Burning Out and Burning Up: How Climate Distress Reshapes Workplaces
Climate change is not just an environmental crisis — it’s a mental health challenge impacting workplaces worldwide. Climate distress and tensions among employees with differing levels of concern challenge leaders to balance immediate workplace demands with the emotional toll of a complex global crisis.
The effects of human-caused climate change are being felt in almost every aspect of life, from physical environments to economic systems. Rising temperatures upset the balance of seasons, weather patterns, ocean levels, and more — all negatively impacting life on Earth. Changes in Greenland and Antarctica suggest that models might underestimate rather than overstate the speed of change.
As climate-related catastrophic events have increased, media access has increased public awareness. In the past, many environmental changes went unnoticed due to limited monitoring capabilities. Today, we track real-time tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires, leading to heightened public consciousness and anxiety. Clickbait has become a prevalent tactic in online journalism, including weather reporting. Via TikTok, we feel the human pain inflicted by these events.
As climate disruptions become more frequent and visible, so do the associated psychological challenges. Climate distress—chronic worry, sadness, grief, and other emotions about environmental crises—is no longer a distant issue, and much like other forms of psychological distress, it can impact performance. Studies show that stress and anxiety can reduce cognitive function, lower productivity, and increase the risk of burnout.
The recent COP29 summit’s lack of progress, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to withdraw from international climate agreements and promote fossil fuel industries, and the collapse of Germany’s coalition government — of which the Green Party was a member — further contribute to public anxiety over the diminishing focus on environmental protection by world leaders and leading industrial nations.
Employees bring these fears into the workplace, affecting focus, collaboration, and well-being. They also interact with colleagues, managers, and leaders who may or may not share their level of concern and desire to act. This creates tensions; few things are more frustrating or even terrifying than recognizing a threat that others seem to fail to see.
In some cases, climate-related stress may be linked to specific work conditions. For example, outdoor agriculture, construction, or transportation workers are directly affected by extreme heat, which can lead to physical and mental strain — and even death.
Additionally, poor air quality caused by wildfires or pollution adds to workplace hazards, leading to increased costs for mitigation efforts such as improving heating and ventilation systems and potentially to loss of labor income, according to a Stanford study.
Leaders and managers face complex questions about how to attend to business and simultaneously address the emotionally charged topic of climate change and its impact on the organization. We explore these complexities and suggest how leaders can both address “thermal” and “emotional” climate change. Better understanding the roots of climate distress will help leaders and managers support their teams and each other. Finally, we provide tools to manage the anxiety global warming generates — and in doing so, build resilience skills and design better policies.
Emotional Climate Change
The formal study of the causation and correlation of climate change and mental health is relatively new. Less than 10 years ago, in 2016, the 75-year-old Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, or GAP, inaugurated the first Climate Committee. The year after, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) issued a position statement on climate change and mental health. Action papers followed, including some related to climate-related service needs, the greening of psychiatry, and the overall practice of medicine. In 2020, the APA Committee on Climate Change was set up.
The APA has noted that the mental health effects of climate change extend beyond immediate responses to disasters. They include slower-developing impacts, such as worsening air quality leading to cognitive decline and increased rates of depression. These broader environmental shifts create new public health challenges as mental health professionals increasingly recognize the link between ecological and psychological well-being.
Recent studies highlight that climate change is not just a physical or economic issue — it has psychological effects, notes Doctor Joshua Wortzel, chair of the APA’s and co-chair of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s climate change committees, the Climate and Health Scholar for the National Institute of Mental Health, and co-author of a recent article with the GAP Climate Committee (see here too).
Direct Effects of Heat on Mental Health
Elevated temperatures are linked to increased rates of suicide, sexual assault, domestic and other violence, and mental health hospitalizations. Some individuals with pre-existing psychiatric conditions may be more susceptible to heat-related stress, exacerbating their symptoms, and their medications can impact their ability to mitigate heat stress.
Indirect Effects Through Environmental Changes
- Agricultural Impact: Climate change affects crop yields and food nutritional quality. The resulting malnutrition (e.g., low levels of iron and zinc) has neuropsychiatric consequences, including neurodevelopmental disorders and mood disorders.
