Burnout is relational: Reflections on resilience in our workplaces

Lately, we've been reflecting on the state of our workforce in mental health and wellbeing spaces. As the demands on services continue to rise, we’re noticing something important — the ways we relate to each other under pressure can either protect us or contribute to burnout.

It’s easy to slip into comparisons: “Why do they get that and we don’t?” Especially when resources feel scarce and the pressure to do more with less keeps building. In these moments, reflective spaces — which should be a buffer — can start to feel thin or unsupported. We see colleagues skipping breaks, pushing through illness, or not taking leave because they worry about burdening or angering the rest of the team. This culture of self-sacrifice may be well-intentioned, but it adds up.

What if burnout isn’t just individual, but relational? Feeling unsupported or undervalued is rarely just about workload — it’s about how we’re met in our work. And the same goes for resilience. It lives not just within people, but between them.

Resilient teams make space to reflect together. They allow for imperfection. They support diversity, creativity, flexibility, and care — even (and especially) when things are hard. They remind each other that being valued isn’t about always coping or performing, but about showing up as humans in a system that often forgets we’re just that.

One of the most enriching aspects of training and supporting teams to utilise a relational reflective practice model is seeing these moments of connection and authenticity between workers, and the growth in resilience of the team as a whole . Models and practices that provide safe spaces for us to show up as people with and for one another are sadly not always run of the mill in mental health and community care settings. And often they are one of the first things to go out the window in the rush to meet the demands of the work when the pressure is on - ironically when they are most in need of protection, commitment and investment.

Let’s keep asking: How do we support each other not just to survive this work, but to do it in a way that’s sustainable and relational?