Cities with the most burnt-out employees revealed: London tops the list again in 2025

The things we Google can reveal a lot about how we feel. With searches for ‘signs of burnout’ up almost 20% in 2025, we analysed trends across 30 global cities to reveal where burnout sentiment is highest.   

Most burnt-out cities globally 

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, a former Google data scientist, once said in an interview, “You can’t really trust what people tell you in everyday life, or even what they tell surveys. But for some reason, people confess their secrets to Google.” 

To find out where people are most concerned about burnout, we researched Google searches at a city level for: 

• ‘burnout symptoms’ 
• ‘how to cope with burnout’ 
• ‘am I burnt out?’ 
• ‘signs of burnout at work’ 

Londoners are the most burnt-out 

Our research shows Londoners have the highest burnout sentiment, followed by Singapore and Melbourne.  Compared to data from 2024, Manchester shot up 7 places in our rankings, to become the 13th most burnt-out city in 2025, while Stockholm shed a remarkable 12 places, to 28th on our list. 

Data shows that 91% of Brits have faced “high or extreme levels” of pressure or stress over the past year, with one in nine UK workers needing to take time off work in the past year for mental health reasons. 

In Singapore, a culture of overwork is taking its toll, with 61% of employees currently experiencing burnout. Meanwhile, despite Australia’s reputation as a laid-back country, two major cities from Down Under, Melbourne and Sydney, made it into the top five. This is likely due to the phenomenon of the “Great Australian Burnout.” A recent by study by Beyond Blue shows that 1 in 2 Australians are facing burnout. 

In the States, where almost half of employees report feeling the impacts of work-related stress every single day, the outlook is no better than in Singapore and Australia. In fact, it’s estimated that over 80% of American workers are currently at risk of burnout.  

Defining the symptoms 

The World Health Organisation recognises burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” resulting from chronic, unmanaged workplace stress. According to the WHO, three dimensions characterise burnout: 

• Energy depletion or exhaustion 

• Feelings of negativity, cynicism or increased mental distance from one’s job 

• Lower professional efficacy 

Top causes 

These are the factors that UK workers say cause them the most stress: 

• 76%: High workload or relentless time pressure 
• 62%: Financial worries, including taking on extra paid work to cope with living costs 
• 38%: Concerns over redundancy or job security 
• 32%: Poor management or lack of support 
• 31%: Bullying, harassment or intimidation 
• 26%: Mandatory office returns and inflexible working policies 
• 68%: Difficulty managing work-life balance 

Lifestyle stressors like poor sleep, poor physical health, and financial worries also contribute to burnout among Brits. 

Know the signs 

Are you burnt out or on the path towards it? Recognising the signs of burnout is important so you can address the problem before it worsens. Common signs of burnout include: 

• Difficulty concentrating 
• Less sense of pride in your work 
• Losing sight of your goals 
• Loss of motivation 
• Frustration and irritability 
• Unexplained headaches or muscle tension 
• Fatigue 
• Changes in appetite or sleep habits 

Five tips for coping with burnout 

1. Take care of your physical needs. A healthy diet and regular exercise will boost energy levels and help you cope with stress. 
2. Talk about it. Discuss your workload with your manager, and try to find ways to reduce or redistribute the work. Talk to your loved ones about your feelings, and ask for their support. You may also want to talk to a counsellor or mental health professional. 
3. Take a tech break. Set time aside each day to completely unplug. Turn off your phone and laptop, and recharge by relaxing or doing something creative. 
4. Prioritise. Have a clear sense of which commitments are most important to you. Say “no” to demands on your time that take low priority, so you can say “yes” to your high-priority commitments. 
5. Practise relaxation techniques. Yoga, meditation and deep breathing all combat stress and help your body to relax. 

Flexible working arrangements can help  

Working arrangements have a clear impact on UK workers’ burnout levels. In 2025, 29% of fixed-location office staff and 34% of field-based workers reported workplace stress contributed to burnout, compared to just 19% of home-based and 18% of hybrid workers. Embracing hybrid and remote models remains a proven way to reduce burnout risk across the UK workforce.