I work 9 to 5. I have balance. So why do I still feel burnt out?
Because burnout isn’t about workload.
It’s about having agency over what you’re doing.
I hear this all the time from professionals who aren’t overwhelmed by hours, but by a lack of control.
They’ve got all the hallmarks of a desirable job.
They log off on time.
They take leave.
They’ve got healthy routines.
And yet they feel drained.
It’s not because they’re doing too much.
It’s because they don’t have enough say in what they’re doing.
Their priorities are set by others.
Their role feels more like reacting than shaping.
They’re dragged into meetings that don’t matter and excluded from the ones that do.
And this sense of passivity is so draining!
The opposite of burnout isn’t rest.
It’s ownership.
Think about this.
If you have influence and ownership over your work, how energised are you?
You can work longer hours and have more expected from you, and you’ll rise to the occasion.
But take the same conditions and remove your skin in the game?
There’s your path to burnout.
So if you’re feeling flat but your working hours are fine, ask yourself:
Where in my career am I not in control?
And where would I like more control?
Burnout isn’t always solved by doing less.
It’s solved by reclaiming your say.