Imagine winning a pie-eating contest where your prize is yet more pie. This mirrors the high performer’s dilemma: the more they give, the more others take, as hard work often earns them additional work. This cycle can take a toll on their mental well-being, with burnout and related challenges disproportionately affecting high performers.
As a manager, you play a key role in spotting early signs of strain in your high performers and helping them stay well. Mental well-being challenges can show up in any organisation, but they’re especially common in environments where people consistently push themselves hard and take on a lot. The question is: how can you support them so they can keep doing great work without reaching burnout?
Why does burnout occur more often among high performers?
One in five high performers experiences some form of mental well-being challenge. They are more likely to take on more work, chase promotions, and work overtime.
The work habits of high performers partially explain why they are more likely to struggle with mental well-being challenges. At OpenUp, we see the following reasons for this (forgive us if we’re generalising a little):
- Completing a triathlon, painting a masterpiece, climbing Mont Blanc: high performers at work are often high performers in their private lives. Rest always comes second.
- High performers are more likely to feel a need to prove themselves. They want to exceed their standards as well as everybody else’s. They’ll always try to do things a bit better than others.
If they know that clients are paying thousands of euros or pounds a day for their organisation’s services, then they don’t feel like they can have an off-day or an off-week.
But business practices – often unconsciously – put pressure on the mental well-being of high performers, according to Harvard Business Review:
- High performers get assigned more difficult projects
- High performers are often expected to support employees who don’t perform as well
- High performers are more likely to be asked for help on things not directly related to their role
- “Top-tier” companies often have an up-or-out system (either you get promoted or you get fired) or several employees compete for the same promotion
- (Extreme) Overworking is seen as a normal part of the role or even rewarded
- The company culture doesn’t encourage openly discussing your feelings
Curious to learn more about spotting u0026 supporting burnout within your team?
Recognising mental well-being challenges in high performers
The easiest way to recognise mental well-being challenges in your team is if they tell you directly that they’re facing a challenge. This means that having a culture where people can openly discuss their feelings is the most important thing. We’ll come back to this later.
Other signs of mental well-being challenges or even burnout include:
• Seeming distracted and less engaged during meetings and events
• Physical absence from social activities
• Decreased productivity
• Frequently calling in sick
• A short fuse; easily irritated
• Struggling to cope with feedback
Forgetfulness and sloppy errors
• Complaining about tiredness, not sleeping well and pain (for example, headaches, neck pain and back pain)
How can you help high performers avoid well-being & burnout challenges?
By the time burnout symptoms appear, it’s often too late to prevent them. Instead, it’s more effective to proactively implement strategies that help your colleagues mitigate these challenges. Here are ways to achieve this:
1. Allow high performers to choose their projects (where possible)
High performers are often handed the toughest projects by default, which can quietly add pressure to their already full plate. When possible, involve them in choosing what they take on — but don’t assume they’ll always pick what’s healthiest for them. Many high performers gravitate toward the most challenging work out of habit or pride.
A quick conversation can help balance ambition with well-being.
“Here are the options: which one feels interesting, and which one might stretch you too far right now?”
This way, you’re supporting their drive while helping them pace themselves more sustainably.
2. Create a culture of openness within your team
It isn’t always easy to be honest about how you’re truly feeling, especially in a work setting. Share honestly (and appropriately) about how you’re doing, and invite your team to do the same. This can be as simple as sharing a short reflection in a meeting, mentioning something you found challenging, or talking about what helped you through a stressful week.
After sharing this, you could ask:
“How are things feeling for you this week, anything heavier or lighter than usual?”
Normalising these check-ins makes it easier for high performers to speak up early, before stress builds. If your team needs extra support or tools, you can also point to OpenUp for extra guidance and support with their well-being.
3. Have a “no questions asked” agreement if a team member needs an extra day off
If a team member says they’re not feeling well, let them step away without pushing for details. The aim is to give them space first, and follow up later when they’re in a better place to talk. A quick check-in when they’re back at work helps you understand what’s going on and what support they might need.
Of course, patterns matter too. If someone is regularly calling in sick or struggling to meet expectations, that calls for a different kind of conversation — one that looks at workload, clarity, boundaries or underlying issues.
But be especially mindful with high performers: they often delay asking for help until they’re already running on empty. Don’t wait until it’s too late to address the underlying causes.
4. Discourage (extreme) overworking
We sometimes hear stories of teams pulling all-nighters and, as a result, being hailed as heroes. As far as we’re concerned, that’s a no-go.
Of course, sometimes a project comes along that requires a bit of a push to the finish line. But when long working days and working weekends become what’s generally expected and part of the culture, then you’ve got the perfect recipe for burnout. If you notice a team member who is constantly overworking, discuss it with them 1:1 and work together to lessen their workload.
5. Identify the stressors in your team — and focus on what you can influence
Not every organisation runs on an up-or-out model, but many high performers still feel pressure to constantly prove themselves or compete for visibility. Before jumping to solutions, take time to understand what your team finds stressful: it could be workload, unclear priorities, tight deadlines, or unspoken expectations about availability.
As a manager, you may not be able to change the whole company culture, but you can shape the environment your team works in every day. Look at what’s within your control: how work is delegated, how success is defined, how rest is treated, and how openly people can talk about strain.
High performers bring huge value to your organisation. Focusing on the factors you can influence helps ensure they stay healthy, motivated and able to do their best work for the long term.
