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Burnout is no longer a buzzword—it’s a business reality. In 2024, more than half of employers reported an increase in leave requests, and over half of those saw increases exceeding 20%. While the reasons for this uptick vary—including illness, mental health, caregiving responsibilities and parental leave—the common denominator is that today’s workforce is stretched thin. In frontline service industries like hospitality, senior care and restaurants, where labor shortages are already impacting operations, the strain is even more visible.
This rising tide of time-off requests is a signal of a deeper shift in how individuals experience work. SHRM found that almost half of United States employees feel burned out and emotionally drained, and more than half feel “used up” by the end of the workday. All of these point to a workforce that’s reaching its limits.
See also: As mental health crisis grows, leave requests are on the rise
What’s fueling the employee burnout trend?
For many in the service sector, long shifts, understaffing and high emotional labor are par for the course. In senior care, workers are juggling physical exhaustion with the emotional toll of caring for vulnerable populations. In restaurants and hotels, increased guest volumes, erratic scheduling and heightened
