Burnout is the office ghost haunting your HR team – how to exorcise it

Ah, burnout. The Voldemort of the corporate world. The thing that must not be named but is lurking in every corner of your office Slack channels. You see it in the exhausted emails that arrive at 3 AM, the "quick Zoom calls" that drag into lunch hour (but somehow still end with “let’s circle back on this”), and the pile of unused vacation days that have been gathering dust like the office plants no one waters.

Yes, burnout is the office ghost. It hovers silently, whispers sweet nothings like, “Deadlines are more important than your wellbeing,” and before you know it, half your team is emotionally checked out while the other half is busy binge-watching cat videos at work as a coping mechanism.

But what’s a well-meaning HR professional to do? After all, you’ve got policies. You’ve got motivational posters. You’ve even thrown in a yoga session or two. Yet somehow, the specter of burnout keeps floating around, scaring productivity into the basement and morale out the window. Fear not (pun intended)—here’s how to give burnout the boot and send it back to the corporate underworld where it belongs.

Step 1: Stop romanticizing overwork

Can we please stop pretending that working 60+ hours a week is some sort of badge of honor? No one is impressed, Steve. Stop posting pictures of your 11 PM spreadsheets on LinkedIn like it’s your new puppy. This "grind culture" nonsense has everyone thinking that exhaustion is just another word for ambition. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

As HR, we need to be the first ones to say, “Hey, the hustle is great, but so is sleep.” Start with leadership. If your managers are sending emails at ungodly hours or saying things like, “I haven’t taken a day off in five years,” you’ve got a problem bigger than the office Wi-Fi crashing during a team meeting. Lead by example. Encourage employees to clock out and mentally check out when they’re off the clock. The world won’t end if John from accounting doesn’t respond to an email at 10 PM. Promise.

Step 2: Vacation isn’t optional – it’s medicinal

Speaking of John from accounting, when was the last time he took a real vacation? And by "real," I don’t mean staying home and reorganizing his sock drawer while secretly replying to emails. I mean real vacation—feet in the sand, phone on airplane mode, an umbrella drink in hand.

It’s time to normalize using PTO (personal time off) without guilt. But here’s the kicker: as HR, you need to make this foolproof. Because if employees think they’ll drown in work when they come back, they’ll never leave in the first place. Plan ahead, redistribute workloads, and for heaven’s sake, don’t call them while they’re trying to sip margaritas.

Also, pro-tip: Have a no-questions-asked mental health day policy. Some days, people don’t need a beach—they just need Netflix, their couch, and a break from Karen’s 14th meeting of the week.

Step 3: Meetings, the energy vampire of modern offices

Can we talk about meetings for a second? Because let’s be honest, they’re the other ghost haunting your employees’ calendars. Why does every single thing need a meeting? The only thing most meetings accomplish is collectively ruining everyone's focus and convincing people to turn their cameras off because their souls have left their bodies.

Fixing this starts with asking a very simple question: “Could this have been an email?” If the answer is yes, guess what? You’ve just saved your team an hour of their lives. Congratulations! You’re officially an HR wizard.

For meetings that are absolutely necessary, make them shorter. No one needs a 2-hour brainstorming session on fonts for the quarterly report. Trust me, Comic Sans isn’t worth it. And if the meeting could be done standing up? Even better. Burnout ghosts hate standing.

Step 4: Listen like your job depends on it (because it kind of does)

Sometimes, all employees need is for someone to hear them out. Not in a forced, awkward HR survey where they’re asked to rank their satisfaction with “company culture” on a scale from 1 to 10. I’m talking about real, human conversations where you, the HR superhero, say, “Hey, how are you really doing?”

Maybe it’s the project deadlines. Maybe it’s the fact that the office coffee tastes like hot sadness. Whatever it is, creating a culture where employees feel comfortable speaking up is crucial. Because here’s the thing: burnout isn’t a one-size-fits-all problem. For one person, it’s workload. For another, it’s feeling undervalued. And for Steve (yes, him again), it might just be that no one appreciates his dad jokes. The point is, you won’t know unless you listen.

Step 5: Stop treating HR like the burnout clean-up crew

Here’s the harsh truth: HR can’t fix burnout alone. You’re not Ghostbusters. You’re not here to zap every bit of employee dissatisfaction with a proton pack and some good vibes. Burnout is a systemic issue, and it requires a team effort—leadership, managers, and employees all working together.

Push for real changes. Advocate for reasonable workloads, flexibility, and a culture that prioritizes people over profits. And remember, burnout prevention starts before the hiring process. Look for candidates who align with the company’s culture, not just the ones who can type 90 words per minute or use Excel like it’s a second language.

Final thoughts:

Burnout may be a corporate ghost, but it’s not invincible. With a little effort, a lot of empathy, and maybe a few fewer meetings, you can start exorcising it from your workplace. And who knows? Maybe one day, burnout won’t haunt HR teams anymore.

Until then, stock up on coffee, keep that sense of humor handy, and remember: you’re not alone. Even HR professionals need a break sometimes. Take one. You’ve earned it. Just don’t forget to turn on your out-of-office reply. 👻