Workplace Burnout in Asia: How to Handle Overwork

Strategies to Handle Overwork

Work and wellness have an interdependent relationship. One’s underlying state of wellness – physical and mental health, family life and relationship, personal motivation, values, and experiences – affects their job performance. At the same time, one’s work and its quality affect their personal wellness, financial stability, social status, self-esteem, sense of purpose, pand hysical health. Here are a few simple strategies that organizations and employees can adopt in order to ensure enhanced well-being and productivity.  

For organisations

• Offer classes such as meditation, yoga, stress and time management, counselling or other perks.
• Build on-site amenities such as nap-pods, quiet rooms, free massages, games and activities. 
• Provide part-time, flexi-time or off-site work options.
• Shorten work weeks and make paid time off each year a compulsion. 
• Put a cap on overwork hours.
• Make performance-based bonuses, awareness ceremonies, celebration of work-related milestones, verbal appreciation in front of colleagues, and written acknowledgements a norm. 

For employees  

• Observe your high energy levels through the day and accomplish challenging tasks in those boosts. Be fully focused and limit distractions during those phases. Take short breaks away from your desks – such as getting a coffee, conversing, or physical movement – during low energy phases. 
• Discover whether you are a morning, midday, or evening person. Then set up your working schedule accordingly. Morning people wake up easily and notice a drop in energy in the afternoon. Mid-day people usually can wake by 7 or 8 in the morning and their energy peaks in the afternoon. Evening people are groggy in the morning and usually sleep late. 
• In fully alert phases, focus on critical & pressing matters such as important reading, meetings, etc. In alert phases, take up moderately engaging tasks such as creative and physical tasks, checking in with teams, etc. In sluggish phases, take up tasks that are not critical but interesting such as short projects, presentations, interactive tasks, etc. 
• Uncover your power hour i.e. 30 minutes or 3 hours after waking up. Indulge in high priority, important tasks during that hour. 
• Employ the ABC & 123 Technique: Categorize items on your to do list into A (most important), B (important but not associated with a deadline) and C (least important). In each category, number the tasks (1, 2, 3) based on priority. 
• Follow the 7-8-9 rule: Sleep for 7-8 hours, work for 8-9 hours and enjoy 7 hours of free time
• Be a master of delegation – assign time-consuming, repetitive tasks to team members that align with their interests or goals.
• Use the ‘Act As If’ Method: identify the type of person you want to be (such as a diligent worker) and adopt actions that align with your identity (such as dedicating focused time for working). Track these actions on a daily basis to build proof that you’re becoming this person. It helps sustain and strengthen your new habits. 
• Implement your intention – Be clear about the habit you want to create and sustain in a way that is motivating to you. The simple formula for this is : I will (behavior) at (time) in (location). 
• Stack your habits i.e., pick a current habit and add a new habit following. For example: I will complete one hour of uninterrupted, dedicated work and then take a 5 break. 
  
  

In a culture that glorifies overwork, reclaiming well-being at work is indispensable. With burnout on the rise, both organizations and individuals must prioritize sustainable work practices. While systemic changes are needed to shift deeply embedded norms, small, intentional actions can go a long way in restoring balance and preserving mental health. A happier workforce isn’t just more productive—it’s more human.