The P.A.C.E. Framework: A Practical Burnout Prevention Tool for Forward-Thinking Leaders

Burnout is no longer a buzzword. It’s a business risk. Organizations across industries are seeing the real cost of burnout in the workplace: disengaged employees, decreased productivity, rising healthcare claims, and a revolving door of talent. What once showed up as exhaustion is now showing up in balance sheets.

That’s where the P.A.C.E. Framework comes in—a burnout prevention framework designed for leaders who want to retain top talent, protect their teams’ well-being, and drive performance sustainably.

This guide will walk you through what P.A.C.E. is, who it’s for, how to use it, and how to take it deeper if you need help.

What is the P.A.C.E. Framework?

P.A.C.E. stands for:

• Pinpoint what’s really going on

• Analyze the causes and culture

• Calculate the risks and consequences of doing nothing

• Engage in meaningful, sustainable action

This burnout recovery strategy is designed to help managers, team leads, and executives slow down and look beyond symptoms like missed deadlines or low morale. Instead, it helps uncover deeper issues like misaligned workload expectations, toxic client relationships, unclear role ownership, and internalized perfectionism.

Unlike many workplace wellness checklists, P.A.C.E. is not a surface-level solution. It’s a manager burnout tool that builds operational awareness, accountability, and clear next steps.

Who is it for?

The P.A.C.E. Framework works for any professional service organization where deadlines are high, responsibilities are heavy, and people are often overbooked and under-supported.

This includes:

• Senior managers leading project teams

• Directors overseeing client portfolios

• HR and People Ops professionals tasked with reducing attrition

• Executives trying to improve retention and reduce the cost of burnout

If you’ve ever asked, “Why are we losing great people?” or “How can I keep my team engaged without burning them out?”—this burnout prevention framework is built for you.

How to Use the Burnout Prevention Framework

Think of P.A.C.E. as a recurring internal audit—only this one protects your people, not just your processes.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Pinpoint

   
   

   • Observe behavioral shifts like withdrawal, irritation, or decreased output.

   • Look at calendar overloads, email response times, and skipped lunch breaks.

   • Talk to your team. Ask what feels unsustainable right now.

   • Use team surveys to assess psychological safety and workload clarity.

   
   

2. Analyze

   
   

   • What’s fueling the burnout? Is it poor prioritization, unclear roles, or perfectionism?

   • Are certain clients draining disproportionate resources?

   • Is the culture rewarding “martyrdom work” instead of sustainable excellence?

   • Are managers modeling healthy habits or signaling that burnout is a badge of honor?

   
   

3. Calculate

   
   

   • What will it cost to lose this employee?

   • How much will rework, replacement hiring, and onboarding impact team productivity?

   • What’s the reputational risk if this burnout spreads to client relationships?

   • Include both hard costs (turnover, errors) and soft costs (team morale, innovation loss).

   
   

4. Engage

   
   

   • Take action based on your analysis—not assumptions.

   • Rebalance the workload, clarify priorities, and reassess client fit.

   • Remove or reassign toxic clients. Sometimes the best retention strategy is offboarding a client who is burning out your team.

   • Launch a pilot initiative—like no-meeting Fridays, deeper 1:1s, or coaching support.

   • Commit to tracking progress and adjusting, not just checking a box.

   
   

Examples of Companies Using the P.A.C.E. Framework

• A tax firm implemented 15-minute buffer blocks between client meetings firm-wide. The result? Fewer errors and a 9% increase in reported well-being.

• A manager noticed a high performer growing silent. After using the P.A.C.E. model, she reassigned the employee’s most demanding client and offered optional coaching. The employee stayed, reengaged, and referred another staff member for leadership training.

• A mid-size team calculated that mid-year burnout led to a $120K revenue dip due to write-offs, rework, and disengagement. They used P.A.C.E. to re-scope deliverables and reprioritize clients.

These are not massive overhauls. These are smart, targeted adjustments aligned with leadership and burnout prevention.

What if you’re already seeing the signs?

If you’re seeing the early signs of burnout—missed deadlines, quiet quitting, friction among team members, or emotional withdrawal—it’s not too late, but it is urgent.

You can use the P.A.C.E. Framework to lead a burnout risk audit. Start with one person, one team, or one client. You don’t need a massive organization-wide overhaul to make real change. You need intentional action.

Not sure where to start? We can help.

When to Reach Out for Help

If your team is:

• Operating in survival mode for more than 6 weeks

• Losing mid-level managers at an accelerating pace

• Struggling to retain top talent despite salary increases

• Running engagement surveys with no follow-through

• Unsure how to turn insights into action

…then it’s time to bring in outside support.

At Acheloa Wellness, we specialize in burnout prevention for professionals. From 1:1 executive coaching to firm-wide toolkits and training, we help organizations reduce the cost of burnout and increase retention—without asking leaders to work harder.

Contact our team or learn more about our manager-focused burnout prevention programs.