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Workplace Mental Health Courses That Work

Workplace Mental Health Courses That Work

20/05/2026

A manager freezes when an employee discloses burnout. A team leader spots conflict escalating but is unsure whether it is poor behaviour, work pressure or a psychosocial hazard. HR is fielding rising stress leave, while executives are asking for proof that any training investment will reduce risk and improve performance. This is where workplace mental health courses stop being a nice-to-have and start becoming part of core business capability.

For Australian employers, the conversation has shifted. Mental health at work is no longer just about awareness campaigns or a wellbeing week in October. It is tied to psychosocial safety, legal duties, leadership effectiveness, retention and the cost of preventable harm. The right course can strengthen manager confidence, reduce absenteeism, support early intervention and give organisations a clearer path from policy to practice. The wrong one can waste time, tick a box and leave the real risks untouched.

Why workplace mental health courses matter now

Most organisations already know poor mental health affects productivity. What often gets missed is how directly it affects operational performance. When people are mentally stretched, concentration drops, mistakes increase, conflict becomes harder to resolve and discretionary effort falls away. Teams can still look functional on paper while quietly underperforming.

There is also a compliance reality. Across Australia, employers are under growing pressure to identify and manage psychosocial hazards with the same seriousness applied to physical risks. That means job demands, poor support, bullying, traumatic exposure, low role clarity and poor change management are no longer abstract HR issues. They are workplace risks with legal, financial and cultural consequences.

Mental health training helps close the gap between intent and action. Policies matter, but they do not teach a supervisor how to have a psychologically safe conversation. A risk framework matters, but it does not help a senior leader recognise when workload design is driving harm. Capability is what turns good governance into consistent behaviour.

 

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What good workplace mental health courses actually teach

Not all training in this space is equal. Some programs stay at the level of awareness and never move into practical application. That can create short-term engagement without changing what people do on Monday morning.

Effective workplace mental health courses are built around role clarity. Executives need to understand governance, risk and organisational drivers. Managers need practical skills for recognising warning signs, responding to concerns, setting boundaries, supporting performance and escalating appropriately. Employees need language, tools and confidence to contribute to a safer culture, seek support early and look after their own resilience.

The best programs also connect mental health to everyday work design. That includes workload, change fatigue, conflict, remote work pressures, traumatic exposure, decision-making authority and team norms. This matters because many psychosocial risks are structural, not personal. If training only focuses on individual coping, it can miss the root cause.

A strong course should leave participants with usable frameworks, not vague encouragement. That might include how to prepare for a wellbeing conversation, how to document concerns, how to assess psychosocial hazards, how to support someone after a critical incident, or how to lead in a way that increases psychological safety without lowering accountability.

The commercial case is stronger than many leaders realise

Decision-makers do not need another generic pitch about caring for people. They need to know what changes when training is done well.

The commercial upside usually shows up in four places. First, there is risk reduction. Better trained leaders identify issues earlier, respond more consistently and are less likely to mishandle disclosures or overlook harmful team dynamics. Second, there is performance. Mentally healthy teams generally communicate better, recover faster from pressure and sustain higher engagement. Third, there is retention. People are more likely to stay where managers are capable, workloads are managed and support feels genuine. Fourth, there is cost containment through lower absenteeism, reduced presenteeism and fewer psychological injury claims.

That does not mean every course delivers immediate, cleanly measurable ROI. It depends on the starting point, the quality of delivery and whether training is reinforced by systems, leadership and follow-through. But organisations that treat mental health capability as a business discipline, rather than a one-off event, are typically in a stronger position across culture and risk.

What to look for before you buy

If you are assessing workplace mental health courses, the first question is not price. It is fit for purpose.

Start with the outcome you need. If your issue is low manager confidence, awareness sessions for all staff will not be enough. If your challenge is psychosocial compliance, a motivational wellbeing talk will not address it. If your workforce is exposed to trauma, you need delivery that understands trauma-informed practice, not just general stress management.

