Occupational Psychologist Workplace Burnout Specialist
High performance shouldn’t come at the cost of burnout.
Yet, without the right insight, it often does.
Some of the organisations i’ve helped are:
Why burnout is so often missed
Burnout develops gradually, and early warning signs are often subtle — easy to overlook or rationalise as part of everyday life. With many possible symptoms and no single, obvious pattern, it can be difficult to recognise until someone is already well along the path.
In many workplaces, high stress has also become normalised. Without a shared and safe way to recognise or talk about it, concerns stay unspoken and issues remain unaddressed until they reach a breaking point.
Why it Matters
Quiet disengagement that erodes performance
Leaders running out of capacity
Teams under strain and conflict
Declining judgement, creativity and decision-making
Long-term health consequences
My Approach
Data-driven, systematic and practical
Burnout is not a single event or endpoint, but a continuum of risk that develops over time. My research shows that people typically move through a series of identifiable stages, marked by common patterns and indicators.
Preventing burnout therefore requires earlier awareness and insight to recognise warning signals before they escalate. It also requires acknowledging that the causes of burnout are not only personal, but are shaped by work environments, team dynamics and organisational systems.
For this reason, my approach combines personal insight with anonymised, aggregated reporting at team and group levels — creating safe platforms for practical conversations and focused action.
When stress is made visible, measurable and discussable, it enables earlier intervention, more meaningful dialogue and healthier, more sustainable performance.
The AURA Framework
A common standard for evaluating burnout risk
The AURA framework was developed in 2016 through a 2 year research project and has been psychometrically validated. It has been applied across organisations in over 15 countries worldwide.
AURA provides a structured way to understand burnout as a continuum of risk, reflecting a series of identifiable stages, rather than a single outcome.
Undue stress shows up across 5 domains — impacting how people think, feel, behave and function. Patterns often emerge long before a burnout crisis.
By offering a consistent framework for measuring and calibrating stress impact, AURA enables earlier recognition of risk, more meaningful conversations and targeted preventative action — across individuals, teams and organisations.
Used by leaders, teams and individuals from organisations including:
What I Do
I work with individuals, teams and business leaders who want to take a proactive approach to managing risk from burnout and develop healthier, more effective ways of working.
I also train coaches in my validated psychometric assessment tool, AURA so they can use it with their clients.
My approach is grounded in psychological science, data-led insight and practical action.
Here’s the main ways of working with me:
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Beating Burnout Programmes
A systematic and data-driven approach to tackling burnout and creating conditions to thrive.
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Workshops & Learning
Equipping employees and managers with insights, skills and tools to cope with stress and build resilience.
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Personal Coaching
Confidential coaching guided by AURA insights to help individuals recognise stress patterns and map their path to thriving.
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AURA Certification
Enabling coaches and consultants to use the AURA assessment tool in their work with clients.
What Clients Say
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What Clients Say *
“We now believe measuring (and managing) burnout risk is more important than engagement ”
Treesan Boonma, Head of HR, Booking.com
“Superb. I hadn’t realised how stress had been impacting me - and now I have practical tools to help me cope and be at my best”
Kylie Laidlaw, Associate Director
About Rachel Austen
Chartered Occupational Psychologist • Organisational Consultant • Coach • Workplace Burnout Prevention Specialist
I’ve got 20 years of experience of working with organisations across over 30 countries.
I’ve spent my career helping people understand themselves better — working with hundreds of leaders, teams and organisations around the world. This has given me deep insight into how workplaces function and what people need to thrive.
My work is grounded in rigorous psychological science and motivated by my own personal experience of burnout.
That is why I care deeply about early detection, practical intervention and meaningful impact.
I believe people can thrive at work without sacrificing their health and organisations can succeed without burning out their people.