Work · Problem and solution · Band 7.5
The Causes of Employee Burnout
The question, a model answer written to the band 7.5 descriptors, why it scores that band against the 4 official criteria, topic vocabulary, and a common mistake to avoid.
Problem and solution
Employee burnout and work-related stress have become increasingly common in many workplaces. What are the main causes of this problem and what can employers do to reduce it? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Model answer (band 7.5)
Written to the band 7.5 descriptors, not by a real examiner. Read it for structure and language, then write your own in your own words. Examiners can tell a memorised essay from an original one.
Workplace burnout has become widespread in many industries, and tackling it effectively requires understanding the specific conditions that produce chronic stress rather than treating exhaustion as simply an individual failing.
A primary cause is the blurring of boundaries between work and personal life, intensified by constant connectivity through email and messaging apps that make employees feel implicitly expected to respond outside their contracted hours. This erosion of downtime prevents the genuine mental recovery that is necessary to sustain performance over the long term, leading employees to arrive at each new week already partially depleted. A second major cause is chronic understaffing, where remaining employees must absorb extra workload after colleagues leave or are not replaced, creating a cycle in which overwork itself drives further turnover, which then increases pressure on those who remain.
Employers can address the connectivity problem by establishing genuine, enforced boundaries, such as disabling non-urgent notifications outside working hours and modelling this behaviour at senior levels, since employees rarely feel able to disconnect if managers themselves respond to messages at midnight. Addressing understaffing requires more honest long-term workforce planning, recognising that replacing departing staff promptly is cheaper than losing additional employees to burnout-driven resignations later, even though it may appear as a short-term cost increase. Regular, genuinely confidential check-ins, where employees can flag excessive workload without fear of being seen as uncommitted, would also allow problems to be addressed before they escalate into full burnout.
In conclusion, burnout stems largely from constant connectivity and chronic understaffing, and employers who address these structural causes directly will see far better results than those relying on wellness initiatives alone.
Why this answer scores band 7.5
Mapped to the 4 official IELTS Writing criteria.
- Task Response: two specific, well-explained causes are matched with correspondingly specific, structural solutions rather than superficial 'wellness' advice.
- Coherence and Cohesion: explicit cause-solution pairing with clear sequencing markers ('A second major cause') that guide the reader logically.
- Lexical Resource: precise vocabulary ('chronic understaffing', 'workforce planning', 'burnout-driven resignation') reflecting genuine command of workplace topics.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: long, accurately controlled sentences with multiple embedded clauses demonstrate a wide grammatical range.
Useful vocabulary & collocations
Phrases used in the model answer that lift Lexical Resource naturally.
Common mistake on this type of question
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