Then look closely at who is delivering the training. Subject matter credibility matters in this field. Providers should understand mental health, organisational systems, leadership behaviour and psychosocial risk, not only one of those areas. In practice, the strongest delivery usually comes from facilitators who can bridge clinical insight and workplace reality.

Format matters too. Self-paced learning can be effective for scale and consistency, but it rarely replaces discussion-based learning for managers handling sensitive situations. Workshops and masterclasses often produce stronger behaviour change because participants can practise language, test scenarios and receive feedback. For many organisations, the best model is blended – combining digital learning with live facilitation and practical tools.

Finally, ask how success will be measured. Completion rates are easy to report but weak as a business metric. Better indicators include manager confidence, changes in help-seeking, reductions in team-level risk factors, engagement trends, incident data and participant application back on the job.

Common mistakes organisations make

One of the biggest mistakes is buying a single course and expecting a whole-of-business result. Training can be powerful, but it is not magic. If leaders model unhealthy behaviour, workloads remain unreasonable and reporting pathways are unclear, even the best course will struggle to shift outcomes.

Another common error is treating all audiences the same. A frontline supervisor, a WHS lead and an executive team do not need identical content. Each group has different responsibilities, levels of influence and decision-making authority. Training is more effective when it is tailored to those realities.

Some organisations also avoid the harder topics. They are comfortable discussing resilience or self-care but hesitant to address bullying, role ambiguity, unrealistic deadlines or poor leadership behaviour. Yet those issues are often where the greatest risk sits. Good training does not sensationalise them, but it does not sidestep them either.

How to make training stick

If you want workplace mental health courses to drive real change, think beyond the session itself.

Training works best when it sits inside a broader capability plan. That includes leadership expectations, clear escalation pathways, psychosocial risk processes, communication from senior leaders and practical reinforcement after the training ends. A manager who learns how to have a supportive conversation also needs time, permission and policy backing to use that skill properly.

It helps to build momentum in layers. Start by identifying your highest-risk groups or greatest capability gaps. Managers are often the best place to begin because they shape daily experience so directly. From there, extend learning to employees, specialist teams and senior leaders with content matched to each role.

Case studies, scenario practice and post-training tools make a significant difference. People remember what feels relevant to their work. A childcare leader, a defence contractor and a corporate services team face different stressors and need examples that reflect that. Practicality is what turns information into changed behaviour.

This is also where specialist providers can add value. An experienced partner can help align training with psychosocial obligations, leadership capability and organisational strategy rather than delivering a disconnected workshop. For many employers, that is the difference between activity and impact.

A better standard for workplace mental health courses

The market is crowded, and that can make it hard to tell the difference between education that informs and training that transforms. A better standard is practical, evidence-based and designed around measurable workplace outcomes. It equips leaders to act earlier, supports employees more effectively and strengthens systems that reduce harm before it escalates.

For organisations serious about performance, culture and compliance, the question is not whether mental health training belongs at work. It is whether the training you choose is strong enough to change what happens in real conversations, real decisions and real pressure. That is where the value sits, and where better workplaces are built.

young workers aren’t lazy

Young Workers Aren’t Lazy. They’re Burning Out

22/04/2026

There’s a quiet moment happening across workplaces right now.

Not the dramatic resignation.
Not the viral “I quit” post.

It’s the moment someone opens their laptop… and already feels behind.

No energy. No urgency. Just a steady pressure that never really switches off.

Left alone, that pressure builds. And for many young workers, burnout isn’t occasional anymore. It’s starting to feel like the baseline.

young workers aren’t lazy
Photo by cottonbro studio via pexels.com

The data is hard to ignore

Workplace research shows a clear generational gap.

Around 72% of Gen Z and 77% of Millennials report at least one burnout symptom. For baby boomers, it’s closer to 38%. Only 45% of Gen Z rate their wellbeing as above average, compared to 84% of boomers.

You can debate the reasons. The pattern is harder to dismiss.

Younger employees aren’t entering the workforce energised. Many are arriving already depleted.

A moment that stuck

A few months ago, I spoke with a manager about her team.

She mentioned a young employee. High performer. Reliable. The kind of person you don’t usually worry about.

