A recent New York Times feature highlighted the growing tension between workplace expectations and the unequal share of caregiving and domestic labour women continue to manage — a conversation that mirrors what Dr. Vera Kohut, family physician and medical director at Serefin Health, says she sees daily.
“Work was built around the life pattern of men who had someone else running the home. That system never adjusted when women became primary earners and caregivers.”
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Burnout is often described as a personal struggle, but Dr. Kohut notes its roots run much deeper. A report from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine describes burnout as the product of pressures at the macro, meso and micro levels, shaped by economic instability, organizational restructuring and workplace norms that reward constant availability. These forces, she says, shape the daily realities employees carry into her office.
Notably, as employers refine flexible and hybrid working models, 39 per cent of Canadians reported burnout in 2025, with higher rates among women and racialized workers, according to a report by Mental Health Research Canada. Employers are also feeling the effects — a report by Deloitte estimates that replacing a mid-career employee can cost up to twice their salary, largely due to lost productivity and institutional knowledge.
Many organizations have increased mental-health supports, but Dr. Kohut says these measures can only go so far without predictable scheduling. “We can keep adding resources, but if work is chaotic and people can’t rely on protected time to rest, they’ll burn out. Flexible work alone doesn’t prevent burnout. Predictable work prevents burnout.”
Hybrid models often give employees control over where they work, but less clarity about when they can disconnect. Without boundaries, work can spill into evenings and weekends and compete with caregiving, commuting and household responsibilities.
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Dr. Kohut says meaningful change doesn’t require sacrificing output. Clear expectations for after-hours communication, defined protected time, mapping heavier periods of the work cycle and offering structured caregiver supports can all create more predictable workdays. She notes that high-variance roles often carry hidden turnover costs that organizations may not be tracking. “Predictability isn’t a perk. It’s the foundation of sustainable work.”
Women continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid caregiving in Canada. Statistics Canada reports the labour force participation rate for women aged 15 and older was 61.2 per cent in 2024. Yet many workplaces still operate on an ‘ideal worker’ model that prioritizes long hours, uninterrupted output and ongoing responsiveness.
The pressures at work and home now overlap more than ever. Parents describe increasingly child-centred routines that demand more time and emotional bandwidth. When combined with unpredictable workloads, the result is a cycle of stress that’s difficult to break. Mental Health Research Canada found burnout rates among women were nearly 10 per cent higher than among men, highlighting how the combined weight of paid and unpaid labour continues to shape women’s well-being.
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