Coaching Against Burnout: Why Well-Being Programs Are Not Enough

Today, burnout is a widely discussed topic. According to McKinsey research, 60% of employees have experienced mental and emotional health issues at least once in their lives. Burnout is proving to be an incredibly costly phenomenon for both businesses and governments.

For example, several years ago, the UK spent over £28 billion on fighting stress-related illnesses. Developing strategies to prevent burnout is at the forefront of HR conferences and is an integral part of many companies' HR strategies. Yet, despite this focus, many organizations still struggle to find effective solutions — which is where resilience trainings for employees and coaching for executives come into play.

I have a professional interest in the topic of burnout, particularly among leaders. For my MBA dissertation, I conducted extensive research to understand the roots of burnout and analyze the impact of well-being programs on reducing burnout in the workplace. This research, along with my coaching practice, has led me to several key insights about non-obvious reasons of burnout and why well-being programs are not enough to prevent it.

Despite the variety of well-being programs offered by modern companies, employees who are overwhelmed with work often find it challenging to make use of these programs due to time limitations, particularly in remote work conditions. This often leads to an increase in organizational cynicism, as the effectiveness of these programs in reducing burnout is perceived as low.

What employees truly need is not another app or wellness webinar, but stress management training and ongoing support that helps them build resilience from within — something that traditional well-being programs rarely deliver.

It is definitely a contributing factor to burnout, but not always the main cause. Yes, work intensity may increase during periods of business turbulence, but even in calmer periods, it remains at a high level.

However, when employees no longer see or understand the purpose of the tasks they are performing under conditions of high intensity, this can significantly amplify feelings of burnout. And this is one of the underlying reasons for the employee burnout phenomenon.

This is where coaching for managers becomes essential. Leaders who are trained to help their teams connect daily tasks to a larger purpose can significantly reduce the sense of meaningless that fuels burnout.

Viktor Frankl, a renowned psychologist, found strength and the will to live while enduring life in a concentration camp, imbuing meaning into his most difficult circumstances. Despite the uniqueness of his story, it illustrates that fundamentally, people need to find and sustain the meaning of their work in order to live and move forward.

At times, in the daily routine, it can be challenging to grasp the meaning and value of one's work. In my view, it's a direct task for leaders to infuse employees' activities with meaning, helping them realize their value and contribution to the company's overall mission. Coaching can also be an approach to assist employees in recognizing the value of their work and coping with emotional burnout.

Often, people tend to experience burnout if they do not meet their own image of success or have not achieved the expected career growth, especially if their sense of success is exclusively linked to the possibility of 'taking a picture at the peak of the mountain'. In this case, the joy and accomplishments during the actual process of 'climbing the mountain' are often underestimated or even ignored by the inner critic.

Such beliefs are often deeply ingrained in our consciousness, and analyzing them independently can be challenging. However, they significantly influence the quality and level of satisfaction we derive from our work. It is important to understand that overcoming emotional burnout involves re-evaluating our beliefs and forming effective mindsets that help us recognize our purpose and find enjoyment in the process of achieving it.

This inner work is exactly what coaching for executives and leaders is designed to support — helping individuals uncover limiting beliefs and build sustainable mindsets that prevent burnout at its source.

At Elatra, we’ve seen firsthand that well-being programs alone are not enough. That’s why we’ve developed targeted coaching solutions designed to address the root causes of burnout — not just the symptoms.

Whether you’re looking to support your leaders with executive coaching or implement resilience coaching for employees across your organization, Elatra provides scalable, measurable coaching solutions that deliver real impact.

In addition to well-known reasons for burnout such as stress, high uncertainty, and work intensity, burnout is often driven by internal beliefs, difficulty in setting personal boundaries, and other inner factors.

If you notice similar symptoms in yourself or your employees, or if you're navigating burnout challenges in your organization, we'd be delighted to continue the dialogue with you on this topic — and explore how coaching can help.

👉 Book a demo to discuss how Elatra can support your organization in building resilience.