Mothomang Diaho and Wendy Spalding on the case for wellness to counter burnouts

At Tuesday Consulting’s latest business event, Mothomang Diaho and Wendy Spalding challenged leaders to rethink how they view wellness in the workplace.

“Burnout isn’t just an individual issue, it’s a leadership and organisational imperative,” said Mothomang Diaho, a medical doctor and Gestalt-trained coach. “When leaders run on empty, the ripple effects hit teams, culture, strategy, and ultimately, performance.”

Burnout, recognised by the World Health Organisation as an occupational phenomenon, arises from unmanaged workplace stress. Its impact is staggering. According to research from Deloitte, 77% of professionals report burnout in their current job, while Gallup data suggests that around $320 billion in productivity and turnover is lost globally due to burnout.

While self-care practices like yoga and mindfulness are valuable, Diaho emphasised that “band-aid solutions” alone cannot address a systemic issue. Structural change and leadership accountability are essential.

Diaho also highlighted the many lies people tell themselves when it comes to wellbeing: “I’ll be fine once this is done” … “People depend on me” … “I’ll take a vacation and then be okay.” These narratives, familiar to many executives, mask deeper dysfunctions and delay meaningful intervention.

The importance of wellness

Around the world, leading organisations are already redefining wellness as a strategic priority:

• Microsoft saw productivity jump 40% in Japan during a four-day workweek trial.
• Volkswagen shuts down its email servers for German staff after hours to enforce rest.
• France enshrined the “Right to Disconnect” in law, requiring companies to set after-hours communication policies.
• Scotland embedded certified Mental Health First Aiders into workplaces.

These examples demonstrate that wellness isn’t a perk, it’s a policy and cultural shift that drives sustainable performance.

At the event, Tuesday Consulting’s director, Wendy Spalding, added: “As we approach the end of the year, we often see burnout peak. After pushing hard since January, many executives and teams run out of steam just when strategic focus is needed most. This is exactly why wellness has to be a year-round leadership priority, not a once-off conversation when people are already exhausted.”

The business case for mitigating burnout

She further underscored the business case: “Wellness is no longer about perks and apps. It’s about leaders recognising their shadow, this is the culture they create simply by how they show up. When leaders model boundaries, accountability, and care, organisations thrive. However when they don’t, burnout becomes inevitable.”

Diaho agreed: “The Leader’s Shadow is powerful. What leaders do becomes the culture. If we want resilient, innovative organisations, wellness must be embedded at every level.”

At a personal level, leaders can model sustainable habits and share their own strategies, such as no-meeting zones or taking restorative sabbaticals.

At the team level, the “Leader’s Shadow” becomes critical. This means modelling rest, boundaries, reflection, and recovery, embedding wellbeing check-ins, and crucially, ending the celebration of overwork. Systemically, organisations need to go further by including wellbeing KPIs, protecting vacation time, and establishing clear rules for after-hours emails and meetings.

Diaho and Spalding concluded, “The question for leaders is no longer ‘How do we prevent burnout?’ but ‘How do we strategically invest in the well-being of our people to unlock sustainable success?’.”