Quiet Cracking: Why Burnout Is Harder to Spot—and Fix—Than You Think
Cathie Leimbach • October 28, 2025
Based on Jen Colletta’s article To Tackle ‘Quiet Cracking,’ Start with Transformation in These 3 Areas.
Many employees today are quietly struggling. They’re showing up, doing the work, but inside they’re stressed, burned out, and feeling stuck. Experts call this “quiet cracking.” It’s not loud or obvious, but it’s a serious warning sign.
In a climate of layoffs, workers may hide their stress to avoid looking weak. They won’t speak up until things feel unmanageable. That’s why companies need to act early—before cracks turn into breaks.
To truly address quiet cracking, organizations must transform three key areas:
- Leadership: Empower managers as the first line of defense with coaching, career development, and tools to spot invisible stress.
- Culture: Shift away from hero culture where burnout is seen as commitment, and toward sustainable goals, clear boundaries, and psychological safety.
- Technology: Use data-backed insights to predict burnout, track wellbeing, and hold leaders accountable for improving employee experience.
When managers understand workload and performance expectations clearly, they can lead with empathy and action. And when employees take regular time off, retention and wellbeing improve—along with business results.
View 4 Statistics on Quiet Cracking at Work for key stats on quiet cracking and why it matters for your workforce.
Want to boost your performance? According to James Hewitt, author of Regenerative Performance , a truly high-performance day doesn't begin when your alarm goes off—it starts the night before. Hewitt shows that rest isn't a reward you earn after a busy day; it's a vital part of your work strategy. Think of sleep as a required meeting for your brain and body to repair and prepare. Without proper rest, you can't show up as your best self, and the consequences are serious. Here’s a startling fact from research: Staying awake for 17 to 19 hours straight can impair your performance as much as having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% . While the legal limit for driving in the U.S. is 0.08% BAC, many countries consider 0.05% to be legally impaired. After 24 hours of wakefulness, impairment is similar to having a 0.10% BAC, which is well over the legal limit. This level of fatigue slows your reaction time by up to 50%! To avoid this dangerous drop in performance, Hewitt offers a few top tips for better sleep: Create a Buffer: Spend the hour before bed winding down. Avoid work, stressful news, and intense exercise. Manage Your Light: Dim the lights and stop using electronic screens about 30 minutes before sleep. Be Consistent: Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day. By making sleep a priority, you're not just resting; you're actively preparing for success with a sharp, clear, and high-performing mind. View Maximize Your Day to see exactly how fatigue affects your performance!
In his book, Regenerative Performance, author James Hewitt suggests thinking about your brainpower using the idea of cognitive gears. This simple idea can help you manage your energy and get more done without burning out. Just like a car, your mind has different gears: high, middle, and low. Learning to switch between them is key to working smarter. Understanding the Gears The high gear is for your toughest, most important work—the stuff that needs all your focus, like solving a hard problem or writing a detailed report. Use this gear when you have lots of energy and can block out all distractions. It's powerful, but you can’t stay in it for long; it drains your energy quickly. The middle gear is your everyday speed. Think of it as "autopilot" for tasks that need less intense focus, such as checking emails, attending routine meetings, or working on familiar projects. You can stay in this gear for longer stretches, and it's where most of your day-to-day work happens. The low gear is for recovery and maintenance. This isn't about working at all! It's about taking breaks, moving your body, and doing activities that let your mind rest, like going for a walk or chatting with a co-worker. Using the low gear helps you recharge so you can shift back into middle or high gear when you need to. Drive Your Day Smarter The secret to regenerative performance is to be mindful of which gear you're in. Don’t try to do high-gear work all day. Schedule short, focused bursts in high gear, then shift to middle gear for less demanding tasks, and always make time for the low gear breaks. By consciously managing your cognitive gears, you'll improve your focus and keep your performance high without running out of gas. Want a quick visual reminder? Check out Cognitive Gears , summarizing these gears!