- Air Pollution: High levels of particulates or smoke in the air contribute to the development of mental health consequences at all life stages (dementias, neurodevelopmental disorders, and mood disorders).
- Disease Vector Distribution: Shifts in climate can alter the habitats of disease-carrying organisms, increasing the prevalence of illnesses that may have psychiatric manifestations, such as encephalitis and encephalopathy. These diseases are now emerging in new geographies.
Psychological Effects from Traumatic Events and Existential Threats
Natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, intensified by climate change, can lead to trauma-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, the chronic stress of anticipating future climate-related disasters contributes to anxiety and depression. Distress is often exacerbated by a sense of powerlessness or lack of control over the unfolding change process and the pain of losing the natural world around one’s home (AKA solastalgia).
In addition, as climate events like droughts and wildfires increase, access to healthcare — and mental health services — becomes more disrupted, making it difficult for individuals to receive treatment for pre-existing mental health conditions or new issues triggered by environmental stressors.
A 2021 10-country survey of 16- to 25-year-olds revealed that about 59% were very or extremely worried, and 84% were at least moderately worried:
More than 50% reported each of these emotions: sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty. More than 45% reported that feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning. Many reported a high number of negative thoughts about climate change (e.g., 75% said that they think the future is frightening and 83% said that they think people have failed to take care of the planet). Respondents rated governmental responses to climate change negatively and reported greater feelings of betrayal than of reassurance.
A November 2024 Lancet article corroborates this, especially for U.S. adolescents and young adults entering the workplace. Searches for “eco-anxiety” increased dramatically since 2021.
The resulting emotions can be anger directed at elders and politicians blamed for causing and not addressing the problems, shame about our personal contributions to climate change, and guilt for not doing more to abate it. Such anxiety affects not only the kids but also their parents and, ultimately, those with whom they work.
Why is Climate Distress Difficult to Manage at Work
Climate distress is a unique workplace challenge because it straddles the line between reality and perception: it stems from undeniable facts — climate change disrupts industries, supply chains, and communities but is also amplified by uncertainties and worst-case scenarios that can cause high levels of anxiety.
Good judgment requires one to perceive the reality as accurately as possible. This will help the person synthesize what is going on and take action. There is a lot of grey areas in climate change, and being comfortable with that ambiguity will be critical for leaders.
For managers, this dual nature creates tension: managing the reality of ignoring the anxiety of human-caused global warming and the distraction of excessive anxiety. Both will likely require confrontation as they relate to getting the work done.
Addressing the “real” aspects requires tangible actions, like implementing sustainability initiatives, while the “imagined” aspects — personal anxieties about future catastrophes — call for empathy and psychological support. Balancing these needs is especially tough in environments with limited resources; the issues themselves feel beyond any organization’s control.
Strategies for Leaders
Responding to climate change falls into three areas. Mitigation involves decreasing atmospheric greenhouse gasses. Adaptation calls for preparing for impacts already baked into the calculations — a resilience of sorts — which could include building seawalls along the coast or behavioral shifts, i.e., water conservation. Finally, maladaptation covers actions that could lead to higher — instead of lower — risks of adverse climate-caused or related outcomes. Examples might be rebuilding in a flooding-prone area or planting trees to sequester carbon but failing to account for the fact that the chosen area of planting is at high risk for fires.
Keeping these in mind helps frame how to approach climate anxiety.
Reflect on our feelings about climate change.
As we described in our book on Compassionate Management of Mental Health in the Modern Workplace, our background, genetics, relative expertise, lived experiences, health, and coping mechanisms shape how we might respond to mental health issues in bosses, colleagues, and reports. We are never a neutral vessel, and the context we bring will shape the conversations we have and the support we can provide.
There is a parallel here to climate change. Our anxiety—or lack thereof—about climate change and our understanding of the phenomena and their impact on our local or global villages will impact how we respond to the issue of climate change at work, both in our actions and in how we support others who may be experiencing climate anxiety.
Understand that distress is not a monolith.
