Marvin Onumonu95% of agency staff worked overtime and 88% worked weekends, with overworking and burnout now widespread in client-facing teams, according to Resource Guru’s 2025 Agency Report.
Research found 60% of agency staff suffered from stress, 35% had anxiety, and 23% reported depression.
10% said they had experienced suicidal thoughts due to work.
More than a third (38%) had suffered burnout in their current job.
Of those affected, 37% had therapy, 34% were prescribed medication, 19% had been to hospital, and 18% had seen a doctor.
Dr Matthew Chan, medical expert and advisor, said: “These issues lead to intense pressure on healthcare systems.
“They have to try to keep up with the ever-growing number of workers who need medical assistance due to burnout.”
Burnout was also affecting people outside work.
56% said they did not exercise enough, 51% spent less time with family and friends, and 48% did not eat healthily.
44% missed or cancelled personal plans, 38% had strained relationships, and 17% had been through a breakup or divorce.
On a business level, 55% of burned out employees had taken time off due to stress, 36% would quit their job because of stress, and 27% would leave due to long working hours.
33% reported low motivation and said they got distracted easily.
Chan added: “Agencies are nothing without the people who work at them.
“As such, the effects of overwork and burnout are going to negatively affect these businesses’ metrics and outcomes eventually.
“While addressing these problems is the ‘right thing’ to do for your team, it’s also essential if you want your agency to be successful in the long run.”
37% of those burned out said they had made mistakes at work, and 32% had delivered lower quality work.
Additionally, data found that 43% said they put client needs above their own wellbeing, and 46% of those burned out said demanding clients were the cause.
20% of agency workers said artificial intelligence (AI) had increased their workload, not reduced it.
Meanwhile, 41% of burned out staff said high workloads were the cause, and 30% pointed to unrealistic deadlines.
Staff reported skipping meals, cancelling personal plans, and even sleeping at the office to meet deadlines.
The report also found agencies lacked proper systems for managing workload and time.
26% blamed over-allocation, 27% poor time management, and 21% under-resourced teams for burnout.
38% were using Google Sheets to manage resources, instead of purpose-built software.
Resource Guru said its software could help agencies prevent overworking and burnout by giving visibility of team capacity and project schedules.
The system flags when staff are at capacity and tracks if work is spreading fairly across the team.
Resource Guru added that its software lets agencies see who is available, plan ahead, and track if hours worked match hours forecasted.
Percy Stilwell, co-founder of Resource Guru, said: “These Resource Guru features have been proven to reduce excessive workloads, increase productivity, improve the employee experience, and help agencies deliver profitable projects. After all, happy teams drive successful businesses.”
