💡 Key points to remember :
Burn-out is not just a matter of personal resilience, but a warning signal of a dysfunctional work system. Far from isolated individual solutions, prevention requires a collective transformation of managerial practices, corporate culture and QWL. Nap&Up favors a human and sustainable approach to well-being at work.
⏱️ Reading time : 2min30
We often speak of burnout as a personal problem, an individual “fragility”, a lack of resilience. Yet this increasingly common ailment hides a much broader reality: burn-out is not just a symptom of human weakness, it is often the signal of a failing work system. It’s time to rethink the way we think about working conditions and well-being in the workplace.
Burn-out: more than a matter of individual stress
Burn-out is recognized by the WHO as a “work-related phenomenon”, manifesting itself through a number of effects:
- Emotional manifestations: the exhaustion felt by the individual leads to a loss of control and irrepressible fears, but also sometimes to sadness with no immediate basis. The individual can also be moody, going through extreme emotional states in a short space of time.
- Somatic manifestations: the employee experiences back pain, headaches, nausea, dizziness, excessive weight gain or loss, or sleep disorders.
- Cognitive manifestations: the employee often finds it difficult to take on the tasks assigned to him/her, and increasingly puts him/herself in situations of professional failure.
- Behavioural manifestations: the employee becomes socially isolated, withdrawn, violent and less sensitive to the problems of others.
But if the consequences are manifest at the individual level, the causes are more often structural: excessive and chronic mental workload, constant pressure for immediate results, lack of recognition or support, or absence of room for manoeuvre or autonomy.
So it’s not just a question of an employee “not being able to cope”, but of a system that pushes its staff to the limit.
Why talk about “systematic” disease?
The word is not chosen at random. Systematic” refers to a dysfunction rooted in the very organization of work, its culture, managerial practices and objectives. When several employees in the same company suffer from the same symptoms, it’s not a coincidence – it’s a collective alarm signal.
It also means that individual solutions (coaching, yoga, personal development…) are not enough if the work environment remains toxic. You can’t cure a sick organism by treating just one of its members. According to the WHO, 20% of the world’s workers will have suffered a burn-out by 2024.
The company’s role in prevention
Companies have a collective responsibility to create a healthy working environment that supports the mental and physical health of their employees. This involves :
- A culture of trust and dialogue
- Sustainable work rhythms
- Valuing rest and recuperation time (like micro-naps, for example!)
- Management trained to listen and prevent
- Performance indicators that integrate well-being at work
At Nap&Up, we democratize a more human and balanced vision of work. We believe that a well-rested employee is one who is committed, creative and less stressed. Our nap cocoons and awareness programs are part of this cultural transformation process.
Conclusion
Recognizing that burnout is a systematic illness means accepting that change must be collective. This does not mean blaming the company, but rather inviting it to evolve, to innovate, to take care of its teams as well as its results.
Well-being at work is a necessity, and it’s only by working together that we can get things moving.
