Welcome to Read Before Burning, a monthly newsletter by psychologist Dr Ben J. Searle. Come here for simple but informative coverage of burnout-related concepts, research findings, and actionable advice – all firmly grounded in science.
Who am I? After earning a PhD in psychology, I spent 20 years in academia studying stress and burnout until I went through burnout myself. I now research, consult, and communicate about burnout and what to do about it.
Returning After Burning
In recent weeks, most of us will have had that early January experience of finding it hard to settle back into work after the holiday break. Many of our kids are currently experiencing it, or will do so soon, as they return to school. It can be hard! We can feel a loss of freedom, a struggle to sustain attention, or a sense that the clock is moving much slower than it should be.
Before you forget what that feels like, I want to discuss return-to-work for people who have been recovering from burnout.
To be clear, this isn’t about how quickly stress levels creep up after we return from a vacation — I already discussed that phenomenon in RBB issue #07. This issue is about how we support those returning to work after taking “stress leave”, “mental health leave”, or any other long break to recover from severe burnout.
Return-to-Work: Basics
Every year, more than half a million working Australians experience a work-related illness or injury. Most organisations have systems, policies, or programs for handling such things. They usually involve making plans that support employee recovery and help with transition back to work (in complicance with health and safety legislation) while facilitating the continuation of organisational functions.
Return-to-work programs tend address such elements as:
- provision of immediate care and support to the injured/ill worker;
- investigation of the incident to identify hazards that may pose ongoing risks;
- handover of ongoing work to other workers;
- establishment of communications with health professionals; and
- identification of accommodations that reduce risk of reinjury when the worker returns (e.g., a special chair or sit-stand desk for a worker with an injured back).
If that all sounds intuitive and straightforward, let’s get into the part that isn’t working.
Return-to-Work: Burnout and Mental Health Conditions
Recovery from workplace injuries and illnesses often takes time, and some take more than others — in Australia, compensation statistics for work-related mental health conditions show the median period of lost work time is 37 weeks.
Read that again: 37 weeks. That’s the median — the score in the middle of a range where half the scores are higher still. And this doesn’t even count the people who were so burned out they simply gave up on ever returning to their jobs.
It’s clear there’s a lot of room for improvement in managing return-to-work for conditions like burnout. So where are we going wrong, and what can we do better?
Return-to-Work: Work Modifications
Better return-to-work outcomes tend to arise from “multi-domain interventions”, that is, approaches that involve at least these three components:
- Worker health support: This refers to individualised treatment programs recommended and overseen by appropriate health professionals (a thorny issue in the case of burnout, something I’ll cover in a future issue);
- Service coordination: This refers to the communication and coordinate between stakeholders (including treating professionals) to facilitate optimal recovery and ensure that advice from health professionals and input from the injured worker are included in return-to-work plans; and
- Work modification: This refers to changes to work tasks, working conditions, or work environment made to improve return-to-work outcomes.
Work modifications aren’t just an important component, they seem to be critical to the success of return-to-work in cases of burnout and mental health conditions. I won’t try to cover every possible modification, but some basic areas to cover include:
- Psychosocial hazards: I hope it goes without saying that you should investigate the hazards that contributed to the worker’s burnout (if you’re not sure what these might be, I discuss some common ones in RBB issue #02) and take action to manage them better in the future. Where the hazards are difficult to control long-term, look for ways you might shield the returning worker from them (at least temporarily);
- Accommodations: Even if we remove hazards, successful return-to-work may depend on how that work is done. As with the sit-stand desk, it’s possible to adjust work tools, processes, and systems to make it easier for an injured worker to achieve work goals. Two accommodations that can make return-to-work easier for those recovering from burnout include gradual return, where the returning worker initially undertakes shorter work shifts or works fewer days per week, and gradual escalation, where the returning worker initially has fewer responsibilities. Working hours and responsibilities can be slowly increased commensurate with the worker’s capabilities; and
- Good work: One of the reasons to consult with returning workers is to ensure that, in our enthusiasm to protect them, we don’t restrict them to “safe” work that is also dull or meaningless. People returning to work tend to adapt faster and better when they expect to succeed at and/or to enjoy the work they return to. So don’t leave this to chance! Identify the aspects of work that provide the worker with the most confidence, enjoyment, and satisfaction (see “input from the injured worker” above), and try to ensure these are a big part of what they are assigned to do when they return.
These return-to-work interventions require planning, consultation, and a thorough understanding of the work being done. But even with all of those, return-to-work programs can fail when there is a lack of organisational support.
Return-to-Work: Organisational Support
Many studies have demonstrated that support is a key element of successful return-to-work programs, both in general and specifically for workers recovering from burnout. A big part of this is how much support is provided by the returning worker’s supervisor. But there are many other ways an organisation can influence return-to-work outcomes.
Response to Injury
I could write a whole book on how to support workers experiencing burnout (and I intend to!) But first, let’s discuss how a worker’s experience of reporting their burnout can affect return-to-work outcomes.
Of the 10 guiding principles in Safe Work Australia’s national return-to-work strategy, the first is that,
“Workplaces support the early reporting of work-related injury and illness, and assist workers to navigate the compensation claims process.”
