Burnout is a complex topic but employer responses to it are even more complex. Some definitions of burnout make it a direct occupational health hazard and therefore something that all employers need to consider and manage.

But the way that many companies are responding is facile and, as many other people have already pointed out, patronising to employees and minimising the employer’s own responsibilities. Occupational stress is not something that is resolved by reminders of “mindfulness” and the offer or an meditation app and an employee helpline.

Stress at work is probably inevitable for most workers employed by organisations. The friction and pressures of work continually generate stress which needs to be managed through conventional tools like support and leave. An employee does need to be aware of the indicators and behaviours associated with their own stress but this is probably something that requires some individual coaching rather than an app and a video lesson.

By offering inadequate or lackluster support employers seem to put themselves in the worst possible position, acknowledging their responsibility for the occupational nature of the problem and yet not offering a meaningful solution to it. Ultimately some reckoning seems inevitable in this situation.

A deeper review of the origins of stress within the organisation is needed. Things like client interactions, challenging targets, arbitrary deadlines, interpersonal issues may all be deemed a necessary part of an organisation’s management but acknowledging the consequences of these sources of stress and figuring out how the consequences can be managed and ideally neutralised through more positive activities is vital management work.

Commercialised wellness is an almost meaningless marketing concept, mixing it with the realities of workplace stress seems a recipe for disaster rather than the cheap, effortless fix some employers seem to think it is.