Is Burnout Inevitable?

This is the episode you’ve been asking for — and the one we were nervous to record.

When we asked our listeners if they’d experienced burnout, 97% said yes. Nearly a quarter have been signed off work. That’s not a coincidence. It’s a sign of an industry that’s ignoring the primary reason for losing their workforce.

In this episode, we talk honestly about what burnout really looks like: physical symptoms, loneliness, losing creativity, and forgetting your purpose. Joined by two guests with lived experience, James Horwitz (Founder of Two Times Elliott) & Rebecca Price (Previous Senior Brand Manager at Monotype) and a whole host of anonymous listener submissions. We’re unpacking how burnout happens, how it affects business, whose responsibility it is, and why so many people feel unable to speak up.

If you’ve ever been on the burnout scale, this episode is for you.

Content note: this episode includes discussion of panic attacks and mental health struggles.

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Jackie Ivy TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nunvox1QqVs

Mental health burnout report: https://euc7zxtct58.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/16142505/Mental-Health-UK_The-Burnout-Report-2025.pdf

Emmi Salonen ‘The Creative Wellbeing handbook’: https://www.creativeecosystem.org/book

NHS burnout resources: https://www.newcastle-hospitals.nhs.uk/services/newcastle-occupational-health-service/information-for-staff/covid-support-materials/managing-occupational-burnout/

Stories: Megan Fry, Chris Wilson

Huge thank you for all the anonymous stories in this episode.

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