The data around burnout in the workplace is bleak. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “44 percent of U.S. employees feel burned out at work, 45 percent feel ‘emotionally drained’ from their work, and 51 percent feel ‘used up; at the end of the workday.”
What’s more, 57 percent of workers say they experience negative impacts due to work-related stress associated with burnout, including emotional exhaustion, irritability, and anger.
These side effects have real implications on our workplaces—something leaders at Expel know all too well.
“The work we do here at Expel—protecting our customers from cyberattacks—is incredibly important, and so it can also be stressful,” says Amy Rossi, the company’s Chief People Officer. “Burnout happens when someone’s energy is depleted to the point of mental (and even physical) exhaustion, leading to mistakes that, in this industry, can result in devastating security incidents for organizations and their customers.”
As such, preventing burnout is mission critical for the cybersecurity company. “We’ve always operated with the ethos that if we take care of our people, they’ll take care of our customers, so it’s in everyone’s best interest to pay close attention to the threat of burnout and do what we can to minimize it.”
Expel has championed a yearslong burnout campaign aimed at educating leaders on burnout and creating failsafe ways of addressing burnout within their workforce.
“Burnout is such a focus at Expel that we extend our expertise to reducing burnout to our customers, too,” Rossi adds. “Burnout is one of the biggest problems facing cybersecurity teams. It can lead security analysts to miss indicators of incidents that eventually grow into bigger problems. So our technology is designed to dramatically reduce analyst burnout and allow team members to focus on the deeper, more interesting problem-solving work that drew them to security in the first place.”
Rated most highly for Ability to Telecommute, Learning Opportunities, and Paid Time Off, Expel is a company that puts its people first, fostering a culture where employees are encouraged to thrive both professionally and personally. With a focus on mental health, work-life balance, and open communication, Expel creates an environment where team members feel supported, trusted, and empowered. Sound like the place for you? Learn more about working at Expel—and the company’s open roles—at the link below.
What Expel understands about burnout
To solve for burnout, you first need to understand what people often get wrong about this state of overwork. Rossi says there are are two common fallacies in conversations about burnout:
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Burnout is about the individual, not the business: “Most of the time, employee burnout is a systemic problem caused by bad processes, too much work, too much stress, not enough resources, or all of the above,” she says. “Identifying poorly built work structures and setting clear priorities are key to eliminating widespread burnout across your org.”
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A vacation will solve the problem: “Yes, go ahead and take that PTO, but that alone doesn’t solve burnout,” Rossi says. “If someone takes a vacation but comes back to the same stressful situation, that’s a temporary fix, not a solution. Additionally, someone experiencing burnout likely can’t fully disconnect from their work and the constant thought spiral it provokes. Taking time off from a busy, chaotic environment can also make people feel more overwhelmed when they come back, perpetuating the cycle.”
Expel addresses the overarching contributors to burnout through a combination of benefits and culture.
“While we do offer unlimited PTO, it doesn’t mean anything if Expletives [Expel employees] return from time off to the same stressful situations they stepped away from,” Rossi says. “So our benefits extend well beyond PTO to also help address many of life’s challenges that contribute to burnout.”
Expel provides flexible work hours and locations, so employees can deal with both work and life as needed. They offer 24 weeks of parental leave—the first 12 weeks of which are paid—when an employee, their spouse, or domestic partner gives birth to a child, adopts a child, or becomes a foster parent. And the company encourages Expletives to attend at least one conference every year that contributes to their career growth, reimbursing them for up to $2,500 for the cost.
“But our focus on preventing burnout goes beyond benefits; it’s ingrained in our culture,” Rossi says. “We have a few core values that work together to help prevent burnout. For example, we treat people like people. This starts with being honest, consistent, and authentic, and results in strong relationships built on trust. We get it done together, meaning we work, win, and lose as a team. We strive to continuously improve by experimenting, getting curious, and trying new things, all while we ‘measure what matters,’ rather than relying on what’s worked in the past.”
Expel also trains managers and leaders to understand burnout and normalize conversations about work and stress, offering resources, such as relevant articles, research, instructor-led training sessions sponsored by its employee resource groups (ERGs), personal coaching, and independent work–all in an effort to help people managers effectively lead their teams.
“We cover all different areas of how to do this in our leadership framework” Rossi says. “We look at things like how to provide feedback, set expectations, manage time and energy, be an active listener, and hold effective 1:1 meetings–among many other areas.”
4 ways employees say Expel combats burnout
Does Expel’s approach to preventing burnout work? According to InHerSight data, the answer is a resounding “yes.” The company scores above 4.5 stars for each of our Schedule & Flexibility metrics and ranks as a top company for Ability to Telecommute. These high ratings reflect a culture that prioritizes work-life balance.
