Why So Many Employees Are Burning Out | Psychology of Workplace Wellbeing

Why are so many employees burning out sometimes before their careers have even properly begun? In this episode of Psychology, Actually, Dr Marianne Trent is joined once again by educational psychologist Dr Adam McCartney to explore the psychology of workplace wellbeing, burnout, leadership, identity, organisational culture and the growing impact of AI on confidence and autonomy at work. We discuss how modern workplaces often prioritise productivity and metrics over human wellbeing, why early career professionals are struggling, and how organisational systems can either support or damage psychological safety. The conversation explores mentorship, identity, communities of practise, whistleblowing, emotional labour, compassion fatigue, autonomy, burnout in healthcare and education, and why people thrive when they feel like they matter. Timestamps 00:00 Why employees are burning out 01:47 Workplace wellbeing and organisations 04:09 Communities of practise and identity 06:52 Whistleblowing and organisational culture 10:54 Burnout in healthcare roles 13:40 Autonomy, competency and wellbeing 17:09 Why informal support matters 20:39 The pressure of performance metrics 24:39 Learning leadership safely 27:26 Mentorship and onboarding 29:46 Emotional collection and mattering 31:41 Identity, roles and belonging 35:52 Is AI reducing confidence and autonomy? 38:07 Adam’s podcast and final reflections #PsychologyActually #Burnout #WorkplaceWellbeing Links: 📲 Connect with Dr Adam McCartney: https://www.instagram.com/dradammcartney/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-adam-mccartney-afbpss-647ab1221/ Listen to his Podcast, between 2 Psychs: https://www.dradammccartney.com/betweentwopsychs 🫶 To join my podcast membership to get early access to episodes and / or exclusive weekly content head to: https://the-aspiring-psychologist.captivate.fm/support or to the Apple Podcasts App: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-aspiring-psychologist-podcast/id1605628278 or to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOwjrIP_jatiqlAivJE2mgQ/join 📚 To check out The Clinical Psychologist Collective Book: https://amzn.to/3jOplx0 📖 To check out The Aspiring Psychologist Collective Book: https://amzn.to/3CP2N97 💡 To check out or join the aspiring psychologist membership for just £30 per month head to: https://www.aspiring-psychologist.co.uk/membership 🖥️ Check out my short courses for aspiring psychologists and mental health professionals here: https://www.aspiring-psychologist.co.uk/online-courses Ask Marianne your most pressing psychology career question and she will send you a FREE bespoke reply! Grab your free psychology success guide here and fill in the most pressing concern box: https://www.aspiring-psychologist.co.uk (scroll to the bottom of the page) ✍️ Get your FREE Supervision Shaping Tool now: https://www.aspiring-psychologist.co.uk/free-resources 📱Connect socially with Marianne and check out ways to work with her, including the Aspiring Psychologist Book, Clinical Psychologist book and The Aspiring Psychologist Membership on her Link tree: https://linktr.ee/drmariannetrent 💬 To join my free Facebook group and discuss your thoughts on this episode and more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/aspiringpsychologistcommunity Like, Comment, Subscribe & get involved: If you enjoy the podcast, please do subscribe and rate and review episodes. Mentioned in this episode: Sponsored by WriteUpp Tap to Pay This episode is sponsored by WriteUpp. Their Tap to Pay app turns your smartphone into a card reader, helping private practitioners take secure payments without additional hardware. Use code MARIANNE30 for a free 30-day trial and 30% off your first 6 months at this link: https://writeupp.com/?refid=142336