A good source of information about the climate and the extent to which most of us underestimate the impact of change is the Yale program on climate communication and survey data on public opinion. Over time, about 10% of those surveyed expressed little concern about climate change, which can feel terrifying to those who do. However, it is important to acknowledge such differences in perspectives. Also, depending on our social or professional context, we might keep our concerns more quiet to avoid social sanctions. This can be very stressful for those who feel they need to hide their doubts or fears — in either direction.
Distress also knows no borders. For example, a company operating globally can consider extending emergency assistance funds to US workers and employees (and subcontractors) in overseas subsidiaries.
Create a space to share feelings and get support.
Psychologists have used visual emotion wheels to help people better understand and interpret their feelings. The one below can help managers and others identify emotions about the climate and learn to work with them — and then help others do so, too.
Another tool is the Climate Anxiety Scale (CAS), a 13-item questionnaire for assessing climate anxiety as a psychological response to climate change.
The table highlights the significant emotional and cognitive burden that climate change can have on individuals. Key impacts include difficulty concentrating, sleeping, and maintaining daily life routines, alongside feelings of anxiety, sadness, and self-criticism. These concerns often interfere with social relationships, work, and personal well-being, suggesting eco-anxiety’s pervasive and broad toll on people’s lives.
Leaders here can acknowledge their anxiety—if true—and seek professional support, encouraging others to do so, especially by telling their own stories. As with other workplace challenges, leaders can help employees navigate climate anxiety by promoting adaptive coping strategies. This might include offering access to mental health resources, such as counseling or employee assistance programs, specifically designed to address climate-related stress.
It is important to remember that psychiatrists are ethically obligated to maintain a neutral attitude about the topic. As with other social issues, if the boundary is ignored, the patient should switch doctors. All mental health providers must respect their patients’ values and beliefs and focus on the treatment goals.
Help employees understand coping mechanisms.
Living with climate change is an exercise in adapting to loss—loss of familiar environments, predictable weather patterns, and, for many, a sense of security about the future. The world already feels unpredictable enough. Helping employees navigate this psychological landscape begins with fostering awareness of effective coping mechanisms (see post here):
- Problem-Focused Coping aims to address the source of distress, such as joining sustainability initiatives or contributing to workplace efforts to reduce environmental impact. Problem-focused approaches at work might include a community garden, brainstorming ideas for energy efficiency, and offering service time for people to volunteer. Thoughts here should extend to suppliers to the organization. Websites such as Onegreenthing.org can be helpful for brainstorming.
- Emotion-Focused Coping centers on understanding and managing the emotional response, including mindfulness practices, counseling, or connecting with nature as a source of solace.
- Meaning-focused coping involves cultivating a work culture at your business that derives part of its purpose and mission to actively addressing climate change.
A 2021 study published in Global Environmental Change emphasized the importance of adaptive behaviors. The study found that individuals who engage in proactive measures to address climate change — whether through personal actions or organizational initiatives — tend to experience lower levels of anxiety. This suggests that businesses can support their employees by helping them feel part of the solution.
Companies can consider setting up a task force for younger employees — who feel most concerned, as the data suggested earlier — to drive conversation and change and turn worry into action. Companies that involve employees in sustainability efforts embrace the ABC philosophy (Above and Beyond Compliance). Companies should not just LEED certify new buildings but also obtain LEED operations and maintenance certification and think about how to help suppliers do so, too.
Consider Climate-Responsive Benefits.
Employers provide benefits and leave not just to attract and retain talent but to support the evolving needs of their workforce in a changing world. These offerings support employee well-being, productivity, and loyalty by addressing essential needs like health, work-life balance, and financial security. They also align with legal requirements and societal expectations, reinforcing the company’s reputation and ethical standing.
These offerings address the unique challenges posed by eco-anxiety and environmental disruptions in the context of climate change. Climate leave, a groundbreaking policy first introduced in Spain following devastating floods in November 2024, provides paid time off for employees to address personal needs caused by adverse weather events. This innovative approach ensures workers can prioritize safety and recovery without risking financial stability.