But what’s happening behind the scenes? We asked three Expletives to share their firsthand experiences. Here are four key ways Expel actively combats burnout:
1. Expel pairs flexibility with a supportive culture
Expel’s anti-burnout approach isn’t just about having unlimited PTO or remote work—it’s about fostering a culture where employees feel comfortable using these benefits without guilt.
“Remote work and unlimited PTO are absolutely crucial for me,” says engagement manager Bryn Standley-Ossa. “When I look back at ways I've gotten burnt out in the past, even when I have taken time off and previous unlimited PTO organizations, the guilt has sometimes meant that I wasn't able to fully enjoy my vacation, or that I dreaded going back to work or was inundated by a mountain of emails with no slack for getting caught back up. Expel isn't that. And getting to work from home (or anywhere else) gives me comfort and sanity, especially on tough days.”
Leadership leads by example, encouraging employees to take time off and setting the expectation that when someone is on PTO, they’re truly off.
“Every time I put in a PTO request, it gets approved almost instantaneously,” Standley-Ossa adds. “Time off is never looked down on or scorned, and leaders at every single level of the organization showcase this and take time off themselves. Additionally, when employees do take time off, they are told to step away from work, turn off Slack, not check emails—the whole nine yards. Expel is really, really good at both supporting time off and time away from work and notifications, as well as both actively encouraging it and walking the walk with leadership taking their own time off.”
Expel’s culture ensures employees not only have access to time off but also feel empowered to take it without stress.
2. Expel prioritizes boundaries that put people first
From respecting PTO to encouraging breaks that reflect the employees’ needs or lifestyle, Expel reinforces a people-first mindset.
“I have a 6-month-old daughter, and we're in the process of transitioning to her sleeping in her own room,” says Scout Scholes, senior content marketing writer. “After a very long night, my boss (nicely) forced me to get offline between meetings and go take a nap. While taking a nap during the workday sounds scandalous, it was refreshing. She was more concerned about my mental wellbeing than anything I would accomplish in that hour, and I see scenarios like that happen all the time, across all levels at Expel.”
Employees set clear work-life boundaries without fear of pushback.
By normalizing boundaries and self-care, Expel helps employees avoid burnout before it starts.
3. Expel champions trust at all levels
Trust is at the core of Expel’s flexible culture. Employees don’t have to justify their time off—they simply take it.
“PTO is so casual in the best way,” Scholes says. “I never feel like I'm asking for permission, but rather just informing, and that alone is a big stress relief. While we try to be proactive, there's also no hard and fast rule if you decide on a Thursday you need to take Friday afternoon off the next day to relax.”
Expel also ensures that employees have strong backup support when they step away.
This foundation of trust lightens the mental load, making it easier for employees to truly disconnect when they need to.
4. Expel supports employee mental and physical health
Beyond PTO and flexibility, Expel provides tangible mental health support through leadership initiatives and ERGs.
“Leadership is really great at stressing the importance of both time off and mental health. It is routinely mentioned and talked about, and frequently stressed that Expletives' biggest priority is taking care of themselves at all levels,” Standley-Ossa says. “Coupled with the level of support provided in any given circumstance, it creates a beautiful environment where I don't feel like I'm running myself ragged all by myself.”
Expel’s mental health ERG, The Connection, provides a safe space for discussions on mental health and neurodivergence.
“There is a laundry list of programs, but as a leadership member of The Connection ERG, that's my favorite,” Scholes says. “This ERG is connected with the Wellness app, which offers more features than you can count in terms of mental wellbeing, and we use a lot of their speakers to host sessions for all of Expel, too.”
Employees also benefit from robust health benefits that remove financial barriers to care.
“On top of flexible work options, my health benefits are unparalleled,” Standley-Ossa says. “I've gotten to stick with providers that I've spent years forging relationships with, and it's all totally covered by my organization.”
Final thoughts on Expel’s approach to burnout
At Expel, combating burnout isn’t just about offering benefits—it’s about fostering a culture where employees feel supported, trusted, and empowered to prioritize their well-being. “Since our founding, we’ve been intentional about all these initiatives, whether they’re part of our benefit package or are woven throughout the fabric of our employee experience,” Rossi says.
It’s a philosophy backed by action.
“Expel is what great looks like when it comes to mental health, personal time off, and reducing the possibility of burnout,” says Standley-Ossa. “While of course it's always possible to burn yourself out if your nose is to the grindstone, Expel colleagues and management strive to help you pick your head up, look around, and breathe when you need it.”
