Twenty five percent of clergy report high emotional exhaustion. Broader data show 76 percent of U.S. workers experience at least one burnout symptom. Prevalence figures, risk factors, and measured interventions outline the scope of the problem across healthcare, knowledge work, and religious roles.
Key Takeaways
- 59% of U.S. adults reported experiencing work-related stress in 2022 (share reporting stress), from the American Psychological Association
- 76% of U.S. workers reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout (share with symptoms), from the 2019-2020 Cigna study
- 53% of workers reported that lack of support from managers increases stress (share), from the 2022 American Psychological Association report
- 40% of healthcare workers reported burnout in 2018-2019 meta-analytic evidence (prevalence estimate), as summarized by the Annals of Internal Medicine review
- In a 2022 global Gallup survey, 44% of employees reported feeling stressed during the previous day (share), reflecting rising monitoring
- ICD-11 includes burnout (as an occupational phenomenon) under “Factors influencing health status” with a specific coding; adoption date was 2019 (classification update)
- In 2023, 14% of U.S. adults reported serious psychological distress (share), per SAMHSA’s NSDUH
- 23% of adults reported burnout-related decline in work performance (share), from the 2022 Work in America / APA-related stress performance impacts
- 1 in 5 employees experiencing high burnout are likely to consider leaving within 12 months (share), based on a Mercer 2022 retention/wellbeing briefing
- 25% of workers with burnout report increased errors at work (percentage), from a study summarized by the National Academies’ wellbeing evidence reviews
- $2.3 billion spent on mental health and wellbeing solutions for employers in 2023 (global market spending), per a report by Grand View Research
- 42% of U.S. workers used mental health services in 2022 (share using services), SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
- Up to 6 sessions of evidence-based CBT reduce burnout symptoms by a clinically meaningful margin (effect quantified), per a peer-reviewed randomized trial (reported symptom score change)
- 25% of clergy reported burnout in 2020, measured as high emotional exhaustion on a burnout scale in a U.S. survey of religious workers
- 42% of hospital-based nurses reported symptoms consistent with burnout in a 2019 cross-sectional study (burnout defined via a validated inventory and/or subscale cutoffs)
Nearly two thirds of U.S. workers report burnout or burnout symptoms, and support gaps and heavy demands worsen them.
Related reading
01 · Category
Prevalence Rates2 stats
01
59% of U.S. adults reported experiencing work-related stress in 2022 (share reporting stress), from the American Psychological Association
02
76% of U.S. workers reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout (share with symptoms), from the 2019-2020 Cigna study
Interpretation
Prevalence Rates Interpretation
Under the Prevalence Rates angle, burnout appears widespread as 76% of U.S. workers reported at least one symptom of burnout in 2019 to 2020 and 59% of U.S. adults reported work related stress in 2022, signaling that the pressures tied to burnout are common.
02 · Category
Risk Factors2 stats
01
53% of workers reported that lack of support from managers increases stress (share), from the 2022 American Psychological Association report
02
40% of healthcare workers reported burnout in 2018-2019 meta-analytic evidence (prevalence estimate), as summarized by the Annals of Internal Medicine review
Interpretation
Risk Factors Interpretation
From a risk factors standpoint, the data suggest a clear link between workplace support and burnout, with 53% reporting that lack of manager support increases stress and 40% of healthcare workers experiencing burnout in 2018 to 2019.
03 · Category
Trends & Monitoring10 stats
01
In a 2022 global Gallup survey, 44% of employees reported feeling stressed during the previous day (share), reflecting rising monitoring
02
ICD-11 includes burnout (as an occupational phenomenon) under “Factors influencing health status” with a specific coding; adoption date was 2019 (classification update)
03
In 2023, 14% of U.S. adults reported serious psychological distress (share), per SAMHSA’s NSDUH
04
The number of U.S. adults reporting anxiety increased from 2020 to 2022 by 7 percentage points (absolute change), per APA’s Stress in America trend data
05
Burnout risk is elevated in high-psychological-demand occupations; “healthcare practitioners and technical” show higher burnout prevalence (relative differences), per a peer-reviewed occupational burnout review
06
In 2021, 34% of employees in a global survey reported they were burned out (share), from Microsoft Work Trend Index
07
In 2022, 54% of knowledge workers reported they experienced burnout at least once (share), per Microsoft Work Trend Index 2022/2023 data tables
08
In the EU, 1 in 2 workers experience work-related stress (share), per EU-OSHA’s psychosocial risks monitoring
09
In 2023, 58% of U.S. employees reported monitoring mental health at work as an organizational initiative (share), from JLL workplace wellbeing research
10
Between 2018 and 2023, the global employee wellbeing market grew at a CAGR of 5.5% (growth rate), per a report by Fortune Business Insights
Interpretation
Trends & Monitoring Interpretation
Across recent global and US monitoring signals, burnout and related mental strain appear to be steadily intensifying, with 54% of knowledge workers reporting burnout at least once in 2022 and 44% of employees reporting stress the day before in a 2022 Gallup survey.
04 · Category
Impact Outcomes5 stats
01
23% of adults reported burnout-related decline in work performance (share), from the 2022 Work in America / APA-related stress performance impacts
02
1 in 5 employees experiencing high burnout are likely to consider leaving within 12 months (share), based on a Mercer 2022 retention/wellbeing briefing
03
25% of workers with burnout report increased errors at work (percentage), from a study summarized by the National Academies’ wellbeing evidence reviews
04
In a 2019 meta-analysis, burnout was associated with a 1.55x higher risk of depression (risk ratio), per a peer-reviewed journal study
05
Burnout prevalence among human service workers averaged 30% in a 2021 systematic review (pooled prevalence), as published in Clinical Psychology Review
Interpretation
Impact Outcomes Interpretation
From the Impact Outcomes perspective, burnout is linked to tangible workplace and health harm, with 23% of adults reporting a decline in work performance and 25% of burned out workers reporting increased errors, alongside a 1 in 5 chance that highly burned out employees may consider leaving within 12 months.
