Since the end of last May, Brazilian companies have been discussing a new legal framework on mental health in the corporate environment. The update to Regulatory Standard No. 1 (NR-1), whose mandatory implementation has been postponed to 2026, requires organizations to identify and mitigate psychosocial risks such as stress, moral harassment, and emotional overload. In this context, managers and Human Resources professionals need to understand, more than ever, individual differences and working conditions that can lead to burnout.
Recent studies by Hogan Assessments—one of the world’s largest publishers of psychological tests, focused on personality assessment in the workplace—indicate that certain personality traits can cause some people to experience professional burnout faster than others.
“Burnout is not just the result of individual characteristics; it stems from a combination of factors. Toxic environments, excessive demands, and hostile leadership can lead to burnout even in the most resilient professionals,” warns Roberto Santos, partner-director of Ateliê RH, the company that distributes Hogan assessments in Brazil.
Greater susceptibility to stress
Hogan’s research, based on responses to the company’s psychological tests—a database comprising thousands of responses worldwide, including Brazil—shows that while anyone can be subject to chronic stress, two traits are associated with a higher risk of burnout: low scores on the Adjustment and Ambition scales—measures used to assess an individual’s personality traits.
“The Adjustment trait refers to emotional stability and resilience to daily pressures. People with low scores on this scale are more sensitive to stress and less resilient, making them susceptible to exhaustion during prolonged periods of tension. They exhibit high self-criticism, feel easily overwhelmed, worried, and insecure under pressure, and struggle to ‘switch off’ negative emotions after work,” explains Santos.
Professionals with low scores in Ambition, on the other hand, tend to dedicate themselves to work without seeking advancement to leadership positions. Generally, they dislike competition and may feel overwhelmed when required to take on additional responsibilities or commit to ambitious goals.
Hogan Assessments’ research also identified 11 behaviors from the so-called ‘dark side’ of personality or ‘career derailers’—behaviors that can derail a professional career. Two of these traits indicate a greater propensity for burnout: high scores on the Temperamental and Cautious scales.
According to the study, professionals with high scores on the Temperamental scale are often passionate about their work and highly energetic but emotionally volatile—prone to rapid shifts from enthusiasm to frustration. This same fervor that drives them can lead to burnout, as they often struggle to manage negative emotions due to easy frustration, which can result in prolonged stress.
“On the other hand, individuals with high scores in Cautious tend to avoid risks out of fear of failure. Although prudent, they hesitate in decision-making under high-pressure environments, paralyzing in the face of potential mistakes, which increases feelings of overload and exhaustion,” warns the executive.
How to identify risks in the corporate daily life
In daily life, professionals with low emotional stability (Adjustment) often react intensely to setbacks. Minor changes, conflicts, or additional demands can generate disproportionate levels of stress or irritation. These individuals exhibit frequent mood swings, pessimism, and difficulty concentrating. When they also have low Ambition, they tend to avoid challenges or major responsibilities, staying within their comfort zones.
“In the short term, this may function as a protective mechanism. However, in high-demand roles, it results in task accumulation, postponement of important decisions, and feelings of incapacity in the face of growing demands, leading to burnout,” explains Santos.
Professionals with Temperamental and Cautious traits leave clear risk clues in daily life. A manager with high Temperamental traits starts projects enthusiastically but quickly becomes discouraged in the face of obstacles, becoming emotionally unpredictable. This instability creates insecurity within the team.
Meanwhile, an overly Cautious professional shows reluctance in making difficult decisions or innovating, excessively evaluating minimal risks. In fast-paced environments, this hesitation can lead to missed deadlines and opportunities, increasing pressure on themselves and colleagues. Their constant need for validation amplifies stress and can affect the organizational environment.
Burnout as a systemic phenomenon
Burnout is not just an individual problem but an organizational and cultural one. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies it as an ‘occupational phenomenon,’ resulting from poorly managed chronic workplace stress.
Burnout arises when there is a persistent mismatch between job demands and an individual’s capacity to meet them. Although personality factors play a role, the context is decisive: in a healthy culture with sustainable management, even predisposed individuals can avoid burnout; toxic environments, however, harm even the most resilient professionals.
Gallup research shows that the main causes of burnout are linked to the environment and management practices: unfair treatment, excessive workloads, lack of clarity, absence of leadership support, and unrealistic deadlines. The dominant conclusion of this research is clear: ‘People leave managers, not companies.’
A McKinsey analysis also indicates that hostile workplaces with abusive leadership or excessive demands drastically increase burnout rates. Employees in toxic environments are far more likely to quit due to burnout. Chronic demands that exceed available resources—such as reduced teams after layoffs without equivalent adjustments in goals—cause overload, excessive hours, and exacerbated stress. All these factors fall within the organizations’ sphere of responsibility.
Mitigation strategies
Addressing burnout requires an integrated approach. ‘Understanding who we are affects our reaction to pressures, but it’s the culture and structure around us that define the line between healthy challenge and overload,’ emphasizes Roberto Santos.
For HR professionals, proactively mapping and managing the behavioral vulnerabilities of teams and leaders from hiring is as strategic as managing productivity, budgets, or innovation.
“The message is clear: investing in assessments that identify these behavioral vulnerabilities is not just good practice but an essential strategy to promote healthy and productive environments, especially in light of the new NR-1 requirement,” concludes the expert.
