Burnout, Stress, and Quiet Quitting - Is There a Way Out?
World Mental Health Day: Why play, purpose, and belonging are the real game changers.
It’s World Mental Health Day today and the results are in: it’s bad. A global pandemic, cost of living crisis, rising conflicts, divisive politics, and the climate emergency mean our mental health is suffering more than ever, impacting how we live and work.
Our work and home lives have blurred since 2020 and the pressure to be productive has never been greater. Yet despite working longer hours we’re seeing less productivity, more stress, burnout, anger, quiet quitting, mental illness, and anxiety.
According to a recent Gallup report, 41% of employees report significant stress, one in five say that they feel lonely ‘a lot of the day’ due to remote working and employees under 35 are reporting a significant drop in wellbeing particularly in life satisfaction and mental health. However, the most eye watering statistic has to be that nearly 80% of employees GLOBALLY feel disengaged at work. That’s nearly the entire workforce on planet Earth.
Cheery, right?
Despite the evidence, employers are still scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to boost performance and productivity. £40 billion is spent annually on employee wellbeing, with little result. According to a Mind Gym report, it’s usually those already prioritising their wellbeing who take up these offers - only 27% of employees typically sign up, and dropout rates hit 73% within six months.
Mind Gym points to five key areas that can help instead:
• Competence: Feeling capable leads to less burnout and higher engagement.
• Autonomy: Control over the work environment increases commitment.
• Certainty: Clear roles reduce emotional exhaustion.
• Purpose: Passion drives engagement.
• Belonging: Meaningful work relationships reduce stress.
These solutions must be tailored to individuals, not just blanket policies. Yes, it’s time-consuming and costly in the short term, but wellbeing affects 42% of workplace commitment and 41% of job satisfaction so ignore at your peril.
One of the sticking points to this is that managers are struggling with their wellbeing and mental health more than their team members. They're hugely important to ensuring the five key areas listed above are prioritised; apparently they have as much impact on employees' wellbeing as personal relationships (spouse etc), but if they’re more burnt out than their employees, how can they possibly be expected to lead effectively?
Meanwhile, Kate Swade, my friend and colleague at WRKWLL, recently highlighted William Kahn’s work on employee engagement in a blog post for Corporate Bodies citing three key psychological conditions:
• Meaningfulness: Feeling valuable and making a difference.
• Safety: Being able to show up as yourself without negative consequences.
• Availability: Having the resources - physical, psychological, emotional - to fully engage.
According to Corporate Bodies, Mike Robbins popularised the idea of ‘bringing your whole self to work’ in a 2015 TEDx talk, linking vulnerability to trust and creativity. But if organisations don’t address meaning and safety or take the time and care to resource people properly, this invitation becomes an unfair exchange, potentially even abusive.
No wonder we’re all fuct.
Then there’s my life design strategist friend, Georgie Shears, who recently spoke at Ideas Fest about Harvard Business School Professor Arthur Brooks’ research on happiness:
• Enjoyment: It’s restorative, not just pleasure.
• Satisfaction: Joy from effort, not always wanting more.
• Meaning: Coherence, purpose, and significance - your life matters and has direction.
Meaning, purpose, belonging, safety, satisfaction, care (so that you're fully resourced) and enjoyment are all essential ingredients for a healthy work life. And in my view, play can help.
Play at work? Sounds mad, but Brian Sutton-Smith’s 'The Ambiguity of Play' shows how play builds flexibility and resilience. Dr. Stuart Brown’s work illustrates that play is essential for creativity, problem-solving, and emotional resilience. In fact, he argues it’s the opposite of depression.
Play can be structured, like LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (guided problem-solving), or unstructured, like doodling, improvising, or climbing trees.
Because play encourages creativity and problem-solving it can help us find purpose and meaning in our lives and work.
It also builds a sense of belonging and safety, allowing us to regulate our nervous system, connect with others, and feel more engaged.
Plus, play is fun! Fun is crucial for our wellbeing and happiness, making us more likely to be physically, psychologically, and emotionally available to others.
My question for you: What’s missing in your life to help you feel well at work?
Till soon!
Jennie x
P.S. What to chat? Book a 30 minute discovery call with me HERE.
P.P.S. Here’s how you can work with me:
Organisations: For organisations seeking new and creative ways to engage their teams. I offer playful facilitation for team engagement, communication and innovation. [click HERE to find out more].
Individuals: For purpose-driven creatives and entrepreneurs feeling stretched and overwhelmed. I offer coaching to achieve clarity and balance so that you can build a sustainable career or business you care about. [click HERE to find out more].
Primary Education: For educators working with Reception – Year 3 who want to strengthen their pastoral care and enhance their PSHE curriculum, my drama and storytelling help children explore feelings such as courage and fear to build emotional intelligence and resilience. [click HERE to find out more or book an assembly and workshop].