Spotlight on: Burnout

“Even if you’ve got money, got a job, are hugely successful and love your work, then you can still be at risk of burnout. Because there’s just so much work, the stress we are all under feels endless and there doesn’t seem to be any particular end in sight. It’s that pressure of overwhelm and huge workloads that people are drowning under.”

That’s from Dr Lucy Hone, the co-director of New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience and a significant amount of her time is now spent on educating people about burnout.

With all that’s going on – pandemic, wars, general work/life chaos – burnout has become a topic so many of us are hearing about. But what is burnout, and who is at risk of it?

Capsule has profiled many experts on this topic and the various aspects of burnout. For instance, that you are more at risk of burnout if you love your job, which might seem like a surprising twist! We’ve also spoken to experts about how the pandemic has affected our overall mental health, as well as had employees share their candid, honest accounts of what burning out in a high-pressure job felt like.

If you’ve been through burnout, we’ve got tips on how to rebuild your life and manage your overall health. If you think your panic zone has become your comfort zone, we’ve got ways to help with that as well.

By arming ourselves with the facts, we can protect our mental health and prioritise our own wellbeing. As one expert says, ‘Wellbeing first. Work second. Every time.’