Nearly half of Canadian workers say they feel burned out, and the number keeps rising. Burnout isn’t a personal weakness or a passing HR fad — it’s one of the most significant threats to Canada’s productivity and workforce well-being.

A recent Robert Half Canada survey found that 47 per cent of professionals report feeling burned out, and 31 per cent say their burnout has increased over the past year. That figure has risen from 33 per cent in 2023 to 47 per cent in 2025. And according to Statistics Canada, more than one in five working Canadians (21.2 per cent) experience high or very high levels of work-related stress — climbing to 27.3 per cent in health and social services, the highest of any industry.

This is not just an individual problem; it’s an organizational and economic one. Persistent burnout drains engagement, spikes absenteeism, and fuels turnover — a trifecta that silently erodes Canada’s competitiveness at a time when talent is already scarce.

Shifting the burden

So, who bears responsibility for tackling burnout? Too often, the default answer is the employee. The advice columns tell us to meditate, take yoga, or “learn to say no.” But this places the burden squarely on workers who are already stretched thin.

While employees play a role in managing their well-being, employers must lead. Organizations shape the cultures and systems that either amplify or alleviate stress. When toxicity, unrealistic workloads, and poor communication go unaddressed, morale collapses and cynicism sets in. People stop believing their work matters.

The irony is that in many organizations, leaders respond to low morale by withdrawing further — retreating into budgets, meetings, and metrics — instead of asking their people what’s wrong. That silence deepens the spiral.

Leadership that listens

Breaking the burnout cycle requires introspection and courage from leadership. It means moving beyond slogans about resilience and toward genuine organizational change — listening to employees, re-examining workloads, and confronting the habits that no longer serve.

As Jennifer Moss, workplace expert and author, wrote in Harvard Business Review: “With burnout now officially recognized by the WHO, the responsibility for managing it has shifted away from employees and toward employers. Burnout is preventable. It requires good organizational hygiene, better data, asking more timely and relevant questions, smarter budgeting, and ensuring that wellness offerings are included as part of your well-being strategy.”

Not every solution demands a major investment. Sometimes it’s as simple as adjusting expectations, revisiting schedules, or creating more ergonomic workspaces. What matters most is intentionality — building systems that protect people, not deplete them.

The post-pandemic reckoning

The pandemic fundamentally reshaped work irrevocably. The world of work has changed. But this moment is not only defined by stress—it is also defined by possibility. HR leaders have the opportunity to reshape the workplace into something more human, more resilient, and more adaptive than anything that existed before.

The new workplace requires courage, creativity, and collaboration. It requires seeing HR not as a department, but as the strategic heart of the organization.

And if HR rises to this moment, Canada’s workforce and economy—will be stronger for it.

If nearly half of working Canadians are burned out, we have a national productivity crisis on our hands. The cost is measured not only in lost output, but in disengagement, health-care strain, and diminished innovation.

Flexibility, autonomy, and purpose now define what employees expect — and what high-performing organizations must deliver. Employers who ignore that shift risk losing their most valuable asset: trust.

While burnout may never vanish entirely, Canadian employers have a rare opportunity to rewrite the culture of work. By embedding well-being, empathy, and genuine leadership into their organizations, they won’t just reduce burnout — they’ll unlock resilience and loyalty at a time when the country needs both more than ever.

Anthony Ariganello, CM, FCPHR is the President and CEO of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR British Columbia & Yukon & CPHR Canada).

The team at CPHR BC & Yukon is excited to launch this new monthly column dedicated to covering key HR issues that matter to you, our members. Titled, “PeopleTalking”, the columns will be shared with you in the third week of each month, starting with this first issue.

The columns will be written in an op-ed style and will range between 500 and 750 words. Given today’s attention spans and bandwidths, we wanted to ensure the pieces were easily digestible and shareable.

And we want to hear from you! We always welcome feedback so do let us know your thoughts as each column appears. We also want to know if there are any particular topics you would like us to write about. After all, our aim is to help you in your role as an HR professional in your organization.