Rising workplace stress levels make way for new job description: the ‘burnout coach’

Jana Cook has suffered from burnout twice in her professional career.

Both episodes began with a gradual onset of signs and symptoms — including trouble sleeping, extreme fatigue and difficulty completing basic tasks — which culminated in having to take up to six months’ leave from her corporate job to recover.

“In both instances there was a tipping point — a moment in time where I just kind of felt like I ‘broke,'” said Cook, who currently lives in Claresholm, Alta.

“I went from doing all of the things, to doing none of the things.”

Cook did eventually recover, learning important lessons about slowing down and stress management in the process. She now draws on her own experiences to help others, marketing herself as a “burnout prevention and recovery coach” for people worn down by the corporate grind.

“Burnout coaches” and “burnout recovery specialists” are increasingly popping up across Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia and Europe. Rarely are they licensed therapists or psychologists — instead they are usually people who, like Cook, have obtained certification from the International Coaching Federation and have spent a great deal of time researching workplace burnout and its causes.

Other burnout coaches have taken courses in stress reduction techniques, mindfulness, even hypnosis.

While their backgrounds may vary, all burnout coaches cater to the growing number of workers who say they are stressed out, overwhelmed and struggling to cope.

A November 2023 survey of 765 Canadian professionals by human resources consulting firm Robert Half found 42 per cent of respondents felt burned out on the job, with 36 per cent of respondents saying they were more burned out than they were a year ago.

Cal Jungwirth, workplace expert and director at Robert Half, said there are a number of factors contributing to rising burnout rates, including stresses associated with returning to the office in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as economic pressures forcing workplaces everywhere to do more with less.

“Organizations are being very fiscally careful, but it’s coming at a bit of a cost, and that cost is to their people,” Jungwirth said.

“If 42 per cent of folks are feeling some sort of burnout, that’s an immediate red flag.”

“Burnout” is not a formal medical condition, but the World Health Organization recognizes it as an “occupational phenomenon” resulting from chronic workplace stress. According to the WHO, burnout is characterized by feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, negativity or cynicism related to one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.

Nelson, B.C.-based Christy Nichol launched her burnout coaching business after the unrelenting volume of work at her private athletic therapy practice pushed her to the brink. In her case, burnout manifested as extreme exhaustion coupled with panic attacks.

“I remember walking into the doctor’s office saying, ‘There’s something wrong with my heart,'” she said.

“People start getting stress-related diseases and illnesses. But a lot of people don’t want to talk about it because they think that everyone perceives them as having everything together.”

Nichol employs a variety of strategies to help her burned out clients calm their nervous systems, which involves everything from deep breathing exercises to trigger point releases.

Sleep is another big area of focus when it comes to recovery, said Jenn Bruer, a Toronto-based burnout prevention and recovery facilitator.

“I always say start with sleep, because it’s probably the biggest bang for your buck. No amount of self-care is going to help you if you’re awake all night, every night,” she said.

Beyond the physical symptoms, burnout coaches often guide their clients to make lifestyle changes, such as limiting emails in the evening and learning how to say no. They can also assist burnout sufferers with planning a return to work after a stress leave, or help them plot a career change.

While working with a burnout coach may be helpful for some, said Houyuan Luo, a registered psychologist with MindPeace Psychology in Toronto, it’s important to recognize that it is a new and unregulated industry.

“The biggest problem with unregulated professionals is that they cannot be held accountable by anybody if something goes wrong,” Luo said.

“People should know they also have the option of working with regulated professionals like psychologists, psychotherapists, and social workers — people who are properly trained and where there is a regulatory body for them.”

But the rise of the burnout coach shows a growing societal awareness of the consequences of burnout — both at the personal level and the corporate level, where managers should be concerned about the costs to the organization when burned-out employees quit or need to take extended leaves to get better, Cook said.

“It can take someone years to get to this state of being burned out and exhausted. It doesn’t happen overnight and therefore recovery doesn’t happen overnight either,” she said.

“I mean, you’re looking at six to 12 months, easy.”

But Cook said her experience, and the experience of many others, proves that it is possible to bounce back.

“If you’re feeling like you might be burnt out, it doesn’t have to be forever,” she said.

“But you have to be able to be brave enough to make some changes to get out, get through it, work through it. Because the things that you were doing that got you to today are not going to get you through to make you feel different for tomorrow.”