Until something shifts.

It wasn’t dramatic. Just quieter. Less spark.

So she asked, “How are you, really?”

There was a pause. Then:

“I’m tired. Not just today. All the time.”

And then:

“I feel like no matter how much I do, it’s never enough. And I don’t even know what ‘enough’ looks like.”

That’s not someone disengaging. That’s someone who still cares, but is running out of capacity.

And it’s not rare.

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What’s actually driving it

This isn’t about a weaker generation. It’s about a heavier load.

1. The pressure to prove yourself quickly

Many young workers started their careers during disruption.

There’s an underlying sense of being replaceable. When that’s the baseline, everything feels urgent.

More than half of workers say job insecurity significantly increases stress. So people don’t just work. They stretch themselves to feel safe.

2. The cost of living squeeze

Housing costs are high. Everyday expenses keep rising. Wages haven’t kept pace.

For many, work isn’t building a future. It’s maintaining the present.

That creates a loop. Push harder, still feel behind, push again. No real progress.

3. Work no longer has clear edges

The workday doesn’t end cleanly.

Messages, notifications, constant updates. Career comparison is always on.

Even when you’re doing well, it rarely feels like enough.

4. Expectations have shifted. Systems haven’t

Younger workers expect more than a pay cheque. They want meaning, flexibility, and a life outside work.

Most workplaces weren’t designed with that in mind.

So tension builds. High expectations for purpose inside systems still focused on output above everything else.

That gap drains people.

This isn’t disengagement. It’s misalignment

It’s easy to frame this as a motivation issue.

It isn’t.

Young workers aren’t rejecting work. They’re responding to work that doesn’t feel sustainable or meaningful.

When effort doesn’t lead to progress
When loyalty doesn’t create security
When flexibility still means being always available

Burnout stops being surprising. It becomes expected.

What actually helps

Perks won’t solve this. This comes down to how work is designed.

Make support tangible

Only a small portion of employees feel genuinely supported by wellbeing initiatives.

Support looks like manageable workloads. Clear priorities. Leaders who don’t reward overwork as commitment.

Restore clarity

Uncertainty wears people down quickly.

Clear expectations. Transparent decisions. A visible path forward.

People can handle pressure. What they struggle with is ambiguity.

Set boundaries that hold

If everything is urgent, nothing is.

Leaders need to define what “off” actually means. Otherwise, people stay on by default.

Rebuild connection

As flexibility increases, isolation often follows.

Regular check-ins. Mentorship. Conversations beyond tasks.

These aren’t extras. They’re what keep people grounded.

The bottom line

That manager shared something else.

Nothing about the role had changed.
The workload hadn’t suddenly increased.

But the experience of work had.

That’s what many organisations miss.

Young workers aren’t burning out because they can’t handle work.

They’re burning out because the current way of working takes more than it gives back.

Call it a motivation issue if you want.

Or recognise it for what it is:

A signal that the system hasn’t caught up.

At WMHI, we turn burnout insights into practical change. We help leaders embed support into everyday work, not just policies, so teams can perform without burning out.

Because awareness doesn’t change outcomes. What you implement does.

why your team is still burning out

Why Your Team Is Still Burning Out Even With All the Effort You’ve Put In

10/12/2025

It’s a moment many Australian leaders know well. You genuinely care about your people. You want them to be steady, supported, and able to do good work. And when you’ve already made real improvements, it’s confusing to see burnout creeping in anyway.

The issue usually isn’t the effort or the initiatives. It’s that the way wellbeing is introduced doesn’t always line up with what people actually need. When the approach misses the mark, even well-meant programs don’t land.

This is often the point where workplaces start rethinking their strategy. They realise wellbeing isn’t built from one big idea. It grows from choosing an approach that fits the culture that’s already there.

why your team is still burning out
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich via pexels.com

How We Got Here

For years, workplace wellbeing followed a familiar pattern.

Morale dips, so a workshop gets booked.

A tough incident occurs, so an awareness day is added.

The intentions were solid. They gave people something to hold onto. They just didn’t reach far enough.

