I climbed the career ladder and got my dream job at 30 - then I hit burnout
Just after Jo Hooper landed her dream role at 30, she struggled with burnout and had to take time off work.
Jo Hooper hit burnout after reaching her career goal at 30, causing her to take time off work. Burnout, recognized by the World Health Organization, is characterized by physical and emotional exhaustion. Recent statistics show that 22 million working days were lost in Britain due to work-related stress in 2024-25. Jo, now 39, worked long hours and said yes to everything, including unusual tasks like taking her boss's children to school.
She believed these were good opportunities and that changing jobs would solve the problem, but the same expectations followed her wherever she went. Jo hit burnout a year into her management role, leading to two breakdowns within a year. Experts suggest that perfectionists or those who go above and beyond are more prone to burnout.
The phrase burnout can be used interchangeably with stress, but they are different; stress feels like drowning, while burnout feels like having no more energy to swim. Burnout is caused by prolonged, unmanaged stress and can result from any demanding role or responsibility. Addressing the root cause is essential to recover from burnout, but rest may not always be enough.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
