{
  "id": 4559991,
  "title": "Building burnout-resistant teams",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/building-burnout-resistant-teams",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-31T03:00:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "e27",
    "slug": "e27",
    "url": "https://e27.co/building-burnout-resistant-teams-20260828/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Over the past 15 years, the author has collaborated with Fortune 500 companies and large organizations in APAC and EMEA, often working with teams in high-speed, constantly communicating environments. Recent data from Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index reveals that 48% of employees perceive their work as chaotic and fragmented, with Microsoft 365 users experiencing a meeting, email, or chat alert roughly every two minutes during core working hours. This phenomenon, which the author has observed while preparing for a LEAP conference in Riyadh, highlights the need for teams to become resistant to burnout.\n\nBurnout, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It includes energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from the job, feelings of cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy. The WHO identifies psychosocial risks such as excessive workloads, long or inflexible hours, low job control, and excessive work-related stress as contributing factors. Addressing these risks through organizational interventions is crucial for preventing burnout.\n\nThe working day can inadvertently build in burnout risk factors. According to ISACA’s 2025 report, 73% of European IT professionals experienced work-related stress or burnout, with heavy workload being a primary contributor. The constant switching between various tasks, such as email, meetings, internal messaging, documents, dashboards, and urgent requests, requires cognitive reorientation. Research by Atlassian shows that 90% of developers lose six or more hours weekly to organizational inefficiencies, while half lose ten hours or more. Despite working hard, many find little uninterrupted time for complex thinking.\n\nManagers play a significant role in shaping the working environment. They set priorities, expectations around response times, and reactions to workload increases. In fast-paced tech environments, difficulties and unsupportive management can negatively impact workplace wellbeing, as seen in ISACA’s 2025 study where 47% of European IT professionals reported this issue. Different workplaces may express strain differently, with some being comfortable with direct disagreement and visible frustration, while others may tolerate prolonged work hours without raising concerns.\n\nPressure reduces cognitive capacity, leading to the adoption of familiar behaviors. Frequent urgent messages and extensive meeting schedules can normalize rapid switching and diminish focused work time. Clear communication expectations, protected periods of concentrated work, and deliberate transitions after cognitively demanding tasks can mitigate burnout risks. Leaders should clarify when escalation is truly necessary to prevent urgency from becoming the default response.",
  "summary": "Over the last 15 years I have worked with Fortune 500 companies and large organisations across APAC and EMEA, often with teams operating in environments where speed and constant communication are built into the working day. The density of that day has changed noticeably. Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index found that 48 per cent of […] The post Building burnout-resistant teams appeared first on e27…",
  "key_points": [
    "48% of employees experience chaotic, fragmented work due to constant alerts",
    "WHO defines burnout as chronic workplace stress syndrome with energy depletion",
    "Managers influence work environment, prioritizing response times and workload"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}