We've gotten used to talking about burnout as an individual experience.

Someone is burned out. Someone needs a break. Someone should practice more self-care.

But what if we've been looking at burnout through too narrow a lens?

Across Maryland, healthcare professionals, educators, nonprofit leaders, public servants, business leaders, and employees are doing meaningful work under increasing pressure. When that pressure becomes chronic, the effects ripple far beyond the workplace.

It doesn't stop when the workday ends. Parents have less patience at home. Volunteers have less capacity to give back. Leaders make decisions from depletion rather than clarity. The emotional labor carried by healthcare workers, educators, nonprofit professionals, and public servants eventually affects the people, families, and communities they serve.

That's why I believe burnout isn't just a workplace issue. It's a community issue.The conversations we have about burnout should reflect that broader reality.

As a licensed clinical social worker, I've spent more than 25 years supporting people through stress, trauma, grief, and life's most difficult seasons. Today, I also partner with organizations to help leaders build healthier workplace cultures.

Sharise Nance speaks with healthcare professionals about burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotionally sustainable leadership during a keynote presentation. Photo credit: CLW Creatives

One thing I've learned is this:

Most people don't wake up one day completely burned out.

It happens little by little. 

One skipped lunch.

One late night.

One more responsibility.

One more email answered after hours.

One more time saying "yes" when your mind and body were begging you to say "not today."

Eventually, carrying so much becomes normal.

I've seen this pattern everywhere—from hospitals and schools to nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses. The settings change. The story often doesn't. Good people keep saying yes until carrying too much simply becomes the way they work.

Somewhere along the way, we've started treating exhaustion as the price of doing meaningful work. I don't believe it has to be.

We've spent years telling people to become more resilient.

Resilience matters.

But resilience was never meant to carry the weight of an unhealthy workplace.

Imagine what could change if we asked different questions.

Instead of asking, "Why can't people handle the pressure?"

What if we asked, "What is creating so much pressure in the first place?"

Sometimes it's chronic understaffing. Sometimes it's unrealistic workloads. Sometimes it's constant organizational change. Sometimes it's the unspoken expectation that people will simply keep absorbing more with fewer resources and little opportunity to recover.

That shift changes everything.

That doesn't mean removing every challenge from the workplace. It means creating cultures where people feel supported, workloads are realistic, recovery is encouraged, and asking for help isn't seen as weakness.

Healthy workplace cultures aren't built through wellness initiatives alone. They're built through everyday leadership decisions. They take shape in how workloads are assigned, how leaders respond when someone is struggling, whether people feel safe speaking up, and whether recovery is encouraged. Small decisions, repeated consistently, shape workplace culture far more than any single wellness program ever could.

I've had the privilege of partnering with organizations across the country, including in Maryland, and one thing gives me hope: more leaders are beginning to recognize that employee well-being isn't separate from organizational success. It is organizational success.

Sharise Nance presents on compassion fatigue and emotionally sustainable leadership during a professional conference. Photo Credit: William Nance

No organization will eliminate stress completely, nor should it. Meaningful work is often demanding. The goal isn't to remove every challenge. It's to create environments where people feel supported, respected, and able to recover.

When that happens, everyone benefits.

Employees stay longer. Teams work better together. People have more energy to serve the communities that depend on them. Healthy workplaces create healthier communities.

As Maryland continues investing in healthcare, education, behavioral health, nonprofits, and public service, I hope we also invest in something that doesn't always make the headlines: the emotional sustainability of the people doing the work.

The health of our organizations shapes the health of our communities.

And maybe the conversation isn't simply about preventing burnout.

Maybe it's about creating workplaces where people can do meaningful work without losing themselves in the process.

We don't have to choose between healthy people and high-performing organizations.

The healthiest organizations understand those two things go hand in hand.

Healthy workplaces don't just change organizations. 

They change dinner table conversations.

They change families.

They strengthen communities.

And I can't think of a better investment than that.