Beyond Burnout Symptoms: Why Workplace Conditions Matter.

This article was sponsored by Google Trends.

When people wonder whether they’re experiencing burnout, their first step may be to search Google for answers. What are the signs? What does burnout feel like? How can I recover?

Google Trends suggests these questions are on Australians’ minds. Searches for “burnout” have remained prominent over the past five years, with two conspicuous peaks in 2026: one in February and the other in May, which reached the highest level recorded since 2021.

This pattern becomes even more salient when we compare it to other workplace- related search terms. Over that five-year period, “burnout” recorded an average relative search interest score of 66, compared with four for “workplace stress”, two for “employee wellbeing” and almost no measurable interest in “work-related stress”.

These scores don’t tell us the number of searches or how many Australians are experiencing burnout. Google Trends normalises search interest on a scale of zero to 100, allowing us to compare relative interest over time. But the data does suggest that “burnout” is a term many people are actively trying to understand.

Looking for answers

We can also gain insight from the search terms related to “burnout”. In February 2026, searches for “signs of burnout” spiked. In May, searches for “what does burnout feel like” rose, alongside increased interest in “how to fix burnout” and “how to recover from burnout”.

This suggests that not only are people trying to understand burnout, they’re also actively searching for information on how to recognise and recover from it.

The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”. It identifies three primary characteristics of burnout:
- exhaustion;
- increased mental distance from or cynicism to work;
- reduced professional efficacy.

Recognising these signs can help people understand what they are experiencing and realise that they need and deserve support. It can also help them identify individual strategies, such as taking breaks, setting boundaries and seeking professional help, which can all play a role in recovery.

But focusing only on individual responses risks overlooking the conditions that contribute to burnout in the first place.

Burnout is a workplace issue

Beyond Blue identifies workplace bullying and harassment, excessive workloads, lack of support, unclear expectations and poor working conditions as factors that can contribute to burnout. Safe Work Australia also recognises the risk of psychosocial hazards, such as excessive job demands, low job control, poor support, bullying and harassment.

Under relevant Australian work health and safety laws, employers have a primary duty of care to manage psychosocial risks alongside physical risks.

For employers, therefore, preventing burnout is not about putting the burden on workers to cope with unsafe or difficult working conditions. Employers need to examine how work is designed, resourced and managed. They need to ensure their workers have realistic workloads, adequate support and the control they need to do their jobs well and thoroughly.

Protecting workers from burnout is not just the right thing for employers to do; it’s also good business sense. Retaining experienced and knowledgeable employees preserves valuable skills, relationships and organisational knowledge, while reducing recruitment and onboarding costs and the potential loss of productivity and morale when people leave. This is particularly important for not-for-profits, which often
operate in small teams and rely on specialised expertise that can be difficult to replace. 

Pro Bono Australia’s 2026 Salary Survey report also identifies burnout as a key driver of staff turnover in the not-for-profit sector, highlighting the importance of supportive workplaces that help people stay focussed and healthy and able to continue making a valued contribution to the organisation.

What the data tells us

Safe Work Australia’s Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2026 report provides a broader picture of work-related mental health risks. In 2024–25, there were 17,900 serious workers’ compensation claims for mental health conditions, representing 12.2 per cent of all serious claims. Claims for mental health conditions
increased by 169.4 per cent over the preceding decade, although the number fell slightly compared with the previous year.

Work-related harassment and bullying, work pressure, and exposure to violence and harassment accounted for more than three-quarters of mental-stress claims in 2024–25.

These figures are not a direct measure of burnout. Workers’ compensation claims cover a range of mental health conditions, and many people experiencing burnout may never make a claim. The data does, however, highlight the importance of employers being very serious about workers’ mental health and workplace safety.

Beyond the search bar

Google Trends cannot tell us whether burnout is becoming more common, why people are searching for it, or whether those searches lead to changes in workplace practices. A spike in interest could be a response to awareness campaigns, specific news stories, people recognising symptoms in themselves, or a combination of these and other factors.

The data does tell us that Google searches in Australia are showing a sustained interest in burnout related information. Organisations that can demonstrate ongoing care and action to prevent burnout may find it much easier to attract and retain valuable employees.