dr John Chan, Anna Sparkes, April Lea and Dr Clinton Schultz at DCA’s recent event on burnout

What is burnout?

Dr John Chan, an industrial and organisational psychologist and Managing Director of Infinite Potential, opened the discussion by clarifying the often-misunderstood concept of burnout. According to the World Health Organisation, burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed. It manifests in three key ways:

• exhaustion – feeling mentally, emotionally and/or physically depleted
• cynicism – an increased mental distance from, or negative feelings about your job
• reduced professional efficacy – feeling unable to do your job as well as you used to.

Dr Chan emphasised that burnout is not just about feeling tired after a tough week but a combination of these three factors.

These feelings of chronic stress are often exacerbated by workplaces that lack inclusivity.

“We’ve been running global research on burnout for the last four years. We’ve got about 10,000 participants in over 40 countries participating in our research and on the surface level, it is pretty straightforward,” Dr Chan said.

“Individuals who are in workplaces that are inclusive show higher levels of wellbeing, engagement and productivity. Those who are not in inclusive workplaces have much higher levels of burnout and attrition.”

Psychological safety as a buffer against burnout

Anna Sparkes, Chief People Officer at Gilbert + Tobin (G+T), highlighted the importance of psychological safety in preventing burnout.

“The main thing that we’ve been focusing on at G+T is creating an environment where people feel like they can speak up,” she explained, “When people feel psychologically safe, it leads to greater inclusion, improved wellbeing, higher performance, and lower absenteeism.”

According to Dr Chan, psychological safety is the result of an environment where people feel they can voice their opinions and concerns and make mistakes without fear of judgment or negative consequences.

Burnout is often misunderstood as a personal failing rather than a systemic issue.

“When someone is experiencing burnout, it’s a red flag on something in the organisation,” Dr Chan said, emphasising that the focus should not be on fixing the individual but on identifying and addressing the root causes of burnout within workplace systems, structures, and cultures.

The intersection of burnout and diversity

One of the key concerns raised during the event was the experiences of people from marginalised groups, who often face added stress from the compounding nature of systemic barriers, microaggressions, tokenism, or outright discrimination.

For example, employees with disability may need to navigate inaccessible environments, heightened scrutiny, or the emotional toll of masking their differences to conform to workplace norms.

April Lea, founder of the Safe Space Collective, said that for neurodivergent employees, these compounding factors can create extra cognitive and emotional labour, leaving them more vulnerable to exhaustion and burnout.

“You have to always have an additional 50% to 60% capacity going on at any given moment to simply exist and be respected and seen,” she said.

“One of the biggest leading causes that a lot of individuals within the neurodiversity network talk about when it comes to feeling burnt out or feeling exhausted is the self-advocacy that they have to do on that day-to-day basis to try and exist in their natural state.”

When asked what organisations can do to help support neurodivergent individuals, April emphasised the importance of flexible working conditions and shifting expectations.

“Let people exist in a way that is completely harmless and enables the normalisation of different ways of presenting and working.”

Risk factors for First Nations employees

Dr Clinton Schultz, a Gamilaraay man and psychologist who currently serves as the Director of First Nations Strategy and Partnerships at the Black Dog Institute, said that First Nations employees are disproportionately affected by burnout.

“We know that there’s the extra burden [on First Nations Workers] of everything from interpersonal through to institutional or systemic racism that people tend to deal with on a very frequent basis,” Dr Shultz said.

DCA’s most recent Inclusion@Work Index also found that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander workers experience the highest levels of discrimination and harassment at work, and are less likely to feel valued and connected in their workplaces.

“A lack of cultural responsiveness in an organisation and among the employees of an organisation means people have a lower level of understanding of the things that are important for maintaining wellbeing for a select group within that workspace,” he said.

On top of this, the additional colonial load (or cultural load as it’s also known) often carried by First Nations employees can create a “snowball effect”. Dr Shultz said workplaces must either “take the load back” and ensure the responsibility of First Nations-focused activities is spread more equally throughout the organisation or ensure First Nations employees are remunerated for the extra skills and knowledge they bring to the table.

The role of flexible working conditions

DCA CEO Lisa Annese also emphasised the role of flexibility in preventing burnout.

“Our research shows that when you focus on flexibility at a team level, you’re able to create a hybrid experience that provides enough opportunity for in-office work that allows people to connect, collaborate, and build a team culture, while having the flexibility to manage their lives, whether that’s caring responsibilities, reducing their commuting times, or providing them with time to exercise,” she said.

Flexible working arrangements have been proven to positively impact employee mental health, reducing the risk of burnout. DCA’s latest Inclusion@Work Index found that employees who had access to the flexibility they needed to manage work and other commitments were almost four times more likely to feel their work positively impacted their mental health.

Preventing burnout is crucial

One of the key takeaways from the event was the need for proactive, inclusive solutions to prevent burnout. This pervasive issue is not just a personal problem but a systemic one that can be prevented by fostering more inclusive, respectful, and supportive workplaces. As organisations seek to build resilient and sustainable workforces, it’s clear that prioritising inclusion isn’t just a “nice-to-have” – it’s a necessity for the health and wellbeing of all employees.

To learn more, DCA members can watch a recording of DCA’s event Why is burnout an inclusion issue?