More organisations across Australia are now recognising that wellbeing can’t sit on the side as an add-on or a once-a-year reminder. It has to be part of how the place operates each day. Not a project. Not a seasonal push. A steady practice that shapes how people work and lead.

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Four Ways to Think About Wellbeing

  1. Build It Before You Need It

Think of it like training before the marathon, not halfway through the race.

Supporting people early is always easier than helping them recover once they’re already overloaded.

What this looks like in Australian workplaces:

  • Teaching small, everyday habits for managing pressure
  • Treating resilience as a shared responsibility rather than something people must figure out alone
  • Picking up early signs so issues don’t snowball into crises

Where this works well: busy environments, frontline teams, regional services, or any industry where the job itself comes with ongoing pressure.

What tends to happen: fewer people on stress leave, fewer claims, fewer urgent escalations, and a general feeling that people can actually breathe. This is prevention at work.

  1. Link Wellbeing With Performance

People work better when they feel well. And they usually feel better when their work is going well. These two feed off each other.

In practice, this looks like:

  • Making wellbeing part of performance conversations rather than a separate topic
  • Leaders talking about mental health appropriately with the same steadiness they bring to budgets and planning
  • Job design that involves the person actually doing the work
  • Workloads that can be sustained for the long term
  • Helping teams focus on doing good work instead of scraping through the week

Who benefits most: organisations chasing strong results without burning out their people.

What changes: engagement climbs. Contribution feels meaningful again. You see it in attendance, tone, and the way people front up. Work becomes something people invest in, not something they endure.

  1. Understand Trauma

Some roles come with an emotional load. It doesn’t mean people are fragile. It just means the work is heavy.

This approach involves:

  • Recognising how trauma shapes reactions, tone, behaviour, and decision-making
  • Helping people listen with empathy without absorbing the distress of others
  • Setting boundaries that protect both sides of a conversation
  • Creating systems for debriefing, recovery, and emotional safety

Where this matters in Australia: healthcare, emergency services, community services, schools, corrections, and any role where people see distress up close.

What you notice when it’s working: steadier teams, calmer responses under pressure, fewer critical escalations. People still care deeply, but they’re not being worn down by the emotional weight of the work.

  1. Teach Real Skills

Awareness matters, but it’s not enough on its own. People need skills they can use right away.

You’ll see this approach when workforces get:

  • Practical tools that apply to their day
  • Trainers who understand the industry, not just the theory
  • Follow-up and coaching so learning becomes habit
  • Programs that reflect the reality of the workplace rather than generic templates

Best for: teams ready to move from conversation to capability.

What happens: confidence grows. People know what to try, what to say, how to step in, and when to step back. The culture shifts from ideas to practice.

Which One Fits You?

Most workplaces blend a few of these approaches. The important part is knowing where to begin.

  • If burnout is rising, start with prevention.
  • If performance feels stagnant, connect wellbeing to how work gets done.
  • If people are carrying trauma, support must be visible and structured.
  • If you want lasting change, teach real skills.

You don’t need to correct everything at once. Start with one thing and build from there.

Our Take: Mental Wealth

We call it Mental Wealth because the aim isn’t to patch damage. It’s to build capacity.

Stress isn’t always the enemy. Sometimes it builds strength. Skills matter more than slogans, and confidence grows faster when you build on what’s already working instead of focusing on what isn’t. Real wellbeing comes from people who know how to adapt, recover, and work in ways that genuinely support them.

That’s the basis of everything we teach. Whatever approach you choose should help your people feel capable, not dependent.

Making It Work

For any approach to stick, a few things consistently matter:

  • Leaders go first so the culture is real rather than symbolic
  • Use trained professionals because expertise shapes outcomes
  • Keep it practical so people use it outside the training room
  • Repeat it so it becomes part of the way things run
  • Measure what works and adjust along the way

Moving Forward

There’s no single version of workplace wellbeing that works everywhere. The best approach is the one that fits your people and grows with them.

