Burnout at work is more than simply feeling tired. Prolonged workplace stress can wear down both your body and your relationship with work: energy drops, cynicism grows, purpose fades, concentration becomes harder and rest no longer restores you as it once did.
A common mistake is trying to resolve burnout with a weekend off, a holiday or an even greater effort to pull yourself together. If the underlying causes are a consistently heavy workload, unclear boundaries, lack of control, perfectionism or ongoing emotional pressure, recovery will mean changing how you live and work as well as resting.
At a glance: three main signs of burnout
- feeling emotionally and physically exhausted;
- growing distance from work: indifference, cynicism and a desire to withdraw;
- a reduced sense of professional effectiveness: feeling unable to work as well as you used to.
How does the WHO define burnout at work?
In its ICD-11 classification, the World Health Organization describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Burnout is not classified as a medical condition or mental disorder and relates specifically to the work context.
This matters if you feel weak or unable to cope. Burnout is not a character flaw. It can develop when prolonged strain is not balanced by enough recovery, often involving both personal patterns and the way work is organised.
Signs of burnout: what can it look like?
Burnout rarely starts suddenly. More often, it builds over months: at first you feel you just need to hold on a little longer; then rest becomes scarce and tension turns into a constant background presence. These symptoms may suggest that your body and mind are not getting enough time to recover.
Body
- persistent tiredness
- sleep problems
- headaches, backache or stomach pain
- becoming ill more often
- physical tension
Emotions
- irritability
- indifference
- guilt about resting
- hopelessness at work
- less enjoyment
Thinking
- difficulty concentrating
- feeling that everything is too much
- frequent self-criticism
- cynicism
- feeling unable to keep up with anything
Behaviour
- procrastination
- withdrawing from others
- working evenings and weekends
- using alcohol or calming substances more often
- losing boundaries
Burnout, stress, tiredness or depression: how do they differ?
People often use these words interchangeably, but they mean different things. This table is not a tool for self-diagnosis, although it may help you understand what kind of support to seek.
| Experience | Typical features | What may help? |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary tiredness | Follows a demanding period and usually eases with rest. | Sleep, rest and a lighter workload for a few days. |
| Chronic workplace stress | Prolonged tension, rushing, pressure and physical strain. | Reviewing workload, boundaries, control and support. |
| Burnout | Exhaustion, cynicism or distance from work, and a reduced sense of effectiveness. | Rest alongside real changes to work and personal patterns. |
| Depression | Can affect all areas of life, beyond work: mood, self-esteem, sleep, appetite and a sense of meaning. | Assessment by a mental health professional, with psychological and/or medical support. |
If exhaustion is not mainly work-related but extends to home, relationships and other areas of life, read about why you may feel exhausted even when everything looks fine from the outside.
When should you seek help immediately?
If you have suicidal thoughts, feel intensely hopeless, are harming yourself or feel unable to stay safe, seek urgent help. In Lithuania, call 112, contact Vilties linija on 116 123 or go to your nearest emergency department.
Why does burnout at work so often return?
Burnout can recur when you rest without changing the system around you. Sometimes that system is the workplace: excessive demands, unclear priorities, constant availability, little support, conflict, lack of control or psychological abuse. Lithuania’s State Labour Inspectorate and EU-OSHA recognise psychosocial risks as a real occupational health and safety issue, rather than solely an individual problem.
Internal patterns can also sustain burnout: “I must not disappoint anyone”, “I have to do everything perfectly”, “Saying no makes me a bad employee”, or “I will rest when everything is finished”. These thoughts may seem responsible, but over time they erode boundaries. If saying no leaves you feeling very guilty, read about why saying no feels so hard.
How can you recover from burnout?
Recovery from burnout takes more than a motivational plan. Often, the first aim is to help your nervous system feel safer, before trying to become productive again: less constant rushing, clearer boundaries, more genuine rest and less self-blame.
Support your body and sleep
Start by reducing the strain on your body: sleep, regular meals, movement, limits on screen time and less evening work. These may sound unremarkable, but when someone is burnt out, thinking clearly is often difficult while their body remains under constant strain.
Rebuild boundaries as well as resting
Burnout often returns if you go back to the same pace of work after a holiday. Look at workload, deadlines, responsibilities, agreements, availability outside working hours and your ability to say no.
Separate your responsibilities from problems in the system
Burnout is not simply a lack of personal resilience. If the workload really is excessive, breathing exercises alone will not resolve the situation. Both internal and external changes are needed.
Understand your own pattern of burnout
For some people, perfectionism contributes to burnout; for others, it is repeatedly avoiding conflict or needing to please everyone. Psychological work can help you recognise the internal patterns that keep exhaustion going.
A practical recovery plan: today, this week and this month
Today
Write down your three biggest drains on energy and one thing you can reduce over the next 24 hours.
This week
Choose one boundary: stop answering work messages after a certain time, cancel a non-essential commitment or ask for clearer priorities.
This month
Consider whether your working conditions can realistically change. If they cannot, a more substantial step may be needed: speaking to your manager, reviewing your workload, getting medical or psychological support, or sometimes reconsidering your career direction.
How can you talk to your manager about workload?
A conversation at work does not have to start with the word “burnout” or with personal experiences. It is often easier to discuss specific working conditions. The UK Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards for work-related stress identify six areas: demands (workload and pace), control over your work, support, relationships, role clarity and the management of change. These can provide a framework for the conversation.
Before the conversation
Write down what you are currently doing, how much time it actually takes and where problems arise. Specific examples keep the focus on how work is organised, rather than on whether you are “strong enough”.
