Think about the last time someone on your team said “I’m fine”.
When you asked how they’re doing… did you really believe them?
Because across the UK workplace right now, burnout isn’t erupting, it’s eroding.
There are no dramatic confrontations.
No angry resignations.
No flashing warning signs.
Instead, it shows up quietly.
In the employee who stays late every night but never seems to get ahead. In the once-energised contributor who has slowly stopped bringing ideas. In the high performer, whose sick days are becoming more frequent. In the colleague who still laughs in meetings, but whose eyes tell a different story.
Burnout doesn’t explode. It accumulates.
And by the time you can clearly see it, it has already been there for months.
The Problem?
Silence.
This is something that has been sitting with me lately.
The majority of team members who are struggling at work, genuinely struggling, not just having a hard week, will not tell their manager about it.
Not because they do not want support, but because they do not feel safe enough to ask for it.
The latest Mental Health UK’s Burnout Report for 2026 is a complete eye-opener, with over one in three (35%) workers reporting that they did not feel comfortable discussing high or extreme levels of stress with a manager, an increase of 3% compared to the 2025 report.
And for younger workers aged 18-24, 39% would not feel comfortable discussing stress with a manager, an increase of 5% on the previous year.
And here’s the paradox: we have more mental health awareness campaigns, more wellbeing initiatives, more conversations about psychological safety than ever before, yet fewer people feel safe enough to say “I’m not okay.”
That gap between what organisations say they prioritise and what employees actually experience is one of the most painful things about working life in 2026.
The Pressure People Are Carrying?
It’s worth pausing on what workers are dealing with day to day, because the picture is not that simple.
Here are some unsettling statistics that highlight what unaddressed pressure actually looks like in practice:
- 42% are managing a high or increased workload.
- ⅓ are regularly working unpaid overtime.
- Nearly a ⅓ are worried about their job security.
- 1 in 5 took time off sick last year because of stress, and 2 in 5 of those aged 18 to 24 did.
- And of those who came back after time off? 1 in 4 returned to their role without a single conversation about how they were doing or what they needed.
What’s Really Driving It?
The silence.
The overwork.
The inability to ask for help.
These are not personality quirks.
They are patterns.
In the @Positive Intelligence* (PQ) framework, these patterns are called Saboteurs.
They are automatic habits or behavioural patterns that activate under pressure.
They often feel like the mind is protecting us.
Work harder. Don’t complain. Don’t let anyone see you struggle.
But in reality, they keep people stuck.
What makes this especially complex is that these patterns are often the very traits that make someone successful: responsibility, resilience, high standards, and independence.
Under sustained pressure, however, those strengths begin to turn inward.
And what once drove performance slowly starts to erode well-being, quietly sabotaging from the inside out.
What Does This Mean For Leaders?
If you manage people, this matters to you.
Here’s the thing that often gets missed in conversations about team wellbeing: culture flows from the top.
The unspoken rules of whether it’s safe to struggle, whether people can say “I’m not coping”, or whether rest is respected or silently penalised, are shaped by the person leading the room: you.
If your own Saboteurs are running unchecked, no wellbeing programme, policy, or poster will fill that gap.
Leaders have a unique opportunity and responsibility to create psychologically safe spaces where honesty and vulnerability are not just permitted, but expected.
Vulnerability is the currency that builds trust.
By role-modelling it yourself, by openly acknowledging when things are hard, and by normalising “I’m not okay,” you signal to your team that asking for help is safe and human.
The most powerful investment you can make in your team’s mental well-being is working on your own mental fitness first, because your behaviour sets the tone, every single day.
The Power of the PQ Program?
The Positive Intelligence* program is a transformative 12-week experience that equips you with the tools to identify your Saboteurs (the unconscious voices in your mind that are silently sabotaging your success, wellbeing and relationships), intercept them in real time, and activate what PQ* calls your Sage powers, which is the part of you that responds to pressure with clarity, empathy and resilience instead of fear, control or judgment.
The PQ* methodology combines neuroscience with positive psychology and practical daily exercises to build what Shirzad Chamine calls mental fitness: the foundation from which great leadership flows.
Your Next Steps For Leading Differently in 2026:
Are you a business owner, CEO, or team leader ready to lead differently and build genuine mental fitness for yourself and your team?
Or has your organisation recently run employee reviews or feedback sessions, only to uncover recurring themes around communication gaps, delegation struggles, emotional availability, or trust within the team?
Here’s something practical you can do right now.
The Saboteur Self-Assessment is a complimentary, Neuroscience-backed tool that takes around 20 minutes and provides immediate insights into which mental patterns are most active when you’re under pressure.
Understanding these patterns is the first step to transforming how you respond to challenges — and how your team experiences your leadership.
🔹 Message me on LinkedIn or email me at [email protected], and I’ll send you the link to the assessment directly.
🔹 We also offer a complimentary Saboteur Discovery Call, where we walk through your results together and explore what the Positive Intelligence programme could do for you — individually or with your team.
Are you ready to take the next step?
Book your Positive Intelligence strategy call today and start leading with clarity, trust, and resilience in 2026.
*PQ & Positive Intelligence are registered trademarks of Positive Intelligence LLC