Burnout specialist Nick Orchard urges Australians to scrap resolutions and install simple prevention systems instead.
What’s happening: Burnout specialist Nick Orchard urges Australian professionals to abandon New Year resolutions and adopt burnout blockers instead. Simple preventative systems protect against rising stress as Bupa reports 70% of working Australians experienced burnout in 2025.
Why this matters: Burnout costs Australian businesses an estimated $14 billion annually, yet workplace wellness programmes miss the markby addressing problems after damage occurs. The crisis extends beyond individual wellbeing to organisational productivity.
As Australians return to work in 2026, burnout specialist and founder of The Big Refresh Nick Orchard delivers a counter-intuitive message: scrap the resolutions.
Instead, Orchard urges professionals to install burnout blockers, simple preventative systems designed to protect against rising stress and exhaustion before crisis strikes.
The advice comes as burnout reaches crisis levels across Australia. In 2025, Bupa reported 70% of working Australians experienced burnout. The 2025 TELUS Mental Health Barometer found 41% were under constant stress, and more than one-third at high mental health risk.
The insidious creep
Orchard explains that burnout operates differently than most professionals expect. “Burnout doesn’t hit us like a truck. It’s an insidious creep that takes hold slowly over time,” Orchard says. “It begins to shape how we perceive ourselves, our work, the people around us, our ability and our worth.”
With costs to Australian businesses estimated at $14 billion, Orchard argues most workplace wellness efforts miss the mark by focusing on recovery rather than prevention, addressing the problem only after the damage is done.
In 2020, whilst in a senior government role, Orchard experienced a near-fatal burnout episode: waking behind the wheel at 130 kilometres per hour on the wrong side of the road with no memory of how he got there. That crisis led to the creation of The Big Refresh, an evidence-based coaching programme now used by executives, creatives and leaders across Australia.
Early warning signs
According to Orchard, burnout starts well before exhaustion with subtle shifts many professionals ignore.
Warning signs include needing praise to feel competent, imposter syndrome or fear of failure driving decisions, information overload making simple tasks hard, struggling to get out of bed in the morning, relying on caffeine and sugar to fuel the day, and skipping restorative habits like sleep, nutrition, exercise, journaling and socialising.
Additional indicators include taking on too much because delegating feels mentally harder, growing cynicism and detachment about work that once energised you, Sunday scaries starting earlier and lasting longer, and staying busy but achieving less through productivity theatre.
“In this age of likes, instant feedback and being ‘always on’, we can get hooked on external validation to prove our worth. Like we’re sunflowers, basking in the glow of praise. But when the clouds come, we droop. We’ve forgotten how to nourish ourselves from the inside,” Orchard explains.
Prevention over recovery
Instead of pressure-filled resolutions, Orchard advocates for burnout blockers: simple systems that build boundaries and protect energy.
Boundary rituals end the work day with clear signals such as a walk, shower or outfit change. Shutting devices off and silencing work email notifications after hours creates separation.
The Daily Win breaks larger tasks into small one to two-hour tasks with clear starts and finishes, building momentum through completion.
Focusing on what’s in your control involves writing two lists: what’s within your control and what’s not. Orchard advises throwing the out of control list in the bin and focusing exclusively on things within your control for the week ahead.
Broccoli time invests 15 to 30 minutes each morning in the most avoided but important task, such as strategy, budgeting or a difficult email. This ensures winning the day before it’s even begun.
The hard conversation habit builds the practice of just saying the thing in the moment to prevent issues festering. It’s the hard or uncomfortable conversations about boundaries, relationships or expectations that bite later.
Circuit breakers in routines schedule micro-breaks to interrupt long stretches of intensity. Taking a 10-minute walk between meetings or setting a hard stop time in the evening prevents sustained strain.
“Just like sunscreen protects us from getting burned, burnout blockers shield us from burnout. 2026 can be the year of high performance, sustainability, wellbeing and joy, with just a few minor shifts to your daily practice,” Orchard says.
As professionals gear up for the year ahead, Orchard calls for a fundamental shift. The industry has normalised exhaustion as the price of success, but burnout isn’t a badge of honour.
“It’s a warning sign that’s been ignored for too long,” he says. “Prevention doesn’t require massive lifestyle overhauls. It just requires paying attention to the early signs and acting on them.”
The message for 2026 is clear: don’t wait for burnout to strike. Install the blockers now, before the creep becomes a crisis. For professionals facing mounting pressure, understanding mental health warning signs could mean the difference between sustainable performance and devastating collapse.
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