Henry King Barrister, a London-based barrister who has spent nearly a decade at 12 Kings Bench Walk, works across insurance, costs, personal injury, and commercial disputes, fields where extended hours and high-stakes litigation often intersect with the kind of chronic workplace stress driving today’s burnout epidemic. King spends much of his time in court, handling settlement negotiations and advising on high-value cases, while also overseeing a substantial paperwork practice and consulting for a London-based law firm on commercial disputes, personal injury matters, corporate crime, and executive health and safety issues. A graduate of the University of Leicester with a law degree earned with first class honours, King also spent a year in France providing legal services and volunteering with a human rights group in Strasbourg. As a barrister balancing multiple demanding roles, his career reflects the pressures explored in this look at workplace burnout.
In recent years, the United Kingdom has developed a severe stress epidemic. In 2026, roughly 63 percent of adults experience elevated stress levels on a weekly basis, a major increase from about 33 percent of adults in 2018.
More than 20 percent of people over the age of 16 deal with stress symptoms every day, including nearly 25 percent of women, while close to 75 percent of the adult population has felt completely overwhelmed by stress at least once over the previous 12 months.
Many different issues contribute to the UK’s stress epidemic, ranging from financial worries to health concerns, though experts cannot understate the impact of workplace stressors. Studies reveal that over 90 percent of adults experience high or extreme levels of stress at work throughout the year, often to the point that they need to step away from their job to recover.
Professional burnout is a significant stress-related issue in the UK. In the workplace, burnout is the result of “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Often described as a growing “occupational phenomenon,” burnout involves feelings of chronic exhaustion, cynicism and general negativity when thinking about work, and reduced efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Burnout has become so prevalent that WHO included the issue in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases, though not as a medical condition.
Without proper intervention, burnout can lead to various psychological issues, including emotional fatigue, depersonalisation, and an increased risk of serious mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Research also shows that burnout can impair memory and concentration.
Workplace burnout, perhaps unsurprisingly, also takes a massive economic toll. Per a 2023 study conducted by AXA UK and the Centre for Business and Economic Research, the UK loses more than 23 million working days each year, translating to a nearly £30 billion annual hit on the national economy.
The potential impact of burnout could actually be much larger, as a separate study from Keep Britain Working found that sickness, turnover, and decreased productivity among UK employees lead to annual losses of £85 billion.
Both employees and employers can mitigate issues caused by workplace burnout by recognising the symptoms and causes of workplace stress. In addition to persistent physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion, burnout is often signalled by declining performance and a loss of interest in professional success.
Physical symptoms of burnout range from headaches to irregular sleeping and eating habits.
The causes of burnout in the workplace vary. An oversize workload is an issue for many employees in the UK. Individuals who feel over-managed while simultaneously lacking the necessary support often develop symptoms of burnout.
Workplace leaders must take action to protect their employees, as well as their organization’s profitability and productivity, from burnout. Employees benefit from reasonable deadlines, a sense of security and certainty in their role, and a balance of independence and guidance.
Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is a critical step to decreasing the prevalence of burnout in professional settings.
Employees, meanwhile, can make changes to avoid or address burnout, such as taking advantage of their annual leave. Studies show that vacation time reduces stress and anxiety, improves an employee’s mood, and, more specifically, prevents the emotional exhaustion and persistent stress associated with burnout.
About Henry King
Henry King is a barrister based in London who has spent nearly a decade practicing at 12 Kings Bench Walk, with specialties in insurance, costs, personal injury, and commercial disputes. He has represented clients in notable cases, including Kindertons v Skyfire, Cox v Adecco, and Bass v EasyJet, and consults for a London-based law firm on corporate crime and executive health and safety matters. King holds a law degree with first class honours from the University of Leicester and once volunteered with a human rights group in Strasbourg, France.