The workplaces getting real results are the ones that:

  • Understand what they’re trying to shift
  • Choose solutions that match their world
  • Build skills instead of slogans
  • Keep improving instead of doing one big burst of effort

Because wellbeing is not an add-on. It’s how good work sustains itself.

And when people feel supported and valued, it shows in the work, the energy, and the way teams treat each other.

If you want to figure out what will work best for your team, we can look at your workplace, find the right starting point, and shape practical wellbeing support that actually lasts.

Let’s talk.

reduce absenteeism and boost productivity

Mental Wealth at Work: A Proven Strategy to Reduce Absenteeism in Australian Businesses

12/07/2025

There’s something unspoken in a lot of Aussie workplaces. You hear it in that awkward pause before a Zoom call kicks off. Or when someone asks, “How’s everyone doing?” — and gets a quick, polite “Yeah, good thanks” from the group. Even though… clearly not everyone is. This often hints at underlying workplace mental health issues.

It’s not always burnout. Or anxiety. Or overwhelm. But it’s something. And whatever it is, it’s costing teams more than just a bad day. It’s contributing to employee mental health and absenteeism, impacting productivity, focus, energy, and creativity. The spark that makes work meaningful — and people feel human.

We’ve normalised it, though. Tired teams, constantly in catch-up mode. Leaders juggling too many hats. People pushing through, because that’s the Aussie way, right? Get on with it. Tough it out. This often leads to work from home burnout and working from home stress.

reduce absenteeism and boost productivity
Photo by Marc Mueller: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-sitting-in-front-of-computer-380769/

But what if we didn’t have to keep doing it that way? What if we prioritised workplace wellbeing through effective workplace mental health programs and employee wellbeing programs?

Mental Health at Work Is the Start. Mental Wealth Is the Game Changer.

Most businesses are already on board with the importance of mental health at work. The campaigns, the stats, the activities for Mental Health Month — maybe you’ve done a mindfulness session or joined a step challenge. You might have participated in mental health awareness training or mental health awareness activities.

All good stuff. But let’s take it further.

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Mental Wealth is what happens when you build something deeper. It’s not just about surviving the tough days — it’s about having the tools, the mindset, and the community to get through them well. It’s resilience with resources. Not just for the breakdown moments. For the everyday. This is about building mental health resilience and promoting a mentally wealthy workforce.

Stress in the Workplace Is Real. But It Can’t Be the Default.

Look, stress in the workplace is real. We all know that. Deadlines exist. Tricky conversations need to happen. And yes, some weeks will be chaotic. This can lead to psychological injuries and mental injury at work.

But when that chaos becomes business as usual? When every day feels like a pressure cooker? That’s when the cracks appear.

People start missing work. (Absenteeism creeps up, often as sick days mental health or sick leave for mental health). Emails get shorter. Smiles fade. Teams disconnect. The work still gets done — but not with the energy, care, or collaboration it needs. Workplace bullying signs and a toxic work culture can also emerge.

And if no one names it? It gets dismissed as laziness. Or “poor attitude”. Or not being a “culture fit”.

When really, it’s just a sign of people running on empty, facing potential workplace burnout.
So What Does Mental Wealth Actually Look Like?

It’s not a checklist. It’s more a feeling you get when you walk into the room. It’s about cultivating psychological safety in the workplace.

It’s the team that can laugh — even when it’s flat out. The manager who checks in and really listens, demonstrating skills learned in manager mental health training or resilient leadership training. The colleague who quietly covers for someone who’s struggling, no questions asked.

Sometimes it means pushing back on that unnecessary 7th meeting. Or making it okay to not reply to emails after hours. Or simply recognising that support at work isn’t just nice — it’s necessary. This often ties into good risk management for supervisors and managers regarding employee mental health.
When people feel resourced, supported, and heard — not micromanaged, not burnt out — that’s when productivity lifts. Not because of pressure. But because people have the headspace to think clearly and the emotional fuel to contribute meaningfully. This is a key benefit of mental health training in the workplace.

This Isn’t Just a Leadership Program. It’s a Human One.

A lot of companies handball this stuff to HR. Or expect team leaders to figure it out solo. And sure, an anxiety management course or leadership training can absolutely help. Corporate mental health training is a great starting point, as are mental health courses for managers.

