Burnout nation: Where's your burnout horizon today?

By Mark Jones

Let’s talk about burnout: It’s way too hot right now

Ever find yourself staring at a screen, mind blank, utterly cooked?

Been there, and it’s frightening. The world that once seemed so bright and full of possibilities has gone.

I went through a season where the drive to work was a depressing experience – I could stop wondering what on earth I was doing. Was this my lot in life? Did I have to keep going to the office for ever?

Anecdotally we’re hearing a lot about it these days – in social circles, media commentary and at work.

But here’s the thing you might not know. Australia is a hotbed of burnout. We’re one of the most exhausted, mentally stressed nations in the world.

One study in February 2025 said two in five employees (40 percent) were expecting their stress levels to rise this year. Half those surveyed said if they were offered burnout leave, they’d take it.

Another study says burnout rates in Australia are at 43 percent, up from 17 percent from 2024.

Why? A mixture of unrealistic job demands, short-termism among leaders that drive stress, and the big one: psychological safety. Many of us don’t feel like it’s safe to express a contrary or negative opinion at work.

Psychological safety is not as easily understood as traditional pressures at work like understaffing, long hours and long commutes.

Ironically I suspect it can be hard to accurately measure because surveys and direct questions from management could feel like a trap! If your workplace is not known as particularly caring, the savvy worker could suspect they might get sacked for being critical.

Where to now?

I’ll write more about solutions in another post. The first step that’s useful is a quick self-assessment. To what degree are you experiencing burnout at work?

Normally blogs like this will give you a list of questions or top 10 tips. But I don’t think it’s that complicated.

I’ve got just one simple test – the horizon test. Where is your horizon?

That is, how far ahead are you looking in work and life? Can you picture a future horizon where your ideas, dreams or goals are going to be fulfilled? You’re energised by the idea. It might be like the early days of your career when you realised you had incredible growth potential, financially and professionally.

In this horizon, your horizon is clearly a long way off. You’re visionary, excited and driven. Life feels great. And like driving on a long, straight highway, when you look far down the road you can also see what’s right in front of you. From a wellbeing perspective, it doesn’t get much better than this!

Ok, now park that idea (pun intended).

At the other extreme is a very limited horizon. In fact, if you’re experiencing high levels of stress and burnout your horizon could be as near as the next room.

At the peak of my own burnout and mental wellbeing crisis in 2019 my horizon was the ensuite bathroom. Lying in bed, it felt like the bathroom was about as far as I could go. I thought about the day ahead in hours and minutes. I wasn’t being ‘present’ in the healthy sense. I just couldn’t do much more than think about the next best thing, and even that was an effort.

Plotting your horizon

I don’t think there’s a scientific way of plotting your own horizon on this test, but I don’t think you’ll find it too difficult.

Close your eyes and picture where your horizon sits. How far into the future are you thinking and dreaming?

For me, I’m working towards a book launch, a speaking tour and long-term plans for speaking and writing. It’s years ahead.

For you, it might be ideas for the week ahead, goals for the month and the quarter. If you can just get through these next few days then hopefully everything will be ok?

Take action

Now, if you’ve suddenly realised that your horizon is way too uncomfortably close it’s time to take action, immediately.

Call someone, text a friend. Go for a walk. Stop whatever you’re doing and think about what needs to change.

Next best steps might include calling:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14

• The Black Dog Institute – Explore resources here

• Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636

• Gotcha4Life – Resources and crises support information

• Emergency – 000

The near horizon

If your horizon is a bit further ahead to the weeks and months, I suggest it’s time to start getting some clarity.

Write a list of all the pressures your facing. How long is that list?

What stories are you telling yourself about your current situation? We can often have an internal narrative that sounds like: “I have to keep going to prove myself,” or “If I stop, I’ll fall behind.”

It’s tempting to believe they’re necessary ideas to keep up the hustle of busy working life. But narratives like this also keep you stuck in the same place.

It’s one of the things I’ve been discovering in my research for my upcoming book on the stories we tell ourselves. Quite often we’ll simply accept our internal narratives, also known as the personal narrative.

For example, a set of experiences over time could lead you to start thinking of yourself as a victim: ‘This is just my lot in life. I can’t change. I’m stuck in this job and it’s too late for me to change.’

I’ve literally had this conversation with people in my career – one of which was a former boss. In my exit interview, he confessed how impressed he was at my courageous decision to take a new career direction. For him, it was too late. He’d resigned himself to doing the same thing, day-in-day-out. His near-term horizon was limited, tinged with defeat.

If that’s you, let me encourage you – we can all change our story. You can rewrite your narrative one sentence at a time. That is, one small decision at a time.

Burnout is the beginning

A final bit of advice for now. Wherever you’re at on the burnout horizon, rest is always good. We don’t get enough.

If you’re feeling any degree of burnout there’s a good chance you need to stop pushing so hard and take stock.

Change is possible. I’ve seen it many times over and experienced a radical change in my own life.

So it’s time to flip the script. Burnout isn’t the end of your story. It’s a signpost you can’t ignore. It’s telling you something needs to change, so don’t ignore it.

Maybe today’s the day you stop striving and start exploring what it looks like to start rewriting your story?

Onwards!

Mark

Hey, you got to the end! Nice work.

• Subscribe to my newsletter. Mark my Words: Trends, stories and optimism for leaders.

• Got a story to tell? Need a keynote speaker or storytelling coach? Hit me up here.