Burnout Isn't About Being Tired. It's About Losing Hope.

Turns out burnout and hopelessness have more in common than we think. Here's what workplace wellbeing expert Jen Fisher's latest research revealed, and a three-question check-in to add to your weekly routine.

When I was working at Deloitte, I was selected to be what is called a “Wellbeing Wizard” and acted as a wellbeing champion within my teams. Jen Fisher, the Chief Wellbeing Officer at the time, just released a book, Hope Is the Strategy, which I’ve been reading this week. Something she said stuck with me: we think burnout is about exhaustion, but research actually shows burnout is fundamentally about hopelessness. It's the quiet erosion of believing things can be different.

Fisher argues that hope isn't a soft, fuzzy feeling. It's a practical, learnable skill — one that can actually protect us from burning out in the first place. And what fuels hope? Wellbeing. The two are deeply intertwined: wellbeing creates the energy to imagine better possibilities, and hope reinforces the habits that build wellbeing. One feeds the other.

For Your Kit:

At the end of your week, ask yourself three questions:

Do I believe things at work (or in life) can improve?
Do I have a sense of what steps could get me there?
Do I feel like I have the energy to take them?

If the answer to any of these is no, that's not weakness, that's a signal. And it's worth paying attention to before it quietly becomes something bigger.