But workplace culture isn’t built in training rooms. It’s built in small, daily moments:

  • The way people speak to each other
  • How you respond when someone says, “Honestly, I’m not okay” (which might indicate signs suicidal or the need for suicide prevention training)
  • Whether it’s safe to take a mental health day, or silently frowned upon

Workplace burnout doesn’t explode out of nowhere. It drips in slowly — through unspoken expectations, a lack of recognition, and not enough time to recover. This highlights the importance of burnout prevention strategies and burnout prevention training.

And the good news? Culture is everyone’s job to shift. This includes addressing issues like bullying in the workplace training and anti bullying training for employees.

What Happens When You Get Mental Wealth Right?

The changes are subtle at first.

Someone takes fewer sick days. (Absenteeism drops). Another starts sharing ideas again. Deadlines aren’t panic-inducing anymore. People start showing up — not just in body, but in mind and spirit. This demonstrates the success of employee resilience programs and corporate wellbeing programs.
Stress is still there. But now, it’s met with mental wealth — with boundaries, with kindness, and with systems that actually support people. This often involves stress management courses and resilience training in the workplace.

And that’s when the magic happens. Teams collaborate better. Work gets done with intention. And slowly, people stop surviving work — and start enjoying it again. This is the goal of building resilient teams and fostering team resilience in the workplace.

Before You Go

If any of this hit a nerve, it’s probably because you’ve lived it.

That slow, creeping fatigue. That sense that work’s taking more than it gives. That you’re expected to be productive — even when you’re barely coping.

That’s why we talk about mental wealth. Because it’s not fluffy. It’s not optional. It’s the foundation for everything else, leading to improved employee health and wellbeing strategy and reduced statistics on mental health in the workplace.

Want to learn more? Start a conversation in your team. Or grab a copy of Mental Wealth — not because we wrote it, but because it just might be the beginning of something better. Consider exploring corporate mental health programs or mental health training for managers.

Work shouldn’t cost you your mind. Or your health. Or your life outside of it.

And we believe truly, it doesn’t have to.

Author: Peter Diaz
Peter Diaz profile

Peter Diaz is the CEO of Workplace Mental Health Institute. He’s an author and accredited mental health social worker with senior management experience. Having recovered from his own experience of bipolar depression, Peter is passionate about assisting organisations to address workplace mental health issues in a compassionate yet results-focussed way. He’s also a Dad, Husband, Trekkie and Thinker.

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Work-from-home-burnout

The real dangers of Work-From-Home burnout and how to properly tackle them

28/08/2020

Work-from-home (WFH) burnout is a real, serious, and increasingly common risk for remote workers across the globe. Learn the signs of WFH burnout, how to combat it, and where employers/virtual managers and employees can reach out for help.

The world is grappling with the novel coronavirus pandemic that continues to take a toll on nearly all aspects of people’s lives. The vast majority of the workforce across the globe has willy-nilly adapted to a new work environment — the new “normal” in the context of the pandemic. But working from home has also opened a Pandora’s box of workaholic tendencies, anxieties and fears, proneness to overworking and burnout, and potential mental health problems.

While the virus itself poses a risk to our physical health, the impact of the whole unnerving situation on our mental health is anything but negligible, and this is especially true for remote workers whose home has transformed into their office. Between working harder and longer hours from home and juggling family responsibilities, people who have been working remotely due to government-imposed restrictions are facing an increased risk of WFH/ lockdown burnout, with potentially long-term repercussions.

Work-from-home-burnout

Different Remote Workers in Different Industries, All Overworked and Burned Out

What used to exclusively be their own oasis of relaxation where they’d spent quality time with their loved ones and unwind has also become their work environment for several months now. In a recent BBC News video, three professionals working remotely in different industries share their WFH experiences in terms of feeling the signs of burnout and overworked during lockdown in the UK.

 

“When I used to work at the gym I’d finish my work at the gym and then get home and rest but this just feels like there’s no end”.