Why is this the very first guiding principle? Because when workers feel comfortable reporting injuries – when they expect to be listened to, taken seriously, and supported – they are likely to report those injuries earlier, when treatment is most effective and recovery times are shortest. And if they get the support they need, it won’t be long before they’re back at work.
Responses tend to be good for visible, physical injuries. If a co-worker came to your desk covered in blood, I like to think you’d take their injury seriously. But responses to invisible conditions like burnout can be very different. When people tell co-workers or supervisors they feel burned out, they often encounter such unhelpful responses as:
- “You’re just tired. Try get a good sleep for the next few nights”
- “The workload isn’t always this high. Just suck it up for a few more months and you’ll be fine”
- “Ugh, keep that to yourself, or you’ll never get promoted”
- “Pfft, join the club”
- “You think YOU’RE burned out? Let me tell you how tough MY job is!”
Failing to take reports of burnout seriously does more than communicate a lack of concern. It reinforces stigma and shame, discouraging further illness and injury reporting. It sets the expectation that people continue to work until their burnout becomes severe — potentially so severe that full recovery and successful return to work may not be possible. And if the worker does eventually take a long period of leave, they may be reluctant to be honest about their readiness to return, their need for accommodations, or their concerns about relapsing.
In many jurisdictions, dismissing an employee’s report of being burned out also puts the employer in breach of their health and safety obligations.
In short, responding to an employee’s report about burning out by listening, showing concern, and encouraging appropriate leave and recovery action not only meets health and safety obligations, it is a form of organisational support that can improve return-to-work outcomes.
Ongoing Contact
Having encouraged an employee to take leave, try not to abandon them. I discussed in RBB Issue #03 how ignoring employess during a recovery break can contribute to a sense of shame, but there’s more to it than that.
Everyone (even introverts like me) has a need for positive human relationships. When people get so burned out that they need to take a long break from work, it can be isolating, even lonely. We miss out on some of the companionship and sense of belonging that comes from a positive social environment at work. Maintaining some sort of communication with the recovering employee can help them feel like they are still part of the group. If they are away for a long time, ongoing communication with their team can keep them from getting estranged from their peers.
It’s also practical. Keeping them updated on workplace changes, new policies, office gossip etc. can make it easier to adapt to the altered workplace. Ongoing communication can help the returning worker to participate in return-to-work planning. It can also reduce anxiety about returning to work.
So invite them to coffee or lunch occasionally, or a regular virtual chat. Don’t pressure them to attend, especially not at first, but ensure they feel welcome.
Inclusive Culture
Of course, the most direct indicator of organisational support for return-to-work is how people are treated when they return. It may seem like this will depend on the personalities and values of the individual employees, but it is actually a question of culture. But what drives that culture?
An organisation’s culture is strongly influenced by the values and actions people with power. Do your leaders show concern and respect for those who take time off to recuperate from work injury, or do they praise those who work from their hospital beds and grumble about those taking time off for bereavement? And if there isn’t a consistent pattern of support for people with visible injuries, you can bet that the support isn’t there for people who experience burnout.
Ultimately there are many things that can be done to facilitate faster and better return-to-work outcomes for burned out workers. Contact me if you’d like to know more.
References
Cullen, K. L., Irvin, E., Collie, A., et al. (2018). Effectiveness of workplace interventions in return-to-work for musculoskeletal, pain-related and mental health conditions: an update of the evidence and messages for practitioners. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 28(1), 1-15.
Nielsen, K., Yarker, J., Munir, F., & Bültmann, U. (2018). IGLOO: An integrated framework for sustainable return to work in workers with common mental disorders. Work & Stress, 32(4), 400-417.
Nowrouzi-Kia, B., Garrido, P., Gohar, B., et al. (2023). Evaluating the effectiveness of return-to-work interventions for individuals with work-related mental health conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Healthcare, 11 (10), 1403.
Rooman, C., Sterkens, P., Schelfhout, S., Van Royen, A., Baert, S., & Derous, E. (2022). Successful return to work after burnout: an evaluation of job, person-and private-related burnout determinants as determinants of return-to-work quality after sick leave for burnout. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44(23), 7106-7115.
Safe Work Australia (2019). National Return to Work Strategy 2020-2030. Accessed from https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/national-return-work-strategy-2020-2030
Safe Work Australia (2025). Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025. Accessed from https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/insights/key-whs-statistics-australia/latest-release
Schultz, I. Z., Gatchel, R. J., & Asih, S. R. (2016). Handbook of Return to Work: From Research to Practice. Springer.
News
Coming soon:
- New episodes of the podcast Mind on the Job.
- The second report of findings from my Experiences of Burnout 2025 study (see RBB issue #06)
- The launch of new tools for managing burnout
Monthly Updates
Burnout symptom status: Low!
Secret burnout book query status: [REDACTED]
Podcast status: More episodes coming soon!
Seasons of Stranger Things binge-watched over the summer with my teenager: Five.
Spread the Word
If you found this newsletter useful, please share it!
If you haven’t already done so, subscribe so you get notified whenever I release a new issue here on LinkedIn, or sign up here to get this newsletter via email before it drops anywhere else.
Questions? Suggestions? Reach out to me at mindonthejob@gmail.com
(c) 2026 Ben J. Searle