Author: Caitlin Ahne-Hawley, Marketing Manager at O.C. Tanner

Across Australia and New Zealand, workplace performance is under continued scrutiny. Organisations are being asked to do more with fewer people, tighter margins, and continuous change. All while simultaneously navigating rising burnout, psychosocial hazard regulation, and an increased focus on psychological safety.

Recent research from O.C. Tanner shows that this tension is costly. High performance and wellbeing are not opposing forces. In fact, they are mutually reinforcing when expectations and support are intentionally designed together.

This paper explores what truly drives sustainable performance, why burnout has become such a critical risk in ANZ workplaces, and how leaders can build cultures that deliver results without compromising health, safety, or engagement.

“Employees are ready to meet the moment. They want to innovate and collaborate, but they need the support to do it without sacrificing the rest of their lives for the sake of productivity.” – Dr. Cristen Dalessandro, Principal Researcher, O.C. Tanner Institute.

Why Burnout and Performance are Colliding in ANZ

Even before COVID-19, burnout and turnover were rising across global workplaces. The pandemic intensified this pressure, forcing organisations to prioritise employee wellbeing often out of necessity rather than strategy. Unexpectedly, performance did not decline. In many cases, it has improved.

Yet in the years since, organisations have begun reverting to familiar performance models: higher demands, faster timelines, and fewer resources. The prevailing assumption has quietly returned: that productivity comes at the expense of wellbeing. O.C. Tanner’s research suggests this belief is not only outdated, but actively undermining results. Today, only around one third of employees globally believe they have sufficient support to meet their organisation’s expectations. A gap that fuels stress, disengagement, and burnout.

34% of employees have enough support to match employer expectations
– 2026 Global Culture Report

Rethinking Performance: Expectations and Support are Not Trade-Offs

Historically, high performance cultures have often been associated with sacrifice: long hours, high stress, and relentless pressure. While this approach can deliver short-term gains, it comes with significant human and organisational costs.

Employees want to be challenged. They want clear standards and ambitious goals. What they also need is commensurate support (resources, recognition, clarity and care) to meet those expectations sustainably.

“Productivity and wellbeing aren’t rivals – they’re partners.” – Dr. Cristen Dalessandro, Principal Researcher, O.C. Tanner Institute.

The Four Culture Types Shaping Performance Outcomes

Based on varying levels of expectations and support, four distinct culture types emerge:

• Uninvolved cultures (low expectations, low support): Employees experience boredom, apathy, professional stagnation, and lack of direction. Performance and engagement suffer due to minimal leadership investment.
• Permissive cultures (low expectations, high support): While psychologically comfortable, these environments lack the challenge that employees crave. Over time, employees become frustrated by underutilisation and limited growth.
• Authoritarian cultures (high expectations, low support): Common in today’s pressure-driven environments this model prioritises results without resources. It produces stress, disengagement, and unsustainable performance. Can easily become the most toxic of the four types.
• Authoritative cultures (high expectations, high support): This is the healthy performance model. Employees are challenged and stretched, but also equipped, trusted and supported to succeed without burning out.

“High expectations without support (Authoritarian) can quickly turn opportunities into unrealistic and crippling demand.” – Daniel Patterson, Manager, Research and Assessment, O.C. Tanner Institute

What the Data Shows: Performance Without Burnout is Possible

In a large-scale experimental study done by the O.C. Tanner Institute, employees exposed to authoritative (high support, high expectations) environments consistently outperformed all other groups across key outcomes.

• Higher motivation, innovation and collaboration
• Stronger desire to stay with the organisation
• Significant better mental health outcomes, including dramatically lower burnout risk
• Stronger trust, belonging and sense of purpose

Employees in healthy performance cultures are many times more likely to thrive overall, demonstrating that sustainable performance is not an aspiration, but a measurable reality.

Recognition: The Missing Link Between Effort and Energy

One of the strongest enablers of healthy performance is meaningful, integrated recognition. Recognition signals that effort matters, progress is seen, and high expectations are achievable, not punishing.

In authoritative cultures, employees are more likely to give and receive recognition, reinforcing momentum, and motivation. Recognition helps employees understand how their work contributes to outcomes, providing both emotional reinforcement and performance clarity.

Workplaces that embed recognition into daily culture are substantially more likely to report healthy performance environments, highlighting recognition as a strategic lever, not a soft add-on.

“Recognition helps employees see their progress and understand the value of their contributions. This motivates them to keep setting and achieving ambitious goals.”
– Dr. Cristen Dalessandro, Principal Researcher, O.C. Tanner Institute.

What High-Performing, Healthy Cultures Do Differently

Organisations that successfully balance performance and wellbeing tend to:

• Provide meaningful growth opportunities through stretch projects, learning and career development
• Lead with emotional intelligence and clear communication
• Set ambitious goals while actively removing barriers to achievement
• Foster strong team connection and peer support
• Integrate recognition into everyday work, tied to values and outcomes

Healthy performance cultures don’t just protect wellbeing; they actively reduce safety risk. Recognition plays a critical role by making safe effort visible, validating speaking up, and signaling that meeting expectations should never come at the expense of physical or psychological safety. In regulation-heavy environments like ANZ, this alignment is what allows performance to be sustained without increasing risk.

Conclusion

The question facing leaders is no longer whether they can prioritise wellbeing while delivering results, but whether they can afford not to.

As burnout, psychological safety, and sustainable performance continue to dominate executive agendas, the path forward is clear. High expectations drive results, but high support sustains them. When organisations design both together, performance becomes not only achievable, but repeatable.

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This article draws on insights and findings from O.C. Tanner’s 2026 Global Culture Report and related webinar, “High Performance Without Burnout: Building a Healthy Performance Culture”.