For some people, saying no does not immediately feel like an available option. For others, the difficulty lies in anticipating how the other person might react. Will they be annoyed? Will they think you are selfish, difficult or unhelpful? Could it affect your relationship, your reputation or even your job? If you are used to … Read more

Burnout is often described in emotional terms: feeling depleted, detached from work, irritable or unable to face another day. But prolonged work-related stress can also be accompanied by very physical symptoms, including fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, sleep disturbance and digestive problems. That does not mean every unexplained physical symptom is caused by burnout. Persistent or … Read more

If your burnout score is high, the answer is not always to make a dramatic life change overnight. Sometimes the first useful step is much smaller. When you are already depleted, even good advice can feel like another demand. “Exercise more”, “sleep better”, “set boundaries” or “take time off” may all be sensible, but they … Read more

When you are exhausted, taking a weekend off can feel like the obvious solution. And sometimes it helps. A slower couple of days, more sleep, fewer demands and a break from work may leave you feeling temporarily better. But if you are experiencing burnout, that improvement may not last. Burnout usually develops gradually, through sustained … Read more

If you search the internet for a “burnout test,” you will be flooded with hundreds of superficial lifestyle quizzes. While well-meaning, many of these tools simply count how many bad days you have had at the office this week. They treat burnout as a passing mood rather than what it truly is: a severe, multi-layered … Read more