In the United States, the Waffle House Index—an informal tool developed by a restaurant chain that our Federal Emergency Management Agency uses to gauge disaster severity based on restaurant functionality—can inspire organizations to create their own operational resilience frameworks. For example, a “Service Continuity Index” could categorize business locations as fully operational, partially operational, or non-operational during crises, enabling swift resource allocation and targeted support, including access to therapists.
Support Managers in Supporting Employees.
Climate distress affects more than just employees—it impacts managers as well. Global warming can potentially be very anxiety-provoking for all the reasons listed here. It can also be very distracting to task completion.
A leader overwhelmed by the emotional weight of climate change may feel unable to address their team’s concerns. A manager who feels overwhelmed by the demands of a distressed team and comes from a scarcity mindset will not be able to be curious about the team or their emotions. But by identifying anxieties and adopting strategies to manage them, they can become more curious, compassionate, and proactive. According to Scientific American, it is easier for us to be empathetic to the concerns of others when others are around us model this behavior.
Research shows that when leaders effectively manage their stress and concerns, teams and organizations are likelier to thrive. As the authors of the 2016 book Building A Culture Of Health demonstrate, leaders often face systemic barriers to prioritizing mental and physical well-being, including a lack of organizational focus on health or insufficient resources for addressing workplace anxieties.
Managers often face the dual challenge of addressing their own concerns about climate change while supporting their teams to remain productive and engaged. Much like early childhood development teaches us to manage conflicting needs, so managers must juggle competing priorities: 1) they are responsible for driving performance and meeting business objectives; and 2) they must acknowledge the real emotional toll that issues like climate anxiety take on their workforce. Ignoring one for the other risks burnout, disengagement, or organizational dysfunction.
Support for leaders doesn’t mean avoiding tough conversations. Effective leadership development requires a balance of empathy and constructive confrontation. Sitting alongside leaders to explore areas where they may struggle — whether in communication, prioritization, or team engagement — can lead to meaningful growth.
Leaders, like employees, benefit from opportunities to express their concerns. Group settings or individual consultations where leaders can discuss their anxieties without judgment are critical. In such settings they can also learn from one another by sharing strategies for managing personal climate distress and workplace challenges and opportunities.
Be particularly vigilant about maladaptation.
A greater risk than doing nothing is to engage in maladaptation strategies. These can involve what has entered the vernacular as “Greenwashing,” in which a company’s marketing vaunts its environmental sustainability, which is a “plant-a-tree” program while doing nothing to reduce the pollution impact of its manufacturing processes, buying carbon offsets before trying to reduce energy consumption and waste production, and switching to “green” suppliers without proper vetting.
On the working conditions front, installing air conditioners in response to rising temperatures without addressing their energy inefficiency or exploring renewable energy alternatives — is a punt of the worst kind. The company might solve the immediate issues, but costs and GHG emissions will increase over time, amplifying climate risks.
On the leadership front, companies appoint a “Chief Sustainability Officer” and underresource the office, contributing to unmet expectations and moral injury of everyone involved.
From Permacrisis to Permachange
As climate change continues to reshape the global landscape, its psychological effects will increasingly affect the workplace. Climate distress is a growing issue that leaders cannot afford to ignore.
By acknowledging these concerns and fostering a culture of support, managers can help their teams navigate climate change’s emotional complexities while focusing on business goals.
Businesses must mitigate their environmental impact and address the mental health of their staff— working on climate distress helps do both.
By offering resources, promoting open dialogue, and encouraging adaptive behaviors, leaders can build resilience within their teams and help employees cope with the uncertainties of a changing world. In doing so, they contribute to employee well-being and organizational sustainability.
Leaders today have the opportunity to create not only a sustainable workplace but also a legacy of care and resilience. By addressing eco-anxiety with compassion and purpose, they could become “awesome ancestors” future generations will thank for steering the course toward a better world.
A recent book on the topic is entitled What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures. What is your vision of the climate future, and what can you do to get it right?
This post was compiled by Daven Morrison, MD and Carin-Isabel Knoop and builds on a paper with Bahia El Oddi published in 2022.
