How to Spot Burnout Before It Becomes a Retention Crisis

Most HR professionals can spot a resignation letter from a mile away. What’s trickier is seeing burnout before it reaches that breaking point. By the time someone hands in their notice, the damage is already done. That’s the real danger of burnout—it sneaks in quietly, shows up in small ways, and then suddenly becomes a full-blown retention problem.

So how do you catch it early? You listen. Not just to what employees say, but how they say it. You watch for shifts in behavior, in tone, in participation. The clues are there—in survey comments, in absentee trends, in the energy (or lack of it) in your weekly standups.

Let’s unpack what burnout looks like before it hits crisis mode—and how HR teams can step in early, with empathy and strategy.

The Survey Comments That Should Make You Pause

It’s easy to breeze through open-ended survey responses, looking for the obvious wins: “Love my team!” or “Appreciate the flexibility.” But buried in those comments are often the early warning signs. Not dramatic. Not headline-grabbing. Just subtle signals.

“I used to really enjoy team meetings, but lately they’ve felt like a chore.”
“Hard to stay motivated when everything feels urgent.”
“It’s been a rough few months. I’m trying to push through.”

Individually, none of these comments scream crisis. But collectively? They point to disengagement. Emotional fatigue. The beginning of burnout.

And it doesn’t stop there. Look for tone shifts too. Someone who used to write paragraphs now leaves one-liners. A high-performer who gave thoughtful suggestions now skips the comment section altogether. Silence can be just as loud as a complaint.

If you’re using text analysis tools, don’t just rely on sentiment scores. Scan for themes like “overwhelmed,” “exhausted,” or “no time.” They’re often hiding in plain sight.

Absenteeism: When It’s More Than Just a Sick Day

Absenteeism can be tricky to interpret. A couple of sick days? That’s normal. But when someone starts taking more time off, or their PTO usage looks like an escape plan rather than a vacation, it might be time to check in.

Burnout doesn’t always announce itself with a breakdown. Sometimes it’s just a slow fade—a shift from “present and engaged” to “present, but checked out.” You might notice:

• More frequent “mental health days”
• Extended long weekends
• Last-minute call-outs without much context

According to the American Psychological Association, 79% of employees have experienced work-related stress in the last year, and nearly three in five reported negative impacts like lack of interest, motivation, or energy. When those feelings build up, time off becomes less about recharging and more about escaping.

If you’re noticing a cluster of people in one department suddenly taking time off, that’s worth a closer look. Is it the workload? A leadership issue? Something cultural? Patterns matter.

Team Energy: You Can Feel When Something’s Off

Sometimes burnout doesn’t show up in any one person—it shows up in the room. Or the Zoom, if we’re being real.

Maybe you’ve felt it. The vibe is off. Fewer people turn on their cameras. Check-ins go from energizing to awkwardly silent. Team chats used to be buzzing with ideas; now it’s just crickets and status updates.

One HR leader I spoke with described it like this: “It was like someone turned down the volume on the team. Everyone was still showing up, but the spark was gone.”

That drop in collective engagement? It’s not just a seasonal slump. It’s often a sign that people are drained.

It helps to keep an informal pulse—talk to managers, jump into team meetings, even just observe tone in Slack or Teams. When people start doing the bare minimum socially, it can mean they’re already running on empty.

What High Performers Won’t Tell You (Until It’s Too Late)

Ironically, the people most at risk of burnout are often the ones least likely to wave a red flag. High performers, by nature, tend to push through. They take on extra projects, say yes when they should say no, and pride themselves on “powering through.”

Until they can’t.

These employees might keep meeting deadlines, but you’ll notice changes if you’re paying attention:

• They stop volunteering ideas in meetings
• Their feedback becomes minimal or overly blunt
• They start to opt out of social events or team building

By the time they tell you they’re struggling, they might already have one foot out the door. Which is why engagement surveys should never just be about “squeaky wheels.” Use them to check in with your star players, too.

Don’t Wait for the Data to Be Perfect

One of the biggest mistakes HR teams make is waiting for the survey report, the quarterly attrition analysis, the “clear signal” that something’s wrong. But burnout doesn’t run on your reporting calendar.

The truth? You probably already have enough anecdotal evidence to act. If three people in the same month mention feeling overwhelmed, don’t shrug it off. If managers start whispering that morale feels “off,” believe them.

Of course, data helps—but it’s not everything. If you need numbers to justify care, the culture might need more than a pulse check.

What You Can Do (Besides Just Sending Out Another Survey)

Spotting burnout is just the first step. Responding to it is where real culture change happens.

• Create room for honest check-ins. Not performance reviews—real, casual conversations where employees can say, “I’m not okay,” without fear of consequences.
• Train managers to see and hear better. They’re your frontline. Give them tools to recognize signs of burnout and the freedom to offer flexibility.
• Shift priorities when needed. If everyone says they’re overwhelmed, maybe it’s not them. Maybe it’s the workload. Ask: What can wait? What can be dropped?
• Celebrate rest, not just hustle. Recognize people who set boundaries, not just those who go above and beyond.

You can’t eliminate stress entirely. But you can build a culture where burnout isn’t brushed aside—where it’s noticed, talked about, and taken seriously.

One Last Thing

Burnout rarely shows up waving a flag. It’s more like a dimmer switch than a light switch—gradually, the brightness fades. Engagement surveys, absentee data, even meeting vibes—they’re all trying to tell you something.

The question is: are you paying attention?

Because by the time you see the resignation letter, it’s already too late to ask, “What could we have done differently?”