Burnout and the incoming AI tidal wave

In a recent Chatham House-style discussion at UNLEASH World 2025, senior HR leaders came together to confront one of today’s most pressing leadership dilemmas: how to balance relentless technological change driven by AI, with the escalating human cost of disruption.

The conversation, hosted by Seramount, drew on insights from over 100 CHROs across various industries. As Seramount’s President, Subha Barry opened,

Burnout is not new, but its scale, rate, and complexity have dramatically changed since the pandemic. AI is now accelerating disruption, driving anxiety and exhaustion, and challenging leaders to respond with both care and clarity.”

The changing face of burnout

Seramount’s decades of research show a troubling paradox: despite record corporate investment in employee wellbeing, workplace mental health has declined steadily since 2012. Leaders cited workload, societal uncertainty, and digital overwhelm as major drivers. Tight budgets, constant change, and rising expectations are stretching teams thin, leaving many employees feeling disengaged and depleted.

Against this backdrop, AI has emerged as both a source of hope and a heightener of anxiety. While it promises efficiency and creativity, it also raises fears of redundancy, irrelevance, and relentless reskilling.

AI’s ‘Trough of Disillusionment’

Data presented in the conversation showed that 42% of companies have recently pulled back on AI adoption, even as overall adoption rose 17% year-on-year. This “trough of disillusionment” reflects growing recognition of AI’s uneven maturity across functions and the realization that one-size-fits-all deployment doesn’t work.

At the same time, 69% of job seekers remain skeptical about AI’s value for their own performance. This trust gap underscores the need for HR-led communication, transparency, and capability-building. As the group reflected, “Change moves at the speed of trust.”

Employees are exhausted by change, but organizations can’t afford to pause.”

Subha Barry, President, Seramount

Balancing progress with empathy

The group agreed that HR’s leadership mandate today is to balance innovation with empathy – to move fast, but not break people. “Think of yourself as the fulcrum on a seesaw,” Barry reflected. On one side is transformation; on the other, human stability. You can’t let either side dominate.

Practical strategies discussed included:

• Proactive workforce preparation: Transparent communication and early training to reduce fear and build confidence.

• Storytelling: Sharing success stories of employees who’ve used AI to enhance (not replace) their work in order to build momentum and trust.

• Targeted wellbeing programs: Regular analysis of program effectiveness that can identify what genuinely improves resilience and engagement.

Supporting mental health in the ‘Age of Acceleration’

Participants also discussed how to strengthen leadership and workforce resilience as change accelerates. Suggestions included introducing mental health ambassadors to regularly check in on senior leaders, expanding resilience and cognitive-behavioral training, and addressing cultural barriers to discussing mental health openly.

There was a broad consensus that wellbeing and AI-readiness are interlinked. Employees who feel psychologically safe and supported are more open to experimentation and learning – key traits for navigating the AI era.

Seramount also outlined these proven wellbeing strategies to prioritize:

Looking ahead

AI isn’t just transforming work. AI is transforming the experience of being human at work.

In an era where disruption shows no signs of slowing, the greatest differentiator for organizations won’t be how quickly they adopt AI, but how deeply they connect humanity and technology in the process.