Change the work that burns people out
Ten weeks on workload, control and fairness, with managers in the room.
- Length
- 10 weeks
- Price, indicative
- From $16,000
The World Health Organization’s ICD-11 calls burn-out a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition. So this program changes the workplace: what is asked, who decides, and whether effort is seen.
How the ten weeks run
- Weeks 1 and 2
Burnout weigh-in
A short survey on six levers, two listening sessions and a read of your overtime and absence data.
- Week 3
Leadership game plan
A half-day workshop where leaders choose two levers to change and name an owner for each.
- Weeks 4 to 6
Workload and control
Three 60-minute team sessions to map the work, drop low-value tasks and agree who decides what.
- Weeks 4 to 9
Manager workshops
Four 75-minute workshops on workload talks, fair allocation and noticing exhaustion, cynicism and lost confidence.
- Weeks 7 to 9
Recognition, fairness, community
Team sessions on specific recognition, transparent decisions and peer support, plus a check on what actually gets rewarded.
- Week 10
Scorecard
A repeat survey, a written report and a 90-minute leadership review with next quarter’s commitments.
What you receive
- Who it is for
- One department or site, plus every manager who leads it
- Format
- On site or live online, with manager workshops
- A burnout weigh-in across six levers, reported in aggregate
- A leadership workshop that commits to two changes with owners
- Six team sessions on workload, control, recognition and fairness
- Four manager workshops and a conversation guide to keep
- A scorecard report comparing week 1 with week 10
Is this the right program?
Right for you if
- Overtime, sick days or exits are climbing in one team or site
- Leaders are willing to change workload and decisions, not only fund resilience training
- You have tried apps or webinars and nothing shifted
Look elsewhere if
- Someone needs clinical help now; contact your EAP or a licensed clinician first
- Leadership wants a resilience course only, with no changes to the work itself
Example: a hospital nursing unit
A 60-person inpatient nursing unit has open shifts every week, and charge nurses cover breaks themselves. The weigh-in shows workload and control scoring lowest. Leaders agree to fund break relief and let the unit set its own self-scheduling rules. Charge nurses practice a five-minute check-in at handover. The scorecard tracks missed breaks, overtime hours and the repeat survey in week 10.
Burnout Prevention System questions, answered
Can a program really prevent burnout?
No program can guarantee it, and we will not promise that. What we can do is work on the conditions behind it, the chronic workplace stress the WHO describes, by changing workload, control, recognition, fairness, community and values. Then we measure whether those conditions actually improved.
How is this different from resilience training?
Resilience training asks people to cope better with the same work. This program changes the work: how much is asked, who decides, how effort is recognized and how fairly it is shared. Personal habits are covered too, but they sit inside the organizational changes, not in place of them.
What do leaders have to commit to?
Two things: a half-day workshop in week 3, and at least two concrete changes with a named owner and a deadline. Typical changes include pausing a project, funding break cover or clarifying who approves what. Without that commitment we will recommend a different program.
Do you diagnose burnout in individuals?
No. ICD-11 treats burn-out as an occupational phenomenon, and our coaches do not assess or diagnose anyone. The survey reports only on groups of ten or more. Anyone who is struggling is pointed to your EAP or a licensed clinician, and managers learn how to make that referral well.
How do you measure progress?
We repeat the week 1 survey in week 10 and compare scores on each of the six levers. We add one or two HR measures you already track, such as overtime, absence or exits, and present everything in aggregate at the final 90-minute leadership review.
Plan this program with us
A 30-minute call to see whether Burnout Prevention System fits your teams, your calendar and your budget.