Nearly half of Canadians are feeling burnt out

"In addition to being an increasingly worrying issue for professionals, burnout is a major challenge for employers as well," Koula Vasilopoulos, Robert Half Canada’s senior managing director, said in a statement.

"When employees are burned out due to heavy workloads and understaffed teams, businesses risk decreased productivity and morale, losing valued team members, and revenue loss due to falling behind on key timelines for critical projects."

Specifically, 47% report feeling burned out and 31% indicate they are more burned out now than they were the year prior.

Canadians are getting tired

Burnout among Canadian workers is on the rise. In 2023, just 33% of employees reported feeling burned out, but by 2024, that number had climbed to 42%, according to Robert Half.

The leading causes of burnout include:

• Heavy workloads and long hours (39%)
• Emotional or mental fatigue from high-stress tasks (38%)
• Poor work-life balance (28%)
• Lack of support or recognition from management (28%)
• Limited opportunities for career growth (28%)

Those feeling the strain the most? Professionals in the legal and HR fields, working parents and millennials.

Burnout’s impact on businesses

The heavy workloads that are a top driver of burnout are in part a consequence of longer hiring cycles. According to a separate Robert Half survey, of more than 1,050 managers, nearly four in 10 said burnout among existing staff is a major challenge they face when they are unable to fill a necessary role. Other repercussions include decreased productivity, delayed project timelines, higher turnover and lost revenue.

To combat burnout culture, workers indicated the best ways their manager can help: Encouraging time off and/or mental health days, hiring permanent or contract professionals to ease the workload and helping to prioritize projects and manage timelines.

"As burnout continues to rise, managers need to be proactively mitigating it, by working to fill gaps on the team, embracing flexible staffing solutions, encouraging time off, prioritizing workloads and maintaining open communication about employee wellbeing,” Vasilopoulos said.

Survey methodology

The online surveys were developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm in December 2024 and March 2025. They include responses from 1,500 workers and 835 workers aged 18 and older across Canada, as well as 1,056 hiring managers at companies with more than 20 employees across Canada.

Sources

1. Cision: YNearly half of Canadian workers feel burned out, and more than 3 in 10 say burnout is rising (March 25, 2025)