During the conversation
You could begin simply: “I would like to discuss my workload. I am currently working on these tasks and can no longer complete them to a good standard in the time available. What matters most now, and what could we postpone or hand over?” Discuss deadlines, availability outside working hours and the support you need as well.
After the conversation
Briefly record what you agreed and set a date to review whether the changes are helping. If agreements repeatedly go unmet, that is useful information when deciding what to do next.
In Lithuania, occupational health and safety specialists assess psychosocial risks at work, and the State Labour Inspectorate lists clear allocation of tasks and responsibilities, open communication and managerial support among preventive measures. If you experience psychological abuse at work, the Inspectorate recommends first reporting it to your employer through the company’s established procedure. If there is no such procedure, write to the head of the company and provide any evidence you have. If the employer does not investigate, or the head of the company is responsible for the abuse, you can contact the State Labour Inspectorate.
Can you take sick leave for burnout?
This is one of the most common practical questions. If exhaustion, insomnia, anxiety or low mood prevent you from working safely and effectively, speak to your family doctor. In Lithuania, the doctor makes this decision: Sodra’s guidance states that a sick leave certificate is issued when a doctor diagnoses an illness and determines that you are temporarily unable to work.
In Lithuania, sick leave certificates are electronic. Your employer pays for the first two days of illness that fall on scheduled working days, and Sodra pays sickness benefit from the third day. To receive it, you need to submit an application to Sodra. This is done once; subsequent benefits are then allocated automatically.
Sick leave gives you time to pause, but does not itself change the conditions that exhausted you. Use this time both to recover and to decide what needs to change when you return to work. The same applies to holidays: to explore why rest does not always restore your energy, read “Why can’t I unwind, even on holiday?”
If paid consultations are currently out of reach, contact your mental health centre in Lithuania. According to the National Health Insurance Fund, these services are free for registered patients covered by compulsory health insurance, and no referral is needed.
How can a psychologist help with burnout?
A psychologist cannot change your workload or organisational culture alone. They can, however, help you understand why boundaries break down, why resting without guilt is difficult, how to recognise cycles of anxiety and self-criticism, how to express your needs and how to distinguish real responsibility from excessive guilt you have taken on.
Iveta Litvinienė offers online consultations for adults via Microsoft Teams in Lithuanian and English. If your burnout seems connected with anxiety, self-esteem, relationship boundaries or a wish to understand yourself more deeply, you can book through the booking page. If you are wondering whether it is time to seek support, you can also read when to see a psychologist.
Frequently asked questions about burnout at work
What is burnout at work?
Burnout is a work-related phenomenon resulting from prolonged, unmanaged workplace stress. The World Health Organization describes three features: depleted energy, increasing emotional distance or cynicism towards work, and a reduced sense of professional effectiveness.
How is burnout different from ordinary tiredness?
Ordinary tiredness usually eases with rest, sleep or time away from work. Burnout lasts longer: you may feel exhausted even after resting, become less engaged with work, lose a sense of purpose and find it harder to concentrate.
Is burnout an illness?
In the WHO ICD-11 classification, burnout is not a medical condition or mental disorder. It is an occupational phenomenon linked to the workplace. However, burnout can be associated with anxiety, depression, sleep problems or physical symptoms, so it should not be ignored.
How can I tell whether it is burnout or depression?
Burnout is primarily connected to work: energy, purpose and motivation decline specifically in a professional context. Depression can affect every area of life, including relationships, interests, self-esteem, sleep, appetite and a sense of meaning. Suicidal thoughts or intense hopelessness call for urgent help.
How long does recovery from burnout take?
This depends on its severity, working conditions, health, support and whether workload and boundaries can change. In milder cases, several weeks of focused recovery may help; in more severe cases, the process can take months.
Can a holiday resolve burnout?
A holiday may ease acute exhaustion, but it does not resolve burnout if you return to the same workload, unclear boundaries, lack of control or constant pressure. Recovery calls for both rest and real changes to working conditions and patterns of behaviour.
Can I take sick leave for burnout?
In Lithuania, a doctor makes this decision. A sick leave certificate is issued when a doctor diagnoses an illness and determines that you are temporarily unable to work. If exhaustion, insomnia, anxiety or low mood prevent you from working, speak to your family doctor. Sodra pays sickness benefit from the third day, provided an application for the benefit has been submitted.
When should I see a psychologist about burnout?
It is worth seeking support if exhaustion persists, sleep is difficult, work causes intense anxiety, everything feels meaningless, conflicts arise, you want to withdraw from others or you no longer know how to set boundaries. A psychologist can help you understand how burnout develops and work towards more sustainable recovery.
Can I get online support for burnout?
Yes. If you are not in an acute crisis, an online session with a psychologist can be a convenient way to begin exploring burnout, anxiety, boundaries and self-understanding. Iveta Litvinienė offers online consultations via Microsoft Teams in Lithuanian and English.
Sources and guidance
- World Health Organization: Burn-out an occupational phenomenon
- Mayo Clinic: Job burnout - how to spot it and take action
- EU-OSHA: Psychosocial risks and mental health at work
- Lithuania’s State Labour Inspectorate: managing psychosocial risk
- UK Health and Safety Executive: Management Standards for work-related stress
- Lithuania’s State Labour Inspectorate: experienced psychological abuse or harassment? (2024)
- Sodra: illness, sick leave certificates and sickness benefit in Lithuania
- Lithuania’s National Health Insurance Fund: where to find free psychological support (2025)
Burnout is not a signal to push yourself harder
More often, it is a signal to pause, acknowledge your actual workload and begin building different boundaries. If that feels difficult to do alone, a psychological consultation may offer a clearer first step.
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