Cybermindz study links resilience training to lower burnout

Cybermindz has published research linking resilience training for cybersecurity teams to improved operational resilience. The study examined the effects of eight hours of training on cyber professionals.

The not-for-profit organisation delivered the programme through eight one-hour remote sessions based on Integrative Restoration, or iRest, which it said was adapted for cybersecurity teams. Outcomes were measured using three psychometric tools covering sleep, stress and burnout.

According to the study, participants gained an average of 26 minutes of sleep per night and saw sleep quality improve by 16%. The share classed as "good sleepers" rose from 27% to 47% under the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.

Burnout indicators also fell. Cases of clinical acute burnout crisis dropped from 4% to 0%, while broader at-risk burnout cases fell from 21% to 5%.

The study also pointed to lower attrition risk. The proportion of participants in an attrition warning zone, marked by moderate cynicism and described as a strong predictor of resignation, fell from 27% to 8%.

Stress and fatigue

Other measures showed declines in stress and exhaustion. The proportion of participants with high stress fell from 14% to 4%, while those with low stress rose from 26% to 50%, based on the Perceived Stress Scale.

On the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the group with at-risk low professional efficacy fell from 11% to 2%. Overall exhaustion dropped by 19%, cynicism fell by 26% and professional efficacy improved by 10%.

The research covered 275 participants for stress and 125 for sleep and burnout. Post-training assessments included 108 participants for stress and 62 for sleep and burnout.

Cybermindz said all improvements were statistically significant at p<0.020 or better, with effect sizes ranging from 0.36 to 0.71 on Cohen's d. Stress reduction showed particularly strong change.

Operational risk

The findings come as employers face concerns over pressure on cybersecurity staff and its effect on retention and incident response. Cybermindz cited data showing that 64% of incident responders report seeking mental health assistance because of the demands of responding to cyberattacks.

It also cited figures showing that 74% of Chief Information Security Officers report security team attrition driven by stress. The organisation said replacing lost staff can cost around 1.5 to 2 times salary once lost institutional knowledge, recruitment fees and onboarding are included.

Peter Coroneos, Founder of Cybermindz, linked the findings to broader organisational risk.

"As cyber threats continue to escalate globally, it's essential for organisations to mitigate against the burnout-induced inability of cybersecurity staff to perform at their best; left unaddressed, the almost inevitable alternative is continuing degradation in the protection of critical systems and assets," said Peter Coroneos, Founder of Cybermindz.

He said the training offered an efficient response to that problem.

"This research shows that personal resilience training is an efficient and cost-effective solution, yielding a transformative impact on operational resilience. For organisations, it's both doing the right thing and benefiting from doing so. And, for cyber defenders, our findings bring a welcome message of hope at a time when 24x7 always-on pressure, crippling workloads and escalating attacks define their daily existence," he added. "Ultimately, our work is aimed at advancing societal safety, and these findings bring us closer to that goal."

Founded in 2022, Cybermindz focuses on burnout and what it calls cognitive sustainability in cybersecurity teams. It positions its training as part of operational risk management rather than as a general wellbeing initiative.

The study's sample size narrowed between the initial and post-training assessments, which is common in programme-based research but can affect how findings are interpreted. Even so, the results add to a growing debate among security leaders over whether workforce resilience should be treated as a core control issue rather than a human resources concern.

Cybersecurity teams often work under sustained pressure, with around-the-clock incident response demands and persistent staffing shortages. In that context, the study suggests that relatively short interventions may affect sleep, stress, burnout and the likelihood of employees leaving their roles.

For employers, the strongest finding may be the drop in participants showing attrition risk from 27% to 8%.