Well-being & Workload
Stress and Burnout Check-In
A stress and burnout check-in is a careful conversation in which a manager asks an employee about the pressure they feel, how they recover and what at work contributes to it. It is a management conversation, not a medical or psychological assessment: its aim is to listen, identify work-related causes and decide on practical actions. These questions help you open the topic without judgment and know when to involve other professionals.
17 questions
When to use this template
- When you notice signs of strain such as irritability, withdrawal, repeated mistakes, fatigue or a sharp drop in motivation.
- After a long period of intense work, repeated overtime or a major change that put a team under pressure.
- When an employee tells you they are exhausted or that they cannot keep up.
Questions to ask
Opening the conversation
- 01I have noticed that things seem harder lately. How are you doing?
- 02How would you describe the level of pressure you feel at work at the moment?
- 03Is there anything you would like to share about how this is affecting you?
Sources of pressure
- 04What in your work causes you the most pressure?
- 05Is it the amount of work, the deadlines, the relationships or something else?
- 06When did you start to feel this way?
- 07Are there things outside work that add to the load and that you are willing to mention?
Recovery and coping
- 08How are you able to recover between workdays?
- 09Do you manage to disconnect on evenings and weekends?
- 10What helps you cope when things get hard?
- 11Has your motivation or your concentration changed recently?
Support and adjustments
- 12What would relieve the pressure most quickly?
- 13What could we change in your priorities, schedule or workload right now?
- 14Do you know what support is available, such as occupational health or an assistance programme?
Next steps
- 15What are you comfortable with us doing next?
- 16Would you like me to put you in touch with someone who can help?
- 17When shall we talk again, and how would you like to be asked?
Tips for a useful conversation
- Choose a private, calm place and enough time, and begin with what you have observed, without labels such as 'burnout'.
- You are a manager, not a doctor: do not diagnose or give health advice. Signs of serious distress must be referred to occupational health or the appropriate professionals.
- Look for the causes in the work itself, such as workload, unclear roles or lack of control, and act on those.
- Agree on small adjustments you can make immediately, and check in soon after.
- Respect confidentiality, and explain honestly what you will have to share and with whom.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating stress as a personal weakness or telling the person to be more resilient.
- Waiting until the person is absent or at breaking point before having the conversation.
- Trying to assess the person's mental health or give medical opinions.
- Promising complete confidentiality when you may need to involve HR or occupational health.
Let Passisto People hold these conversations
The AI agent holds structured voice conversations with your employees and gives managers a clear report. People decide what happens next.