How we source burnout cost figures
Every cost figure on this site is paired with a named study and its publication date. The consolidated citation table on the statistics page lists each source in full; the summary below groups the load-bearing references by type. Where studies disagree (and they often do), we show the range and explain why rather than pick a single number.
Sources
- AJPM 2025 cost model (the anchor). “The Health and Economic Burden of Employee Burnout to U.S. Employers” (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, February 2025). The source for our per-seniority cost bands ($3,999 to $20,683 per employee per year), the $5.04M-per-1,000-employees headline, and the finding that presenteeism accounts for roughly 89% of total burnout cost.
- WHO ICD-11 and the Maslach framework. The World Health Organization recognised burnout as an occupational phenomenon in ICD-11 (effective 2022); Christina Maslach's Burnout Inventory (MBI) defines its three dimensions (exhaustion, cynicism, reduced efficacy). Together they set what burnout is and how it is measured.
- Prevalence surveys. Gallup's State of the Global Workplace and long-running Q12 engagement research; Eagle Hill Consulting's 2025 Workforce Burnout Survey (Ipsos, November 2025, 1,400+ US employees); the Aflac WorkForces Report; Modern Health; and clinician-specific data from the AMA and the American Nurses Association.
- Cost and business-outcome research. Gallup and Workhuman's 2022 wellbeing study ($322B global cost of turnover and lost productivity); Goh, Pfeffer & Zenios (Management Science, 2016) on the US healthcare cost of workplace stress; and workforce-trend research from Deloitte, McKinsey, and SHRM.
What we deliberately do not publish
- Specific named-organisation burnout costs. Where a specific organisation's burnout cost is known to us through public reporting, it is described as a case study; aggregate figures are reserved for cases where multiple sources align.
- Mental-health diagnosis or clinical advice. This site publishes cost research. It is not a clinical resource. Individuals experiencing symptoms of burnout should consult a qualified health professional.
- Personal organisation or individual data. Calculators run entirely in your browser. Your headcount or role-mix inputs are not transmitted, logged, or stored.
Update cadence
Site values update only when the underlying reality changes. Triggers:
- Annual Gallup State of the Global Workplace refresh
- A new AJPM, Eagle Hill, or Aflac burnout-survey wave
- WHO or ICD guidance change on workplace mental health
- New academic publication with material findings on burnout cost
Cosmetic date bumps are not made.
Editorial position
This site is operated by Digital Signet, an independent AI-development studio. Digital Signet does not sell wellness platforms, does not act as an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) provider, does not run an HR or wellbeing consultancy, and does not accept paid placements from any vendor in the workplace-wellness space. See /about for the operator and the wider network.
Editorial direction is set by Digital Signet's editor. Drafts are produced via Digital Signet's autonomous AI development methodology and reviewed against the editorial framework before publication.
Contact
For methodology questions, corrections, or scenarios that don't fit cleanly: [email protected].