Burnout & unfair workloads fuel UK professional exits

Dayshape has published new survey findings that link burnout and workload fairness to retention risks across UK professional services firms, with leaders in larger organisations most likely to cite burnout as a primary concern.

The study, titled Inside the leadership growth agenda, draws on responses from 200 senior leaders at mid-to-large UK professional services firms. It reports a gap between leaders' confidence in workforce utilisation and their visibility into capacity at the team level.

In large UK professional services firms, 42% of leaders said burnout was their biggest retention challenge. Across all UK respondents, 31% said burnout or stress was a key reason they struggled to keep top performers.

The research also linked attrition to perceived unfairness in how work gets allocated. It found that 26% of leaders in large firms connected attrition directly to unfair workload distribution. Across the UK sample as a whole, 24% cited unfair workload distribution.

Utilisation gap

Dayshape reported that 86% of UK leaders believed their people were fully utilised. In contrast, 69% said leadership had clear visibility into team-level capacity.

The figures point to a mismatch between how leaders assess workloads and how well firms track pressure points across teams. The company said uneven workload patterns can persist when managers lack an accurate view of who has capacity and who faces repeated peaks in demand.

Leaders also pointed to a mix of external and internal factors behind retention issues. The survey found that 36% of UK leaders cited external offers and poaching. It found that 29% highlighted a lack of flexibility and autonomy over workloads or poor management. Another 29% cited a lack of development or progression opportunities. A quarter of leaders said staff were leaving the profession altogether.

The research suggested that the commercial impact already shows up in growth plans. It found that 32% of UK leaders said talent shortages were holding back growth.

Quiet attrition

Dayshape framed disengagement and declining motivation as an additional risk alongside resignations. It described this pattern as "quiet attrition", where staff remain in post but contribute less over time.

Matt Cockett, CEO of Dayshape, linked the findings to planning and leadership oversight.

"Firms are underestimating the business risk. Growth strategies fail when they are built on exhausted teams and blind spots in planning. Fairness is no longer a soft issue. It sits at the heart of retention, performance, and long-term growth. What changes outcomes is whether workloads are fair, utilisation is realistic, and work is properly planned and sustainable over the long term. If the same people are always stretched while others are protected, no wellbeing initiative will fix that," said Matt Cockett, CEO, Dayshape.

The company said the utilisation and visibility gap creates scope for uneven workloads, including repeated reliance on the same high performers. It also said the situation can create scope for busy work and perceptions of favouritism.

Dayshape argued that the consequences extend beyond short-term delivery pressure. It pointed to longer-term effects on succession planning in professional services firms, where experienced staff often form the pipeline for future leadership and client relationships.

Cockett also characterised workload distribution as a leadership issue that firms increasingly treat as strategic.

"Fairness has shifted from a cultural aspiration to a strategic priority. When workload distribution is balanced and utilisation is treated as a holistic and important metric rather than a planning discipline, retention suffers and growth stalls. Leaders who invest in better visibility of resource capacity and future demand can spot pressure points earlier, rebalance work, and protect both people and performance as their motivation and morale is retained," said Cockett.

The survey was conducted in 2025 and focused on mid-to-large UK professional services firms. Dayshape said the results reflected a demanding market environment and a growing focus among leadership teams on retention and utilisation.

Dayshape sells resource management software for professional services organisations. The company said it plans to continue publishing research on leadership priorities and workforce planning in the sector.