The burn-on era: Are your high performers quietly struggling?

Could it be that your star employees are quietly depleted?

This Stress Awareness Month, we look at another form of stress that doesn’t show up as disengagement—but as over-functioning. Enter burn-on, another modern workplace trend shaking up the industry. 

Burn-on, explained 

According to renowned psychotherapist Dr. Bert te Wildt, burn-on is similar to "masked depression”, where individuals appear to be functional but are on the verge of a breakdown.  

Unlike burnout, burn-on sufferers don’t know how to withdraw or slow down—they keep going. They push through chronic stress and fatigue, masking exhaustion through overworking and constant productivity.

They often appear to be thriving professionally, while experiencing extreme fatigue, persistent sleep problems, and emotional distress.  

The hardest part of identifying burn-on sufferers is this: you’ll never know until you look closer.  

How burn-on has weaved itself into our culture

The pandemic has magnified this trend with the “always-on” hustle, blurring lines between life and work. Research also shows that burn-on thrives in workplace cultures where performance is overly glorified; rest is deprioritized, and efficiency becomes a toxic obsession.  

It’s not that your employees lack resilience or commitment—it often boils down to workplace culture that has unspoken expectations of constant availability and recognition that solely rewards output over innovation or effort.  

Left unaddressed, burn-on can increase the risk of long-term mental health issues and sudden burnout which can lead to physical illnesses.  

How to navigate burn-on 

Burn-on is not just a crisis response, it requires early awareness to address its root causes. As an employer or HR professional, you play a key role by:

Creating space for recovery—not just productivity

Remember that your people are not robots, they’re humans too. Make sure to protect their downtime as much as you do their productivity.

What does this look like in practice?

• Encourage screen breaks, even in hybrid setups
• Normalize lunch breaks eaten away from desks
• Design workdays that build recovery by default instead of positioning rest as something to be earned (i.e. no-meeting blocks, where possible) 

Encouraging sustainable performance instead of constant intensity

Avoid the trap of encouraging “always on” behavior and foster a culture where taking leaves without guilt, delegating, and respecting boundaries after work hours are not frowned upon.

What does this look like in practice?

• Include rest-positive behaviors in leadership conversations  
• Evaluate performance not just by output or speed, but by consistency over time
• Reframe recognition toward impact, collaboration, and smart prioritization 

Offer support that addresses everyday stressors

Invest in benefits, programs, and training that help your people recover before the brink of burn-on or burnout.

What does this look like in practice?

• Provide benefits that address daily essentials like mobility, health, and meals
• Equip managers to spot over-functioning—not just disengagement
• Avoid one-off wellness days that don’t match day-to-day workloads

Pro-tip: Partner with Pluxee to move from reactive burnout management to preventive stress strategies that foster sustainable performance.  

Final thoughts

Stress isn’t always loud—sometimes, it looks like overperformance. Burn‑on reminds us that productivity alone is not proof of wellbeing. Understanding how this hidden form of stress shows up in the workplace is a critical first step toward building healthier, more resilient organizations—where employees are supported not just to perform today, but to sustain that performance over time.

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