The project that was one too many.

In the daily hustle of business, it is never the accumulation of small tasks that exhausts teams. No. What breaks them is that one project too many. The one that seems harmless, but whose extra weight upsets the balance.

In a recent discussion with business leaders about preventing psychosocial risks, the same story kept emerging:

"Everything was fine until that ‘strategic’ project. After that, everything fell apart."

Burnout does not strike overnight, nor do absenteeism or high staff turnover. No, the process creeps in silently, gradually. Each new demand, each additional task slowly piles up, until one final project tips everything over the edge. It’s the last straw.

The fable of the scorpion and the frog tells how the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across the river. Both know that if the scorpion gives in to his nature, they will both perish. And yet…

Some organisations operate in exactly this way. It is often in their nature. Leaders keep adding responsibilities, even when teams are clearly showing signs of fatigue. Employees, for their part, take on everything out of loyalty and a desire to show commitment. But it becomes an unbearable pressure, leading to exhaustion.

Burnout is not simply a personal failing. It often results from an organisational mindset that is too focused on the short term, and sometimes from a lack of responsible leadership culture. A culture where it is possible to ask this vital question:

"What must I set aside to be able to carry out this project?"

This is not insubordination. It is an act of responsibility. Of good management. Because recognising one’s limits is the ability to prioritise. It is acknowledging that productivity is not infinite and that effectiveness comes from deliberate choices.

The numbers do not lie. Workplace absenteeism is on the rise, as are psychological disorders. These are not sudden crises, but rather accumulated pressures and an overload of obligations that slowly destroy teams.

Preventing this starts with early attention to the warning signs: long overtime hours, increasing irritability, and a decline in work quality. Acting early is essential. One must not wait for breaking point.

Protecting mental health sometimes starts with a simple word: "no." It is not rejection, but respect for human limits. Ultimately, the cycle of overwork and burnout, which has become normalised in far too many professional environments, leads to nothing good. It is not those who say yes to everything who are the most valuable, but those who understand that saying yes to everything means doing everything badly.

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