The Phenomenon of BurningOn and the Performance Paradox
BurningOn is that phase that precedes full burnout, when individuals continue pushing themselves forward, or responding to various demands with what seems an endless reserve of energy like the Duracell bunny! You've likely encountered someone in your organisation who appears to have limitless capacity. Form the outside they may appear to have endless capacity to take on more, can juggle and be very responsive, often driven by deeper performance or perfectionist traits. Many would say they are performing perfectly, and admire their ways, but for how long can anyone sustainably burn on?
A Personal Journey: From BurningOn to Burnout
During the early 2000s digital boom, I experienced firsthand BurningOn for a long time before dropping into complete burnout. Looking back, the warning signs were evident, though at that time, conversations about mental health and burnout were practically non-existent.
My daily reality involved an unsustainable cycle: working throughout the day in the fast-paced new digital economy, constantly pitching for new business while being chronically understaffed. This meant recruiting and interviewing into evenings, developing pitches late into the night, meeting with clients all day, and networking with media owners. As a twenty-something determined to maintain some semblance of social life, I would then party into the early hours to "let off steam" before crashing briefly and starting again at 8am, all fuelled not only with a personal grit and determination to not let anyone down, but also with caffeine in the form of coffee or Red Bull.
At one point I didn't see my flatmate for over six weeks as our schedules never aligned. This physical absence from my home life should have been a glaring warning sign.
One of the most telling indicators of my BurningOn state was my relationship with time and priorities. I could dedicate unlimited focus to clients, team members, and media owners, anything requiring my "work brain" and switching from one to the other with apparent ease, like tabs in a browser. However, I found myself utterly incapable of waiting in a sandwich queue for lunch. It wasn't merely impatience; in my mind, I genuinely couldn't "afford" the time.
What I've since recognised is that during BurningOn, there's often a "micro moment of reset" that is almost mechanical. It occurs when switching between demands, a momentary shutdown before opening a new mental tab and switching focus. While this ability to compartmentalise can initially appear as excellent focus and mental agility, it ultimately fragments attention and depletes cognitive resources if there are too many ‘tabs open’ and wellbeing is ignored.
Fortunately, I had an empathetic boss who mandated several months away from work to recover. Some time spent in Cornwall memorably being chased by a swan and gradually reconnecting with life beyond work. My return was phased, allowing for sustainable reintegration.
The most valuable outcome was learning to recognise the early warning signs of BurningON, both in myself and others,before reaching critical burnout. This experience fundamentally changed my relationship with work and priorities, teaching me that sustainable performance requires genuine self-care, not as a luxury, but as a necessity.
The Critical Warning Signs
The performance paradox is when consistently strong performance leads to ever-increasing expectations, without a corresponding increase in support or time to pause. Over time, the pressure to maintain or exceed previous results becomes unsustainable, and what began as recognition turns into relentless demand.
This cycle often is the BurningOn phase, as individuals feel they must “keep going” at all costs, even when they're running on empty.
How it typically plays out:
You do well, so you're given more to do.
You're seen as dependable, so you’re asked to stretch further.
You deliver under pressure, so pressure becomes the norm.
What starts as praise for doing a great job becomes a quiet trap, where slowing down feels like letting people down, and burning on is worn like a badge of honour.
For individuals and leaders, recognising BurningOn requires attention to these red flags—early indicators that someone may be heading toward burnout:
1. Emotional Disconnect
Feeling emotionally flat or detached
Reduced capacity for empathy
Mechanical approach to previously passionate work
Colleagues making excuses "I don't want to add more pressure," "they're so busy I can't blame them for being short/snappy"
Difficulty concentrating for more than short bursts
Reduced creativity and problem-solving capacity
2. Physical Warning Signs
Persistent fatigue that doesn't resolve with rest
Increased susceptibility to illness
Increasing reliance on adrenaline and caffeine
Changes in sleep patterns
Unexplained physical tension or pain
The Silent Destroyer: Continuous Change
In today's workplace, constant restructuring, technological shifts, and seemingly endless "transformation" have normalised a state of low-level, permanent stress. "Burning on" has become an unintended survival mechanism in organisations disguised as performance and resilience.
Organisational Responsibility and Intervention
Organisations and leaders must move beyond productivity metrics to understand the human cost of constant change. Critical considerations include:
Recognising and addressing "burning on"
Creating genuine recovery infrastructures
Valuing human capacity over continuous output
Developing sophisticated change management approaches involving periods of pause
Coaching Intervention: Illuminating the Invisible
When coaching individuals experiencing BurningOn, superficial interventions prove inadequate. True transformation requires a deeper approach. The most damaging pressures often remain invisible. Coaching creates a structured space to uncover buried stressors: organisational expectations, domestic demands, internal dialogue, and relationship dynamics that silently drain. This archaeological work reveals the true energy landscape, often surprising even the most self-aware professionals.
Beyond generic self-care advice lies sophisticated energy regeneration. Personalised strategies might include boundary and task redesign, delegation frameworks, and communication protocols.
Practical Recommendations
For Individuals:
Conduct monthly personal energy audits
Establish non-negotiable recovery boundaries
Develop sophisticated self-care strategies
Seek professional support when needed
For Leaders:
Create psychological safety environments
Implement flexible performance expectations
Develop holistic wellbeing programmes
Recognise "burning on" as a critical organisational risk
Final Thoughts
Continuous change and performance demands without human consideration is not progress, nor is it to be celebrated.
The most profound leadership recognises that people are not machines to be optimised, but complex beings requiring genuine care and sustainable performance environments.
Organisations must move beyond productivity metrics to understand the human cost of constant change. It's not about working harder and celebrating those BurningOn behaviours but creating environments where human potential can genuinely flourish.
Early recognition of BurningOn represents perhaps our best opportunity to prevent the devastating personal and economic impacts of full burnout syndrome.