Burnout Isn’t a Weakness, It’s a System Failure
Friday, 07/11/2025 Filed in: Emotional Wellness | Workplace Wellness | Mental Health | Burnout | Resilience
Burnout isn’t a personal failure, it’s a sign that the system needs fixing. Matt explores research-backed strategies to create sustainable mental health for first responders and health care professionals. Learn how rest, predictability, and peer support build resilience that lasts.
Let’s be clear: burnout isn’t a personal flaw. It’s a warning sign that your systems, personal, professional, and organizational, aren’t supporting you the way they should. After several decades working with emergency personnel, I’ve seen how well-intentioned professionals push through burnout, believing it’s their own failure. But research tells us otherwise.
What the Research Says
Burnout is driven by broken systems, not broken people. Studies from the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond show that:
- Burnout rises with uneven workloads and lack of leadership support (Khan et al., 2022).
- Burnout, emotional exhaustion, and job dissatisfaction are increased in high, unpredictable workloads like a pandemic (Mavrovounis et al., 2022).
- Emergency professionals, especially less experienced professionals, faced increasing burnout linked to poor staffing, high call volume, and unaddressed trauma (Petrino et al., 2022).
- A significant link exists between first responders’ perceptions of being dehumanized by the public and their own organizations (meta-dehumanization) and higher levels of burnout, highlighting the impact of societal and workplace stigma on first responder mental health. (Mika-Lude et al., 2023).
- EMS providers with strong social support outside work and healthy coping styles experienced significantly lower burnout rates (Boland et al., 2019).
Three Unexpected Strategies to Build Sustainable Mental Health
- Systematic Rest Across Life Domains
Rest isn’t just physical. According to the “7 Types of Rest” model, we need emotional, mental, sensory, social, creative, and spiritual rest, too. Resilience isn’t built in overtime shifts, it’s built in intentional recharge. - Create Predictability in the Chaos
Unpredictability, not just workload, is a major driver of burnout. Clear communication, stable leadership, and defined job roles go a long way toward reducing mental fatigue. - Peer Support and Cultural Change
People need peer support teams, wellness programs, and leaders who model mental health care. We prevent burnout not just by removing stress, but by creating meaningful support in the midst of it.
Strategize Your Success
At Tactical Counseling, we work with individuals, agencies, and organizations to build mental health wellness programs that last:
- Confidential counseling for first responders, health care teams, and community members.
- Leadership training and workplace wellness program development.
- Peer support team design and crisis response planning.
- Conference speaking and wellness workshops tailored to your team’s needs.
Burnout prevention isn’t a solo project. Let’s build better systems together.
Resources for Further Reading
- Copenhagen Burnout Inventory
- Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by Saundra Dalton-Smith, 2017.
- Shield of Resilience Training Course by SAMHSA
- Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019