Employee burnout statistics 2026: 40+ sourced data points
Every figure on this page is paired with the original study and publication date. Journalists and consultants are welcome to cite the underlying sources directly. Where studies disagree (and they often do), we list both ranges and explain why.
01 / Headline figures
2025-2026
$5.04M
Annual burnout cost
Per 1,000 employees (AJPM 2025)
89%
Presenteeism share
Of total burnout cost (AJPM 2025)
55%
US workers burned out
Eagle Hill Consulting 2025
66%
Global burnout
Modern Health 2025
$322B
Global annual cost
Gallup/Workhuman 2022
2.6x
Turnover risk multiplier
Burned-out vs baseline (Gallup)
$20.7K
Per-executive cost
AJPM 2025 senior band
70%
C-suite considered quitting
Deloitte 2022
02 / Prevalence
Who reports burnout
Eagle Hill 2025
Modern Health 2025
Gallup Jul 2018, n=7,500 (very often/always)
Eagle Hill 2025
Eagle Hill 2025
Eagle Hill 2025 publishes no on-site figure; remote and hybrid both exceed the 55% average, so on-site sits under it
Aflac WorkForces 2025-26 (mod+ burnout)
Aflac WorkForces 2025-26
Aflac WorkForces 2024-25
Aflac WorkForces 2024-25
Gallup Q4 2025, n=22,368 (very often/always)
Gallup Q4 2025, n=22,368 (very often/always)
Gallup 2021, up from 28% in 2020 (very often/always)
AMA 2025 (physicians 41.9%); nurses ~57% 2024
03 / Cost
Financial figures consolidated
AJPM 2025 per employee per year
AJPM 2025 per employee per year
AJPM 2025 per employee per year
AJPM 2025 per employee per year
AJPM 2025 weighted average
Gallup/Workhuman 2022 (turnover + lost productivity)
Goh, Pfeffer & Zenios, Management Science 2016
Gallup 2020
Gallup 2020 senior roles
AJPM 2025
AJPM 2025 (remainder after presenteeism)
04 / Impact
Operational outcomes when burnout is unaddressed
Gallup 2020
Gallup 2020
Gallup (self-reported confidence, not measured output)
Gallup (more likely to visit ER)
Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2018 (Tawfik et al.)
Gallup, State of the American Manager (2015)
05 / Trend
US workforce burnout by survey wave
Burnout did not climb steadily out of the pandemic. On Eagle Hill's own instrument it peaked early, fell for three years, then jumped ten points in 2025 to land just below the August 2020 high.
Source: Eagle Hill Consulting Workforce Burnout Survey, headline US rate from each wave's release, labelled by fieldwork month. Waves Eagle Hill did not publish a headline rate for are omitted rather than interpolated. No 2026 wave has been published.
06 / Methodology notes
Why the numbers vary
MBI (clinical)
Three-dimension assessment: exhaustion, cynicism, reduced efficacy. Produces a graded score. Used in clinical and academic research, including AJPM 2025.
Self-report (Gallup)
Binary: 'very often or always feel burned out at work.' Strict cut-off generates lower-bound figures (around 23%). Most longitudinal panel data uses this.
Self-report (broad)
Single yes-or-no question on recent burnout experience. Captures wider range; produces higher figures (Eagle Hill, Modern Health).
07 / Sources
Citation table
AJPM 2025
The Health and Economic Burden of Employee Burnout to U.S. Employers
Feb 2025
Per-seniority cost figures and 89% presenteeism finding.
WHO 2019
Burn-out: ICD-11 occupational phenomenon
May 2019
Definition and three dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism, reduced efficacy.
Gallup 2018
Employee Burnout, Part 1: The 5 Main Causes
Jul 2018
The strict-definition baseline: 23% burned out very often or always, 44% sometimes. Survey of ~7,500 full-time US employees.
Gallup 2020
Employee Burnout: Causes and Cures
2020
Foundation business-outcomes data: 63% more sick days, 2.6x as likely to be job-hunting, 23% more likely to visit the ER, 13% lower confidence in own performance.
