Helping Your Team Overcome Burnout: How Coaching Can Improve Employee Wellbeing

Jan 22

Burnout isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a pressing reality for many workplaces today. Stress levels are soaring, employee satisfaction is waning, and organizations are facing the ripple effects of disengagement and turnover. For HR professionals, addressing burnout isn’t optional; it’s a cornerstone of creating a thriving, productive workplace.

One of the most effective solutions? Mental health coaching. By equipping employees with tools to manage stress, build resilience, and set meaningful goals, coaching can transform workplace culture and improve overall wellbeing.

What Is Burnout and Why It Matters

Burnout is more than just being tired after a long week. It’s a profound state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that can feel impossible to overcome without intervention. It’s not a fleeting experience but a prolonged struggle that slowly chips away at an individual’s energy, motivation, and engagement. For employees, burnout manifests in various ways: missing deadlines, avoiding responsibilities, or withdrawing from colleagues and team dynamics. For organizations, the warning signs often include rising absenteeism, declining productivity, and higher turnover rates.

The impact doesn’t stop at individual employees. Burnout spreads, creating a ripple effect that affects teams and departments. Colleagues pick up slack, increasing their own stress levels, while managers scramble to maintain morale and productivity. Over time, an unchecked culture of burnout leads to a workplace where stress dominates, collaboration falters, and innovation grinds to a halt.

The costs are staggering. According to Harvard Business School, researchers determined that workplace stress caused additional expenditures of anywhere from $125 to $190 billion dollars a year—representing 5 to 8 percent of national spending on health care. Turnover alone, driven by employees seeking better work-life balance, can cost companies 50% to 200% of an employee’s annual salary in recruiting and onboarding expenses. Even for those who stay, “quiet quitting” — doing the bare minimum to get by — erodes performance and damages company culture.

But here’s the good news: burnout is preventable and, with the right approach, reversible. This is where HR professionals shine. You’re uniquely positioned to identify the subtle signs of burnout before they escalate. Pay attention to shifts in employee behavior — like a top performer suddenly disengaging — or team metrics, such as spikes in absenteeism or drops in productivity.

Once burnout is on your radar, action is critical. The key isn’t just addressing burnout after it happens but building a workplace culture that proactively reduces its risk. By implementing thoughtful, people-focused strategies, you can transform your organization into a space where employees feel supported, valued, and empowered to bring their best selves to work.

This isn’t just about survival; it’s about thriving. Addressing burnout isn’t a one-off solution — it’s a long-term investment in your company’s success. When employees feel seen and supported, they’re more creative, collaborative, and committed. And when the culture shifts toward wellness, the entire organization benefits, from leadership to frontline workers.

As HR professionals, you have the tools to create this shift. Recognizing burnout isn’t the end of the story; it’s the beginning of meaningful change that can redefine your workplace for the better. See how much your organization could save using Wave’s handy ROI calculator.

How Mental Health Coaching Can Help

Mental health coaching is a transformative approach to tackling burnout because it addresses the root causes and equips employees with the tools they need to thrive. Coaching goes beyond short-term fixes, offering lasting solutions by empowering employees to take control of their wellbeing. Here’s how coaching can make a real difference:

1. Personalized Support for Unique Challenges

Every employee’s experience with burnout is different. Coaching meets employees where they are, offering tailored strategies that fit their individual needs. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for mental health, but coaching ensures each person receives the support that makes sense for them.

Stress management techniques: Learn how to reduce daily stressors with practical tools like deep breathing, mindfulness, or time management.
Resilience building: Develop the emotional strength to bounce back from setbacks and navigate workplace challenges with confidence.
Goal-setting and alignment: Help employees identify goals that align with their personal values, making work feel meaningful and motivating.

2. Equipping Employees for Long-Term Success

Coaching isn’t just about solving today’s problems — it’s about giving employees skills they can use for the rest of their lives. By addressing the underlying causes of burnout, coaching fosters sustainable habits that promote wellness and productivity.

Improved self-awareness: Employees learn to recognize early signs of stress and burnout before they escalate.
Enhanced communication skills: Coaching helps individuals articulate their needs and boundaries, improving relationships at work and home.
Work-life balance: Coaches guide employees in creating routines that prioritize wellbeing without sacrificing performance.

3. Wave’s Next-Level Approach

At Wave, we elevate mental health coaching with evidence-based methods and innovative technology. Our programs integrate therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mindfulness practices, ensuring employees benefit from proven techniques.

Recommengine feature: This proprietary tool delivers real-time, personalized content based on individual needs. Whether someone is preparing for a tough meeting or seeking a moment of calm during a stressful day, they’ll find tailored resources at their fingertips.
Validated assessments: Employees can track their progress and identify areas of improvement using in-app tools that measure stress, anxiety, and overall wellbeing.

4. A Lifeline for HR Professionals

For HR leaders, mental health coaching offers a scalable and impactful solution to burnout across teams. It’s a way to address burnout proactively, saving time and resources while creating a healthier workplace.

Efficient implementation: Coaching programs like Wave’s are easy to deploy and monitor, with tools that streamline scheduling, tracking, and reporting.
Comprehensive care: Coaching ensures employees receive consistent support that extends beyond individual sessions, fostering a culture of wellbeing.
Real results: Organizations using coaching report higher employee engagement, improved morale, and better retention rates.

Mental health coaching is an investment in the future of your organization. By prioritizing wellbeing and providing tools for success, coaching empowers individuals and teams to achieve their best, both personally and professionally. With Wave, you can bring this transformative support to your workplace, making burnout a thing of the past.

Bringing Coaching to Your Team

Implementing a coaching program might sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. The first step is identifying where burnout is hitting hardest. Are there teams facing high stress levels or employees who seem consistently disengaged? Wave’s in-app assessments make it easy to measure stress, anxiety, and burnout, giving you actionable insights right away.

Once you know where to focus, it’s time to provide support. Coaching sessions offer employees the tools they need to address stress head-on. And the benefits don’t stop after the session. With Wave’s Recommengine feature, employees can access ongoing, personalized guidance, reinforcing what they’ve learned and helping them put it into practice.

Finally, it’s important to track the impact. How are employees feeling? Are productivity and engagement improving? Data from your coaching program can show how it’s driving real, measurable change for your team.

Let’s Tackle Burnout Together

Burnout doesn’t have to be a permanent part of your workplace. With coaching, you can empower your team to manage stress, build resilience, and thrive in their roles.

If you’re ready to take the next step, we’re here to help. Explore Wave’s innovative coaching solutions, or schedule a consultation to see how we can support your organization. Let’s create a workplace where wellbeing and productivity go hand in hand.

Take the first step to keep your workplace safe from burnout — ask for a Wave demo.

Wave Life