Employee Burnout Statistics: What’s Happening in the Workplace (2026)

Three years ago, most discourse around workplace burnout centered on whether things were improving since the end of the pandemic.

Now, the focus has shifted largely to the effect AI has had on employee productivity and its impact on burnout. Theoretically, AI should help reduce burnout, allowing workers to get tasks done faster and more easily.

But the data points to a more complicated reality. Some workers are getting relief from using AI while others see their workloads expand to fill the time AI was supposed to save.

Here’s our breakdown of the latest data on employee burnout, what’s causing it, and how AI fits into the story.

The state of workplace burnout right now

According to Aflac’s 2025 WorkForces report, 72% of US workers report experiencing moderate-to-high levels of stress, the highest number in the last seven years.

In fact, 55% of US workers are experiencing burnout. In another study by SHRM, 45% claim they feel emotionally drained, and 51% feel used up by the end of a workday.

When it comes to burnout among different generations, the data shows that Gen Z is feeling it the strongest. 66% claim to be experiencing burnout, followed by:

• Millennials (58%)
• Gen X (53%)
• Baby Boomers (37%)

Zooming out, Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report shows that global employee engagement is down for the second year in a row, a $10 trillion cost on the world economy.

What is actually driving burnout (and why leaders keep missing it)

All the data points to two main forces driving burnout: workload and the gap between what managers are seeing and what teams are actually experiencing.

Workload and hours

72% of employees experiencing burnout report being less efficient at work.

And 40% of frontline workers state they work more hours than they would want to.

Even managers are feeling the effects of long hours, with 65% stating that it’s having a significant impact on their stress levels.

The visibility gap between managers and their teams

42% of employees experiencing burnout never tell their managers about it. And out of those that do speak up, 42% report that their manager doesn’t take any action to help reduce their burnout.

The American Psychological Association’s Work in America report shows a further disconnect: 72% of upper management feel positive about company changes, compared to just 46% of individual contributors.

This is important because the data shows that managers have as much of an impact on employees’ mental health as their spouses do.

The managers are struggling, too. They’re 36% more likely to report alarming stress levels.

The effects of AI on workplace burnout

A few years ago, AI might have been briefly mentioned when talking about workplace burnout. In 2026, it’s the biggest variable that’s changed.

Here’s what the data shows:

• Adoption has gone mainstream: 85% of professionals report using AI at work.
• The promise looks real (on the surface): 77% say AI reduces task time, and 45% report significant productivity gains. Optimizing AI use could give employees 2.6 hours back per day, which translates to $2.9 trillion in efficiency gains in the US alone.
• AI intensifies work: A UC Berkeley study shows that AI doesn’t necessarily free up workers’ time, but rather leads to them taking on more responsibilities and working longer hours.
• Heavy AI users are experiencing more burnout: 45% of frequent AI users report experiencing burnout, compared to 35% of non-users.
• Policy and training are still behind AI adoption: Only 45% of companies report having a formal AI policy in place.
• AI-driven job loss anxiety is concentrated in specific industries: 18% of US employees worry that AI will eliminate their job within five years. That number is higher for those working in finance (32%) and technology (31%).

AI isn’t necessarily causing burnout. But it’s also not helping to solve it. 

How to reduce burnout (according to the latest data)

The data points to one high-leverage variable in reducing burnout: the manager. Workers with strong manager support experience 58% lower burnout.

Here’s how managers can support their teams to reduce burnout:

• Get visibility into how your team is actually working: Employees spend 49% of their time on core work, 43% on non-core work, and only 8% on truly unproductive activities. Most managers don’t have a system in place to notice workload issues before they result in burnout or lead to resignations.
• Manage weekly work hours before they become a problem: Once an employee’s weekly work hours go past 60, their risk of burnout doubles.
• Build a sense of belonging on the team: Employees with a strong sense of belonging report lower levels of stress and burnout compared to those without it.
• Actively support your team’s AI usage: Workers whose managers actively support their AI usage are 8x more likely to report that AI has transformed the way work gets done.

To help team members, managers need to know what’s happening on their teams at all times. This is where a tool like Hubstaff comes into the picture.

It can help surface patterns such as:

• Who’s consistently working long hours: Hubstaff makes it easy to spot team members who are working longer hours than is healthy, allowing you to take action before this leads to missed deadlines or quiet quitting.
• Unusual changes in someone’s typical work patterns: On remote teams specifically, having a team member start logging more hours on evenings and weekends is usually worth a conversation.
• Early signs of disengagement: Drops in activity or longer idle periods can often signal that something’s off before employees speak up.

Spotting these patterns early is key to preventing burnout. The sooner you notice them, the easier it’s going to be to support team members and prevent burnout and resignations.

What this means for you

The data shows that workplace burnout isn’t slowing down in 2026. Stress levels are at their highest since 2019, with Gen Z feeling it the most.

A large percentage of workers are experiencing burnout and feeling emotionaly drained.

AI isn’t helping the situation as much as people like to think. For every person getting relief from using AI at work, there’s another that’s getting more added to their plate due to the time saved by using AI.

It’s also clear that the gap between what teams are experiencing and what managers are seeing is getting wider. But this points to a path forward: managers need to build visibility into how their teams are actually working.

The earlier you can see what’s happening inside your team, the better chance you have of preventing burnout and keeping employees happy and engaged.