Keynote speaker tells Women in Safety Summit ‘environment needs to change, not the individual’
Burnout is more than just exhaustion—it’s an epidemic that continues to impact workplaces across Canada. According to Lisa Bélanger, a behavioral change expert and keynote speaker at the Women in Safety Summit Calgary 2025, burnout is not an individual failure but a systemic issue. “The World Health Organization talks about burnout as unmanaged workplace stress,” she says. “They call it a workplace phenomenon, not a psychological illness. The reason? It’s the environment that needs to change, not the individual.”
Bélanger urges health and safety professionals to recognize that burnout isn’t just about heavy workloads—it’s about six key contributing factors: workload, control over tasks, reward systems, community and support, fairness, and personal values alignment. “You can have two people with the same amount of work, and one person’s burning out while the other isn’t,” she explains. “Control over when and how you do your work is a protective mechanism.”
Recognizing burnout: More than just feeling tired
Burnout presents itself in three dimensions: exhaustion without cause, inefficiency, and cynicism. “If you’re reading the same paragraph three times and can’t focus, that’s a sign,” Bélanger warns. Cynicism is another major red flag. “If for lunch you were having pizza, and instead of just feeling neutral about it, you flip a table and swear—that’s burnout talking.”
One of the simplest ways to combat cynicism? Gratitude. Bélanger cites research showing that gratitude and cynicism cannot exist in the same brain at the same time. Encouraging teams to practice gratitude—even in small ways—can help shift mindsets away from negativity.
Breaking the stress cycle
Stress itself isn’t inherently bad—it’s how people manage it that makes the difference. “That physiological response to stress—your rapid heart rate, rapid breathing—it's designed to serve you,” Bélanger explains. “But only if you have an adequate amount of time to recover.” The real problem arises with chronic stress—when there is no return to baseline. “We need to microdose respite,” she advises. “We cannot wait until the weekend or vacation. That’s not how the human brain works.”
So how do we break effectively? Bélanger points to the research: not all breaks are created equal. “Every type of break is either neutral or beneficial, except one,” she states. “The one break that actually negatively impacts mental health and productivity? Scrolling through social media.”
Instead, effective breaks should fall into three categories:
- Connecting with yourself – Exercise, and other activities like mindfulness, journaling, or listening to music.
- Connecting with nature – “Nature is the most underutilized performance enhancer in the world,” Bélanger says. Even a short walk outside can have measurable impacts on stress and recovery.
- Connecting with others – Social interaction is a major predictor of long-term mental and physical health. “The number one thing linked to your mental and physical health isn’t exercise, diet, or sleep—it’s community,” Bélanger reveals.
Leadership, empathy, and the power of connection
For safety professionals, fostering psychological safety and empathy in the workplace is critical. Bélanger says leaders don’t need to be perfect to be effective role models. “We’ve accidentally linked leadership and perfection as if they’re synonymous. They are not,” she states. “You have more influence over someone if you can have a 360-degree conversation—if you can be vulnerable, talk about successes and barriers.”
At the heart of burnout prevention is human connection. Bélanger shares a powerful story about being stranded in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where she grew up, and needing a ride to the airport at 4:30 am. No taxi cabs were available, and so she called a high school friend she hadn’t spoken to in years, and she immediately drove her. “When I tried to pay her back, she just said, ‘Lisa, once a teammate, always a teammate.’ That’s the kind of community we need to build in our workplaces.”
Takeaways for Safety Professionals
As health and safety leaders, the challenge is to build environments that support well-being rather than drain it. This means advocating for:
✔ Real recovery time – Encouraging micro-breaks and reducing always-on work culture.
✔ Autonomy – Giving employees more control over how and when they complete tasks.
✔ Social support – Prioritizing team-building and mentorship opportunities.
✔ Mindfulness and movement – Promoting workplace wellness initiatives that encourage exercise and stress management.
The message for safety professionals is clear: Burnout is preventable, but it takes intention, leadership, and a commitment to change.
