3 days ago
Burnout: It's A Systemic Signal And A Call To Lead Differently
Dr. Sunil Kumar, Lifestyle Medicine Physician, Executive Health Coach & Burnout Reset Expert. Creator of the PREP™ Protocol.
Burnout is often misunderstood as a personal weakness. It's a predictable response to sustained, unmanaged stress in environments that deplete more than they replenish. It is not a sign of incompetence, but a signal, a flashing warning light on the dashboard of modern professional life.
As a physician, executive health coach and founder of the PREP Protocol, I've witnessed the toll burnout takes on brilliant, committed individuals. From hospital corridors to corporate boardrooms, high achievers are quietly burning out while systems mistake performance for well-being, until it's too late.
The solution is not just resilience training or time off. It's a shift in how we define health, leadership and productivity. It starts with recognizing burnout for what it is: a systemic issue, not a personal flaw.
The Scale Of The Problem
The World Health Organization defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon, marked by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced professional efficacy. It's not just a healthcare problem. Gallup research from 2020 shows that 76% of employees experience burnout at least sometimes, with 28% reporting it 'very often' or 'always.'
In the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS), burnout is a leading cause of long-term sickness absence, with stress-related leave costing billions annually. Globally, it's linked to rising turnover, lower engagement and increased medical errors.
Yet despite the data, most responses remain surface-level: wellness webinars, gym discounts or mindfulness apps—all useful but insufficient when the root cause lies deeper.
The Burnout Fallacy: Blaming The Individual
Too often, burnout is framed as an individual failure: a time-management issue, a lack of gratitude or poor emotional regulation. The truth? People aren't burning out because they're weak—they're burning out because they're doing too much, with too little recovery, in systems that reward overextension.
We don't need to fix the people. We need to fix the culture.
That means addressing the deeper drivers:
• Chronic overwork and poor boundaries
• Lack of autonomy and misaligned values
• Toxic leadership and unspoken expectations
• Emotional suppression and disconnection from purpose
A New Model: The PREP Protocol
In response, I created the PREP Protocol—a four-phase system designed to prevent, navigate and recover from burnout. It integrates the science of lifestyle medicine, behavioral psychology, neuroscience and coaching.
This phase is about early detection and proactive resilience. We use validated tools to assess energy levels, stress response and signs of overload. Micro-habits such as sleep hygiene, circadian rhythm alignment, breathwork and digital boundaries are introduced to build a personal "energy bank."
Burnout affects the nervous system, not just the mind. In this phase, we address maladaptive coping mechanisms (like overworking, emotional detachment or addictive behaviours) and introduce cognitive restructuring, somatic regulation and trauma-informed strategies. Tools like heart rate variability tracking and polyvagal practices support nervous system healing.
This phase focuses on rediscovering purpose, meaning and identity. Often, burnout disconnects us from why we started. We use coaching techniques to realign personal values, strengthen emotional intelligence and rebuild healthy relationships. Reflection, storytelling and journaling tools help clients reconnect with their deeper 'why.'
Burnout recovery isn't just about rest—it's about redesign. This final phase is about creating rhythms that support long-term, sustainable performance. Techniques include energy mapping, time-blocking and redefining success beyond metrics. Clients learn to live and lead in alignment with their values, not just their to-do lists.
The Science Behind It
The PREP model is rooted in evidence. For example:
• Sleep And Stress: Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, a key factor in burnout.
• Purpose And Longevity: Studies show that having a strong sense of purpose is associated with a lower risk of stroke, depression and mortality.
• Autonomic Recovery: Somatic practices like diaphragmatic breathing, grounding and heart-focused meditation have been shown to restore vagal tone and reduce cortisol levels.
The integration of lifestyle medicine principles such as nutrition, movement, social connection, stress mastery and restorative sleep is no longer optional. It's essential to recovering health and sustaining performance.
Leadership's Role: Culture Is The Cure
Leaders often ask: What can I do to prevent burnout on my team? Start here:
• Model Boundaries: Don't glorify overwork. Celebrate recovery.
• Encourage Psychological Safety: Create space for difficult conversations.
• Align Work With Values: People need meaning, not just tasks.
• Prioritize Well-Being Infrastructure: Build it into the workflow, not after-hours.
Burnout-proofing isn't a luxury. It's a strategic imperative for retention, creativity and trust.
From Burnout To Balance: A New Definition Of Success
We need to move from hustle to health. From output to impact. From burnout to balance.
True success isn't constant productivity—it's aligned contribution. It's when your work sustains you instead of draining you. When your calendar reflects your values and your energy matches your mission.
That's the future we're building, one professional, one organization, one reset at a time.
Final Thoughts
If you're burned out, know this: You are not broken. You are responding intelligently to a system that was never designed for your well-being.
Burnout is not your identity. It's your feedback. And feedback is the beginning of change. Let's stop asking people to be more resilient in toxic systems. Let's create systems that no longer make people sick.
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