Gallup 2021
Manager Burnout Is Only Getting Worse
2021
Manager burnout 35% very often or always, up from 28% in 2020, widening the gap against individual contributors.
Gallup Q4 2025
Women Show Stronger Employee Engagement Amid Higher Burnout
Fieldwork 30 Oct - 13 Nov 2025
Gender split on the strict instrument: women 31%, men 23%. 22,368 employed US adults, margin of error +/-1.0pp.
Gallup/Workhuman 2022
Amplifying Wellbeing at Work and Beyond Through the Power of Recognition
Oct 2022
$322B global cost of turnover and lost productivity tied to low wellbeing and burnout.
Eagle Hill 2025
Workforce Burnout Survey (Ipsos)
Nov 2025
55% US workforce; arrangement split (61% remote, 57% hybrid; no separate on-site figure published); generational split. 1,400+ US employees. Earlier waves supply the trend series.
Modern Health 2025
Global mental health at work
2025
Global all-time-high 66% burnout figure.
Aflac WorkForces
Aflac WorkForces Report (15th annual)
2024-25 & 2025-26 waves
Generational burnout (at least moderate): Gen Z 74%, millennials 66%, Gen X 55%, boomers 39%. ~2,000 US employees per wave.
AMA / ANA
Clinician burnout surveys
2024-2025
Physician burnout 41.9% (AMA 2025, down from 43.2% in 2024 and 48.2% in 2023); nurse burnout ~57% (State of Nursing 2024).
Goh/Pfeffer/Zenios
Workplace Stressors and Mortality and Health Costs in the United States
Management Science 2016
$125-190B/year US healthcare cost attributable to workplace stress (5-8% of national health spend).
McKinsey 2023
Addressing employee burnout
May 2023
Cross-industry drivers, high performers leave first.
Deloitte 2022
C-suite mental health survey
2022
70% of executives considered quitting.
SHRM 2023
Employee mental-health research
2023, 2025 update
Programme adoption, ROI benchmarks.
Maslach
Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)
1981, ongoing revisions
Three-dimension framework: exhaustion, cynicism, efficacy deficit.
08 / FAQ
Common questions
What percentage of employees are burned out in 2026?
What percentage of employees are burned out in 2026?
Eagle Hill 2025 puts the US figure at around 55%; Modern Health's 2025 global survey reports 66%. Eagle Hill's 2025 breakdown by work arrangement runs roughly 61% for fully remote workers, 57% for hybrid, and around 55% across the workforce overall. The lower figures historically came from Gallup's stricter definition; the recent rise reflects broader survey instruments.
Why do burnout statistics vary so widely?
Why do burnout statistics vary so widely?
Different studies use different instruments. Gallup uses a binary self-report (very often or always), the Maslach Burnout Inventory measures three dimensions and produces a graded score, and consultancy surveys often use a single yes-or-no question. Lower-bound figures (around 23%) typically come from Gallup; higher-bound figures (around 66%) from broader self-report.
How much does burnout cost companies?
How much does burnout cost companies?
AJPM's 2025 study estimates the total annual cost of employee burnout at roughly $5.04 million per 1,000 employees in the US, with presenteeism (working while disengaged) accounting for around 89% of that figure. The remaining 11% is split across absenteeism, turnover, and healthcare claims. Separately, Gallup and Workhuman's 2022 wellbeing study put the global cost of turnover and lost productivity tied to low wellbeing and burnout at around $322 billion a year.
What is the cost of employee burnout per person?
What is the cost of employee burnout per person?
AJPM's 2025 cost-per-employee bands range from approximately $5,000 for individual contributors up to $20,700 per executive per year. The per-person cost is driven primarily by presenteeism (89% of total), then absenteeism, turnover replacement, and healthcare claims. Burned-out employees are 2.6x more likely to leave (Gallup); replacement cost typically runs 1.5x to 2x annual salary.