Burnout Isn’t a Badge. It’s a Staffing Problem.

According to a recent Muck Rack survey of 1,604 PR professionals, 44% quit their jobs in 2024 due to burnout and 50% considered quitting. Fifty‑eight percent work more than 40 hours a week; 1 in 10 work more than 51.

Those numbers are PR‑specific, but if you lead corporate communications, they probably sound familiar. 

Over and over, I hear some version of this: 

“The work keeps growing, our timelines keep shrinking, and the team I have is the team I have. I’m accountable, but I don’t have the resources to deliver.” 

Staff cuts, layoffs, hiring freezes and budget constraints have all made “do more with less” feel like standard operating procedure. But the math still doesn’t work. And it’s costing you more than you think. 

“Do more with less” doesn’t mean you’re achieving more 

“Doing more with less” sounds efficient. It sounds resilient. It sounds like good leadership. 

What it usually means in practice is that fewer people are doing the work that more people used to do. Projects aren’t finished faster. Change isn’t implemented more smoothly. And people aren’t running to their desks excited to start the day. Instead, your team works longer hours. They give up time for strategic thinking. They repeat the same projects year after year with less energy and creativity. Quietly, they start scanning job postings “just in case.” 

It’s not a character flaw. It’s not a lack of grit. It’s simply unsustainable. Burnout isn’t a sign that people are weak. It’s a sign that the workload and the resourcing model don’t match. So if “do more with less” isn’t viable, what can you do instead? 

A more realistic path: flex your team, don’t just push it 

If you have employees doing the work of two or three people, it might be time to change the shape of your team—at least temporarily. One practical option that many communications leaders overlook is bringing in experienced independent consultants who can flex up and down with your workload. 

At Evo Communications, we’ve built a deep bench of vetted, experienced independent communications consultants. Many of them are deliberately not looking for a 40‑hour‑per‑week role. They want flexibility, and they’re at their best when they can dial up their availability during a surge and dial it back when things level out. 

For you, that means you can bring someone in for a defined period to support a “work surge,” and then reduce their hours—or wrap up the engagement—once the work is complete. You’re not committing to headcount. You’re not making promises you can’t keep. You’re buying focused capacity and capability when it matters most. 

Fresh eyes on the work your team has done too many times 

Burnout isn’t only about volume. It can also come from repetition. If the same person has run your annual recognition program or benefits enrollment communications three or four years in a row, chances are they’re not feeling energized by a fifth. 

That’s another place where a consultant can help. Instead of assigning the same person to the same project yet again, you can hand it to an independent consultant with fresh eyes and, probably, fresh ideas. 

An Evo Communications consultant can ramp up quickly on your organization and audience, bring in patterns and lessons from similar work at other companies and tackle the project with focus and genuine enthusiasm. Your internal team gets relief and space to shift their attention to work that stretches them, develops them or simply hasn’t been done to its potential yet. 

Flexibility is the point, not the perk 

One of the biggest advantages of working with consultants is flexibility. You don’t have to decide, “Do I have enough work to justify a full‑time hire?” Instead, you can ask more realistic questions: Do we have a short project that needs focused attention? Do we need someone for 10–15 hours a week over the next few months? Do we have a recurring program where a consultant could own the heavy lift each year? 

You might bring on a consultant to support a busy three‑month period in your internal communications calendar. You might ask them to lead communications for a specific change initiative or technology rollout. Or you might have them take end‑to‑end ownership of your recognition program communications or annual all‑employee meeting. 

Many of the consultants that Evo Communications partners with, want and seek that kind of flexibility. They choose independent work so they can do their best work for a few clients at a time. When you tap into that kind of talent, you’re not just helping your team stay healthy. You’re also giving yourself another lever to pull when the work won’t slow down—but headcount will. 

If you’re feeling the burn 

If “do more with less” has become the unofficial motto of your year, you don’t have to white‑knuckle it until something breaks. 

You can experiment with a different resourcing model: a consultant who flexes with your workload, a temporary independent partner who takes a recurring program off your team’s plate or a change communications consultant who keeps a high‑stakes initiative moving while your team runs the day‑to‑day. 

If you’re curious what that could look like for your team, I’m happy to talk it through. 

Schedule a discovery call and we can explore whether flexible fractional support might be the pressure‑release valve you need.