Ana, a young personal trainer living in the UK, has been intensely working from home since March. Stuck at home, she started posting more educational content and live streaming workouts on Instagram, which quickly increased the number of clients from different countries. To provide her services online to clients in different parts of the world, such as the US and Australia, she’s been working almost round the clock. “I’m constantly working”, confesses Ana. From 30 sessions per week, Ana now manages 50-60 sessions per week.

 

“Because I lost all the gig income, I had to really buckle down”.

For David Altweger, a middle-aged musician and owner of an independent record label, the pandemic has had a devasting impact on his gig income. Running a record label online requires a lot of hard work and longer hours, so it’s no wonder that David’s workload significantly increased. He starts his day at 5 a.m. with a strong coffee. David’s workday is around 16 hours, as he’s got to handle every aspect of his business himself, including design work, office work, and, with his distributor closed due to lockdown, even CD deliveries, which are quite time-consuming, taking him at least 2 hours a day.

“Sometimes I feel like Covid Father Christmas delivering music to people’s door”, confesses David. His Moka pot is his “secret weapon”, but at the end of the day, he feels “completely knackered”.

 

“Lockdown has brought out the workaholic in me”

Abbey, a young art director working remotely for an ad agency in the UK has been feeling the pressure to stay productive and has been experiencing the effects of overworking due to fear of losing her job too. “I’m doing ten times more because there’s so much uncertainty around jobs and everything”, laments Abbey, for whom “the need to keep working” at all costs is so strong and deeply embedded that she oftentimes refuses to tend to her physiological needs for food.

She finds it difficult to take a break just to have lunch because she “doesn’t know how to switch off”. A major contributor to her inability to switch off is the fact that work and relaxation take place in the same environment i.e her home. Separating the two is as difficult for Abbey as it is for other remote workers around the globe.

In America, where over 30 million people have filed unemployment claims since March, the pressure to stay productive and even be more productive than prior to the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to a dramatic rise in the number of overworked people working from their homes. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll , 45% of US adults say that this whole situation associated with the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health.

I find myself working all the time, even when I should be getting ready for bed”

41-year-old New Jersey resident and mother-of-two Alana Acosta-Lahullier is overworked and feels burned out to the bone. Alana says she feels “an obligation to get everything done right”, even if doing so is detrimental to her mental health and well-being. Between her full-time job, working remotely for an electrical contractor, parenting, and helping with the schooling of her daughter and son, who has ADHD on the autism spectrum, she’s “constantly on the verge of a panic attack”.

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Panic-Working Is a Manic Defense

Even Gianpiero Petriglieri, a psychiatrist, MD, and associate professor of organisational behavior at the Business School for the World (INSEAD) admitted in late March that “by the time I went to bed at 3 a.m., I was exhausted, edgy, and miserable” due to “panic-working” from home.

The obsession with staying productive at all costs is considered a “manic defense” by psychoanalysts. Panic-working gives us a false sense of security and the illusion of being in control. It numbs us in the short term but this defense comes at a high price – feeling disconnected from reality, our experiences, and other people, and completely burned out.

Fighting Fire with Fire: A Vicious Cycle

Remote workers are oftentimes pushing themselves too hard as a way of coping with their anxieties and fears caused by the pandemic and the recession. But overworking in an effort to stay productive does not serve them well; in fact, it’s akin to self-sabotage because it eventually leads to burnout, more anxiety, depression, and other repercussions on their mental and overall health.

Both employers/virtual managers and remote workers need to be aware of the increased risk of burnout associated with working from home, recognise the (early) signs, and effectively combat it as early as possible.

Working Harder and Longer Has Become the Norm

Transition to a work-from-home culture has been challenging for managers across the globe. Finding new ways to ensure that their remote teams stay productive is one of their main priorities. However, instead of worrying about their teams’ underperformance, virtual managers should be on the lookout for overperformance, which has been found to be productivity’s enemy rather than its ally.

