Bonita Eby loved her job helping lead a non-profit organization based in Kitchener, Ontario. But over time the workload became overwhelming, something she likens to working a crisis line 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

“I was getting calls on weekends, evenings and on holidays. Work crept into every time and area of my life, and the scope of responsibility continually increased, with nothing coming off my plate,” she says. 

The burnout she experienced began impacting her physical health. She went from running marathons to suffering from bouts of crippling anxiety. She became hypervigilant about her phone, growing anxious every time it rang. She could barely sleep. 

“When my health crashed, it affected my personal relationships because I was unable to give them the attention that they needed,” Eby said.

Eby eventually managed to emerge from her anxiety and burnout by consulting with physicians, naturopaths, and massage therapists. She spent time with close friends and a religious community who surrounded her with love and support. She began seeing a counsellor to help her rebound from what she was experiencing. 

It’s during that time Eby realized she wasn’t alone. In a 2023 survey, four in 10 Canadians reported being more burned out now over the previous year, according to U.S.-based consultancy firm Robert Half. A separate survey from ADP Canada found that approximately half of Canadian employees admit they feel negatively about work, with 30 per cent feeling tired and overworked.

Eby decided to start a new career as a burnout prevention and organizational culture consultant, joining a growing sector of “burnout coaches” – consultants who strive to aid workplaces and workers in their quest for better work-life balance. Drawing from previous high-stress careers or professional qualifications, burnout coaches most often seek to educate their clients on how exactly they can reduce the workplace-related stress in their lives. 

While not a World Health Organization-designated medical condition, the institution has labelled burnout an “occupational phenomenon” in its most recent International Classification of Diseases Revision. It defines burnout as feeling exhausted, negative, or cynical about one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.

The majority of Eby’s work consists of advising companies who have employees experiencing burnout, with a client list that includes news organizations, senior living facilities, police, and hospitals. Other times, she works directly with the employee who is suffering. With employers, she’s often asked to lead workshops on how to manage workplace fatigue. She may be asked to come in for a one-off session or visit on a steadier cadence, depending on the needs of management. 

In consultations with employees–be they weekly or monthly sessions–she focuses on tools and techniques to address the exact issues they are facing. In some cases, workers have asked her to work directly with executives in order to foster a healthier work environment, finding the latter oftentimes receptive to this approach. 

Eby knows from experience that struggling to overcome a deluge of projects can add to burnout, so she frequently works to show leaders how to manage expectations. Knowing how to manage change in particular is critical, said Eby. Whereas smaller companies can enact change quickly without many repercussions, larger companies often struggle to do so. As Eby puts it: it’s a lot easier to put a kayak oar down in the water and spin around than to engage thrusters on a cruise ship to make a one-degree change in direction. Employees in large organizations can be left feeling whiplash when change comes too quickly and the workload piles high, which can lead to a lack of trust in the organization.

The role of a burnout coach is aiding in the communication necessary to fix that. She advises employers to ask staff facing workload stress what exactly they need to accomplish specific assignments as well as clarify assignments. Not everything has to be marked urgent, she notes, advising teams to set primary, secondary, and tertiary due dates. 

She suggests teams list the designated assignments into an Eisenhower Matrix, a visual tool made up of four boxes based on the tasks to accomplish, the tasks to schedule for later, the tasks to delegate, and the ones to delete.  An example of a low-level task would be answering emails, while a high-level task could be contributing to a major project.

Related: Feeling Stressed? Here’s How to Take a Mental Health Leave From Work

For individual clients, burnout coaches often also consult with clients about how to improve their at-home lifestyle choices that might be contributing to workplace stress. Eby says she may suggest healthy cellphone hygiene, such as turning off notifications an hour before bed.     

Poor sleep hygiene is often a crafty culprit that infiltrates every waking hour of our lives, but if the condition isn’t medical, coaches can offer varied steps to guaranteeing restful sleep. Burnout coaches may also suggest taking in as much sunlight as soon as a client gets up, a technique that has been known to boost positive moods and lower stress.

The situation can get so dire that working with a burnout coach may not be enough, especially if signs of poor mental health begin to manifest. In situations where burnout may just be one of many concerning symptoms, Eby sometimes recommends clients consult a physician, who may recommend therapy.