05 · Category
Mitigation & Solutions5 stats
01
$2.3 billion spent on mental health and wellbeing solutions for employers in 2023 (global market spending), per a report by Grand View Research
02
42% of U.S. workers used mental health services in 2022 (share using services), SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
03
Up to 6 sessions of evidence-based CBT reduce burnout symptoms by a clinically meaningful margin (effect quantified), per a peer-reviewed randomized trial (reported symptom score change)
04
Mindfulness-based interventions reduced burnout symptoms by an estimated standardized mean difference of -0.63 in a 2021 meta-analysis (effect size), per a peer-reviewed journal
05
In a 2020 randomized controlled trial, a workplace burnout prevention program decreased burnout symptom severity scores by 18% from baseline (percentage reduction), peer-reviewed
Interpretation
Mitigation & Solutions Interpretation
Even in mitigation and solutions efforts, evidence keeps pointing to measurable relief, with up to 6 CBT sessions reducing burnout symptoms by a clinically meaningful margin and mindfulness interventions cutting symptoms by an estimated standardized mean difference of -0.63, alongside broader adoption such as 42% of U.S. workers using mental health services in 2022.
More related reading
06 · Category
Prevalence And Risk3 stats
01
25% of clergy reported burnout in 2020, measured as high emotional exhaustion on a burnout scale in a U.S. survey of religious workers
02
42% of hospital-based nurses reported symptoms consistent with burnout in a 2019 cross-sectional study (burnout defined via a validated inventory and/or subscale cutoffs)
03
37% of workers in a 2022 nationally representative U.S. survey reported at least one burnout-related symptom (emotional exhaustion, cynicism, or reduced efficacy) using a standardized burnout measure
Interpretation
Prevalence And Risk Interpretation
In the prevalence and risk category, burnout symptoms are widespread across U.S. healthcare and religious workers, with 42% of hospital-based nurses and 37% of the general workforce reporting at least one burnout-related symptom, alongside 25% of clergy reporting high emotional exhaustion in 2020.
07 · Category
Workplace Costs2 stats
01
38% of employees who experienced burnout reported increased absenteeism in a 2021 workplace survey (self-reported absenteeism behavior)
02
$150 billion in annual healthcare costs in the U.S. are attributed to depression and anxiety disorders in 2019 estimates; burnout-related stress is discussed as contributing to mental health burden in the same framework
Interpretation
Workplace Costs Interpretation
From a workplace costs perspective, the 38% of employees who reported burnout also reporting increased absenteeism in 2021 shows how quickly mental strain turns into lost productivity, while the $150 billion in U.S. annual healthcare spending tied to depression and anxiety in 2019 underscores the broader financial burden that burnout-related stress can amplify.
08 · Category
Organizational Interventions2 stats
01
55% of healthcare employers reported implementing staffing-based interventions (e.g., workflow redesign, nurse staffing optimization) to reduce burnout in 2020-2021 survey results
02
46% of organizations reported adjusting workloads or role expectations as a burnout intervention in a 2022 HR survey (share reporting workload adjustment)
Interpretation
Organizational Interventions Interpretation
Across organizational interventions, staffing-based changes were the most common at 55% in 2020 to 2021, and by 2022 46% of organizations were also adjusting workloads or role expectations, suggesting a clear shift toward tackling burnout through system and role redesign rather than only individual coping strategies.
09 · Category
Measurement And Monitoring4 stats
01
3.1x higher odds of burnout were observed for workers with high job demands compared with low job demands in a meta-analysis of job demands–resources models (odds ratio reported for high-demand groups)
02
9-item burnout screening tools were most commonly reported in 2021 workplace digital health evaluations (share of studies using 9-item instruments)
03
A 2019 study reported that a cut-off score on a burnout scale correctly classified 83% of participants as above/below burnout thresholds (classification accuracy metric)
04
12% of organizations in a 2022 employee analytics survey used real-time pulse checks to monitor wellbeing and burnout (share using pulse/continuous monitoring)
Interpretation
Measurement And Monitoring Interpretation
Across measurement and monitoring efforts, burnout is being tracked with validated tools and screening cutoffs, but only 12% of organizations use real time pulse checks, even while job demands show 3.1 times higher odds of burnout.
10 · Category
Treatment And Outcomes3 stats
01
A 2020 randomized trial of a workplace burnout prevention program reported a 18% reduction in burnout symptom severity from baseline (percentage reduction reported in the trial results)
02
A systematic review of occupational interventions found that organizational-level interventions achieved larger pooled reductions in burnout than individual-level interventions (direction and comparative effect sizes reported)
03
An employee wellbeing program evaluation in 2021 reported that burnout-related distress decreased by 0.4 standard deviations at 3 months follow-up (standardized change reported)
Interpretation
Treatment And Outcomes Interpretation
Under the Treatment and Outcomes lens, the evidence suggests burnout can be meaningfully improved when interventions work at the right level, with one 2020 workplace trial cutting burnout symptom severity by 18% and an employee program reducing burnout-related distress by 0.4 standard deviations at 3 months, while a systematic review further indicates organizational-level approaches deliver larger overall reductions than individual-focused ones.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Pastor Burnout Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pastor-burnout-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Pastor Burnout Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/pastor-burnout-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Pastor Burnout Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pastor-burnout-statistics.
Sources & references
38 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+13 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)