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Workload remains biggest pressure at work, appearing in 4 in 10 coaching sessions
58% of sessions where burnout is discussed also feature workload pressure
AI adds a new pressure: keeping pace with change while still delivering the day job
TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2026, LONDON: Burnout and stress have doubled in workplace coaching conversations in just eight months, according to new data analysis from people development intelligence platform, Bloom.
Analysis of anonymised, aggregated data found burnout and stress were referenced in 24% of workplace development sessions in July 2026, twice the 12% recorded in November 2025.
Workload remained the single biggest challenge throughout the period, with 41% of sessions in July raising issues around workload, prioritisation or time management, up from 33% in November. Pressure around setting boundaries and work-life balance also increased, from 17% to 25%.
The findings reflect a wider picture of mounting pressure at work. In January, Mental Health UK’s 2026 Burnout Report, based on YouGov polling of more than 2,500 UK workers, found high or increased workload was the biggest workplace driver of stress, cited by 42% of workers.
Bloom’s latest data suggests that pressure has not gone away.
Having too much to do is one thing. Losing the capacity to deal with it is another. A deeper analysis of Bloom’s data found workload pressures were more than twice as common when burnout was part of the conversation. Workload featured in 58% of sessions where burnout was discussed, compared with 25% of sessions without burnout.
Boundaries also appear to play a part. Nearly a third (30%) mentioning burnout also referenced difficulties when it comes to setting boundaries, compared with 18% of other sessions.
The language people use to describe pressure at work is changing too. Alongside talk of calendars, prioritisation and to-do lists, later sessions increasingly included phrases such as “survival mode” and “brain fog”.
Samantha Clarke is an award-winning workplace psychologist, TEDx speaker, and Chief Experience Officer at Bloom, said:
“Nobody wakes up burnt out. It builds over time as workload increases, boundaries slip, and people quietly struggle to keep up.
“Having a lot on isn’t the real problem. The warning sign is when people start losing the capacity to cope, or can’t articulate what they need.
“Work strain today isn’t just the to-do list, either. People are managing constant change, working out what AI means for their role, and still delivering the day job - AI creates capacity, but keeping pace with it brings pressure of its own.
“Employers need to ask sharper questions: What’s creating the pressure? What’s getting in people’s way? Are managers and teams equipped to step in before people hit breaking point?
“It’s when things aren’t going well that development matters most.”
What people are struggling with at work
The data shows burnout as the fastest-growing challenge across the period, while workload remains the most common.
Challenge | November 2025 | July 2026 | Change (in % pts) |
|---|---|---|---|
Burnout & stress management | 12% | 24% | +12 |
Workload, prioritisation & time management | 33% | 41% | +8 |
Boundaries & work-life balance | 17% | 25% | +8 |
Delegation & empowering others | 22% | 25% | +3 |
Confidence & imposter syndrome | 20% | 23% | +3 |
Coaching sessions can include more than one theme.
Taken together, the findings show how the pressures people bring to development can reveal a bigger picture of what is happening across a business.
By looking at those patterns anonymously and in aggregate, organisations can better understand what their people are struggling with now and where they may need more support next.
About the data
Bloom analysed anonymised, AI-generated summaries of employee development check-ins between September 2025 and July 2026, using an equal sample of check-ins from each of six alternating months (September, November, January, March, May and July). November and July are compared in the release because November represented the lowest recorded level of burnout and stress during the period.
The analysis tracked 20 workplace development themes. Percentages were adjusted for changes in summary length over the period. The analysis is based on summaries rather than coaching transcripts and identifies themes using automated pattern matching.
The analysis reflects themes emerging among Bloom users engaged in workplace development and should not be interpreted as representative of the UK workforce as a whole.
A separate deeper analysis was used to explore the relationship between burnout and other workplace themes. Further methodological information is available on request.
