Burnout does not affect all workers equally. A new MyIQ survey shows that in some professions, emotional exhaustion is not the exception; it’s the norm.
MyIQ surveyed over 10,000 individuals who scored in the highest range on its burnout test, focusing on those already showing elevated levels of emotional strain. The test measures three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal efficacy. While not diagnostic, the scores highlight patterns of sustained psychological pressure.
Among these high-scoring respondents, five professions appeared again and again:
1. Healthcare and caregiving. Hospital staff, nurses, and elder care workers made up a disproportionate share. 73% reported indicators of severe burnout.
2. Education. Teachers and early-childhood educators consistently showed elevated results. 66% reported persistent emotional strain.
3. Customer service. Roles involving constant client contact, including call centres and retail, were flagged in 61% of high-burnout entries.
4. Social work and non-profits. High emotional labour paired with low structural support. 59% fell into the high-score range.
5. Creative industries. Design, media, and advertising roles are often defined by blurred work-life boundaries. 54% showed consistently elevated scores.
These five categories were overrepresented by 32% relative to the full pool of high-scoring burnout respondents. In healthcare and education, high burnout scores were nearly twice as common as in sectors like finance, tech, or engineering.
Three structural conditions were consistently present across high-burnout roles: intense emotional exposure, limited recovery time, and low autonomy over schedules. These patterns emerged regardless of job title or income level.
Burnout is often treated as an individual issue, a matter of poor boundaries or lack of resilience. But the data points elsewhere. It concentrates on environments where emotional effort is constant and recovery is optional. In those conditions, exhaustion isn’t a crisis. It’s built in.
This has implications not just for individuals, but for how institutions design roles and manage workloads. Interventions like flexible scheduling, structured emotional decompression, and workload balancing are not perks; they are basic protections against a system that otherwise drains people by design.
As burnout continues to rise globally, data like this can shift the conversation away from personal failure and toward organisational responsibility. The goal is not to make people tougher; it is to make workplaces less toxic.
About MyIQ:
MyIQ was launched in 2024 and is used by over a million individuals worldwide. It is a digital self-knowledge platform that offers more than an IQ score, with over 9 million completed tests across the various test categories, cognitive, personality, and relationships, all with personalised, actionable insights. The platform offers over 25 brain games, more than 150 intelligence puzzles, over 20 hours of expert video content, and 300+ available lessons on emotional intelligence, problem-solving, innovation, confidence-building, and decision-making. Through its IQ test, full-spectrum personality assessment, and relationship insight quiz, MyIQ delivers structured, personalized feedback that helps individuals better understand their inner world and behaviour.
MyIQ was launched in 2024 and is used by over a million individuals worldwide. It is a digital self-knowledge platform that offers more than an IQ score, with over 9 million completed tests across the various test categories, cognitive, personality, and relationships, all with personalised, actionable insights. The platform offers over 25 brain games, more than 150 intelligence puzzles, over 20 hours of expert video content, and 300+ available lessons on emotional intelligence, problem-solving, innovation, confidence-building, and decision-making. Through its IQ test, full-spectrum personality assessment, and relationship insight quiz, MyIQ delivers structured, personalized feedback that helps individuals better understand their inner world and behaviour.