Since the end of May last year, Brazilian companies have been discussing a new legal framework on mental health in the corporate environment. The update of Regulatory Standard No. 1 (NR-1), whose implementation deadline 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, the individual differences and working conditions that can lead to burnout.
Recent studies by Hogan Assessments – one of the largest publishers of psychological tests in the world, focused on personality assessment at work – indicate that certain personality traits can lead some people to experience professional burnout more quickly than others.
"Burnout is not just the result of individual characteristics; it results from a combination of factors. Toxic environments, excessive demands, and hostile management can lead to exhaustion even in the most resilient professionals," warns Roberto Santos, partner and director of Ateliê RH, a company that distributes Hogan assessments in the country.
Greater susceptibility to stress
Hogan's research, based on the company's psychological test responses, which constitutes a database of thousands of responses worldwide – including in Brazil – indicates that although anyone is susceptible 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, becoming susceptible to exhaustion during long periods of tension. They have high self-criticism, feel easily overwhelmed, worried, and insecure under pressure, and have difficulty 'switching off' negative emotions after work," explains Santos.
Professionals with low Ambition scores already show profiles that dedicate themselves to work without seeking advancement to leadership positions. They generally do not like to compete and may feel overwhelmed when they need to take on additional responsibilities or commit to ambitious goals.
Hogan Assessments' research also identified 11 behaviors of the so-called "shadow" side of personality or "career derailers," behaviors that can derail a professional career. Two of these traits are indicative of a higher propensity for the disease: high scores on the Temperamental and Cautious scales.
According to the study, professionals with a high score on the Temperamental scale are often passionate about what they do and quite energetic, but emotionally volatile – with a tendency to oscillate quickly from enthusiasm to frustration. The same fervor that drives them can lead to burnout, as they tend to have greater difficulty managing negative emotions due to easily becoming frustrated, which can result in prolonged stress.
"On the other hand, individuals with high scores in Cautious tend to avoid risks for fear of failure. Although prudent, they hesitate in decision-making in high-pressure environments, paralyzing themselves in the face of the possibility of error, which increases the feeling of overload and exhaustion," warns the executive.
How to identify risks in everyday corporate life
In daily life, professionals with low emotional stability (Adjustment) often react intensely to setbacks. Small 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 display low ambition, they tend to avoid challenges or major responsibilities, remaining in their comfort zones.
"In the short term, this can serve as a protective mechanism. However, in high-demand positions, it results in task accumulation, postponement of important decisions, and a sense of incapacity in the face of increasing demands, leading to burnout," explains Santos.
Professionals with Temperamental and Cautious traits leave clear risk clues in daily life. A manager with a high Temperamental trait starts projects with enthusiasm but quickly becomes discouraged in the face of obstacles, becoming emotionally unpredictable. This instability creates insecurity within the team.
The overly cautious professional shows reluctance to make difficult or innovative decisions, excessively assessing minimal risks. In fast-paced environments, this hesitation can lead to missed deadlines and opportunities, piling pressure on oneself and colleagues. Your 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 chronic stress at poorly managed work.
Burnout occurs when there is a persistent mismatch between work demands and an individual's ability to meet them. Although personality factors influence, the context is decisive: in a healthy culture with sustainable management, even predisposed individuals can avoid burnout; toxic environments, on the other hand, harm even the most resilient professionals.
Gallup research shows that the main causes of burnout are related 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 bosses, 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 much more likely to leave due to burnout. Chronic demands that exceed available resources, such as reduced teams after layoffs without equivalent adjustments to goals, cause overload, excessive working hours, and heightened stress. All these factors fall within the scope of organizational responsibility.
Mitigation strategies
Facing burnout requires an integrated approach. "Understanding who we are affects our reaction to pressures, but it is the culture and structure around us that define the boundary between healthy challenge and overload," emphasizes Roberto Santos.
For HR professionals, proactively mapping and managing the behavioral vulnerabilities of teams and leaders from the moment of 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 requirement of NR-1," concludes the specialist.
