Restoring our resources
Only a quarter of UK workers feel like their mental health is genuinely prioritised and supported by their employers, according to a survey on burnout. And one in five employees took time off in the last year because of stress, with that figure doubling for 18-24 year olds, according to the Burnout Report 2026, released by charity Mental Health UK. But could changes to how we design workplaces help to combat the problem?
‘Circular work’ focuses on human work resources and the importance of restoring them once they’ve been drained and depleted. It’s designed to be a sustainable and long-term approach that puts human needs at the heart of how work is organised.
The idea is explained in an article on The Conversation website by Professor Christine Ipsen of the University of Denmark and the University of Leicester’s Professor Maria Karanika-Murray.
They said: “Drawing on ideas from the circular economy along with management theory and organisational psychology, we propose a different way of thinking about work. We call it circular work.
“Circular work flips the usual logic. Instead of treating people’s time, energy and skills as resources to be consumed, it sees work as a cycle – where effort is matched with recovery, learning and renewal. The goal isn’t just short-term output but work that people can sustain without burning out.”
They added: “The idea of renewing people’s energy and skills can sound radical in today’s target-driven work culture. But renewal isn’t a luxury. It starts with a simple truth: people are not infinite or endlessly replaceable. Work can drain our energy, attention and health – sometimes in ways that take years to undo. Designing work as though this doesn’t matter comes at a real cost.”
