The Burnout Epidemic: Why Your "Open Door Policy" Is Actually Making Things Worse

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Here's something that'll ruffle a few feathers: most Australian businesses are creating burnout faster than a bushfire in drought season, and they're doing it with the best of intentions.

After seventeen years of watching good people crumble under "supportive" management practices, I'm convinced we've got this whole employee wellbeing thing backwards. The very policies designed to help are often the ones pushing people over the edge.

Take the sacred cow of "open door policies." Every manager loves to boast about their open door. "My team knows they can come to me anytime!" they declare at networking events, probably whilst checking their phone for the fifteenth time that hour.

But here's what actually happens. Sarah from accounts has been struggling with her workload for weeks. She's already staying back until 7pm most nights. The open door policy means she feels obligated to discuss every tiny decision with you because, well, the door's open, isn't it? So instead of making reasonable judgement calls herself, she's booking fifteen-minute catch-ups that turn into hour-long strategy sessions about whether to use blue or black ink on the monthly reports.

Meanwhile, David in marketing is interpreting "open door" as "interrupt whenever convenient." He's popping in six times a day with updates that could've been emails, questions that Google could've answered, and ideas that needed exactly zero managerial input.

Your open door isn't empowering anyone. It's creating dependency.

The real kicker? Research from Melbourne University shows that 73% of employees in open-door workplaces report higher stress levels than those with scheduled check-ins. Yet we keep pedalling this myth that accessibility equals good management.

I learned this the hard way back in 2019. Had a fantastic team leader named Michelle who was burning herself out trying to be available to everyone, all the time. She'd skip lunch, work weekends, and answer emails at 11pm because she thought that's what good leadership looked like. The woman was phenomenal at her job, but she was drowning in other people's decisions.

The breaking point came when she had a panic attack in the staff kitchen because someone asked her opinion on coffee brands. Coffee brands! That's when I realised our "supportive" culture was actually suffocating our best people.

Here's what I wish more Australian businesses understood: boundaries aren't barriers, they're lifelines.

The most successful teams I work with now operate on what I call "structured availability." Instead of constant access, they have designated times for collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making. The rest of the time? People get to actually do their jobs without interruption.

Qantas figured this out years ago with their cabin crew scheduling. They don't expect flight attendants to be "on" 24/7 just because they're in customer service. There are clear protocols, defined roles, and - most importantly - times when people can switch off completely. The result? Lower turnover, higher job satisfaction, and better customer service overall.

But here's where it gets controversial: I think we need to stop celebrating the "always available" manager.

You know the type. They respond to emails at midnight, take calls during family dinners, and wear their exhaustion like a badge of honour. These aren't dedication heroes - they're productivity vampires, sucking the life out of everyone around them by setting impossible standards.

The hardest conversation I ever had was with a CEO who genuinely believed his 80-hour weeks were inspiring his team. In reality, his marketing manager was having anxiety attacks every Sunday night, his operations director had stopped taking holidays, and his best salesperson was actively job hunting because she felt guilty leaving the office before 7pm.

When I suggested he model work-life balance instead of work-life chaos, you'd have thought I'd suggested he take up interpretive dance as a business strategy. "But what if something urgent comes up?" he asked.

Here's the thing about urgent: 90% of what feels urgent at 8pm on a Tuesday isn't actually urgent at all. It's just poor planning dressed up as crisis management.

Smart businesses create systems that function without constant intervention. They hire capable people, give them clear guidelines, and then - revolutionary concept - they trust them to do their jobs.

McDonald's doesn't need the CEO to personally flip every burger. Virgin doesn't require Richard Branson to approve every boarding pass. Yet small to medium Australian businesses often operate like every decision needs to flow through one person.

That's not leadership. That's a bottleneck wearing a business suit.

The solution isn't rocket science, but it does require some ego-checking. Start by identifying which decisions actually need your input and which ones you're inserting yourself into out of habit or control issues.

I worked with a Perth-based construction company last year where the owner was approving every purchase over $50. Fifty dollars! His project managers were seeking approval to buy safety equipment, his admin staff needed permission for office supplies, and his tradies were standing around waiting for approval to buy lunch.

The man was working himself into an early grave over decisions that any competent adult could make independently. Once we raised the approval threshold to $500 and created clear purchasing guidelines, his stress levels dropped dramatically and his team's productivity soared.

But here's where most businesses mess up the implementation. They create the boundaries, then immediately start making exceptions. "Just this once" becomes the company motto, and before you know it, you're back to square one.

Boundaries only work if you actually maintain them. That means sometimes people will be disappointed. Sometimes projects will wait until Monday. Sometimes the "urgent" email will sit unanswered until business hours.

And you know what? The world doesn't end.

In fact, something magical happens when you stop being constantly available: people start solving their own problems. They become more resourceful, more confident, and - paradoxically - more productive.

The best managers I know are the ones who've mastered the art of strategic unavailability. They're present when needed, absent when not, and crystal clear about the difference.

If you're serious about preventing burnout in your workplace, start by examining your own behaviour. Are you creating space for your team to breathe, or are you suffocating them with support?

Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is close your door, turn off your phone, and trust your people to handle things without you.

They might just surprise you with how capable they are when you're not constantly hovering over their shoulders.

Looking for practical strategies to implement these changes? Check out our employee supervision resources for structured approaches to workplace management.