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.