According to a 2017 working paper published by researchers at Harvard Business School, task selection is a common way through which workers manage their increased workload. More specifically, they tend to complete easier tasks, a behavior labeled as Task Completion Bias (TCB). Although TCB has been found to improve short-term productivity, it negatively impacts long-term performance measured by revenue and speed alike. Workers who do not exhibit this behavior tend to be significantly more productive than those who exhibit TCB.

Research shows that the vast majority of remote workers are more productive than their in-office counterparts. They work harder and longer hours than ever before for different reasons, including the fact that employers apply increasingly more pressure for efficiency purposes. for financial rewards, and out of fear. Remote workers fear for many things – they fear for the health and safety of themselves and their loved ones; the economic fallout and uncertainty of the future; they fear for losing their livelihood/financial security and no longer being able to provide for themselves and their family, and more.

But the reality is that overworking makes a remote worker more prone to WFH burnout.

The Warning Signs of WFH Burnout

Work-from-home or lockdown burnout refers to a state of exhaustion on physical, emotional, and mental levels caused by prolonged and excessive stress associated with panic-working/overworking from home and disruption to the work-life balance.

Although burnout is still not classified as a medical disorder, the World Health Organisation (WHO) included it in ICD-11 last year as an occupational phenomenon and is defined as “a syndrome” that results from chronic and unsuccessfully managed workplace stress.

What to watch out for:

  • Chronic fatigue/exhaustion and apathy
  • Depression and/anxiety worsening over time
  • Constantly elevated stress levels and reduced energy levels
  • Feeling overwhelmed and mentally drained all the time
  • Inability to focus and forgetfulness/memory issues
  • Lack of motivation, feelings of negativism toward one’s job
  • Declining performance, avoiding work or inability to switch off
  • Chest pain, shortness of breath and/or heart palpitations
  • Irritability, anger, and sleep disorders (e.g. insomnia)
  • Dizziness and headaches/migraines
  • Loss of/reduced appetite and/or gastrointestinal issues

Early recognition of these signs via virtual channels such as chat apps and video calls is of the utmost importance. It’s worth noting that a worker who is affected by WFH/lockdown burnout does not necessarily have to exhibit all of the above signs, because it manifests differently in different people.

Burnout can also weaken a remote worker’s immune system, which in turn may increase the risk of getting infected with the novel coronavirus.

Tips To Combat Lockdown Burnout

  • Establish clear boundaries that separate work from personal life to prevent work-life balance disruption
  • Set office hours and create a schedule designating work, free and family time to regain control
  • Avoid the tendency of being the perfect worker, which adds extra pressure
  • Take time off to unwind and discover a new hobby
  • Maintain social interactions/connections to avoid social isolation and detachment
  • Don’t suffer in silence -Talk to your team, virtual manager and reach out for help
  • If you are a manager or supervisor, make sure you can provide first aid for mental health incidents involving anxiety, stress and burnout.
  • As an organisation, provide workplace mental health training and resilience building skills training for your managers, supervisors and leaders.

Reach Out For Professional Help From Therapists

It’s absolutely crucial for virtual managers to learn to recognise the telltale signs of work-from-home burnout as early as possible in order to minimize its long-term impact on remote workers’ mental well-being as well as to properly address it in a timely and efficient fashion. The Workplace Mental Health Institute ( WMHI) is here to help virtual managers across the globe with a suite of tailored, top-tier and results-driven telehealth training courses and services, counseling, and coaching sessions on mental health, well-being, and resilience of employees working remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you’re an employee working from home and you’ve been feeling the effects of burnout and overworked during lockdown, it’s in your best interest to take some time off to decompress and to speak with a qualified therapist. In case your job offers free counseling sessions through an employee assistance program (EAP), then do yourself a huge favor and take full advantage of it for the sake of your mental health and well-being in these uncertain and difficult times.

Author: Peter Diaz
Peter Diaz profile

Peter Diaz is the CEO of Workplace Mental Health Institute. He’s an author and accredited mental health social worker with senior management experience. Having recovered from his own experience of bipolar depression, Peter is passionate about assisting organisations to address workplace mental health issues in a compassionate yet results-focussed way. He’s also a Dad, Husband, Trekkie and Thinker.

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