When Your Workplace is a Ticking Time Bomb: Handling a Culture Where Everyone’s Burned Out

Feeling the burnout at work? This episode breaks down the pervasive culture of workplace burnout, examining the systemic issues like unrealistic expectations, lack of support, and glorification of overwork. 

We’ll explore how these factors contribute to a toxic environment and offer practical steps for employees to set boundaries, manage workloads, and protect their well-being. For leaders, we provide insights on creating healthier workplace cultures and preventing burnout from spreading. 

Whether you’re an employee or in management, learn how to navigate and mitigate the challenges of burnout.

Check out the detailed show notes (https://tarakermiet.com/podcast/) and leave your thoughts or questions about today's topic.

00:00 Introduction: The Tension in the Air

00:36 Recognizing Burnout in the Workplace

01:46 The Toxic Myth of Burnout Culture

03:44 The Systemic Nature of Burnout

04:29 Unrealistic Expectations and Lack of Support

06:31 The Glorification of Suffering

07:43 Erosion of Boundaries

08:37 The Consequences of Burnout

09:34 Surviving Burnout: Practical Tips

16:39 Leadership's Role in Preventing Burnout

22:57 Conclusion: Reclaiming Balance and Fulfillment

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction: The Tension in the Air
• 1:22 Recognizing Burnout in the Workplace
• 2:32 The Toxic Myth of Burnout Culture
• 4:30 The Systemic Nature of Burnout
• 5:15 Unrealistic Expectations and Lack of Support
• 7:17 The Glorification of Suffering
• 8:29 Erosion of Boundaries
• 9:23 The Consequences of Burnout
• 10:20 Surviving Burnout: Practical Tips
• 18:09 Leadership's Role in Preventing Burnout
• 24:27 Conclusion: Reclaiming Balance and Fulfillment

Transcript

[00:00:00] Do you ever just walk into work and feel the tension in the air? Like before you even sit down at your desk you can already tell that today's gonna be a hot mess express. The energy in the office is just off. You've got people that are hunched over their desks. You hear the clicking of keyboards and it sounds aggressive and that one co worker who's usually pretty chipper hasn't even cracked a joke yet.

And then you've got the office coffee maker. It's been refilled three times before 10 a. m. and the cups are stacking up in the sink like a graveyard of desperation. This, my friends, is what I like to call a burnout bomb waiting to go off. And if you're nodding along right now, chances are that you've been there or maybe you are right there right now.

And the worst part is that it's not just you. It's not even just your team. It's everyone. The receptionist who barely looks up anymore. The manager whose [00:01:00] emails have become increasingly frantic. The new hire who started out all bright eyed and bushy tailed, but now just looks tired and jaded. The signs are everywhere.

Burnout has spread through your workplace like a bad case of the flu, except instead of tissues and rest, people are slapping a caffeine patch on it and hoping for the best. And it's not happening in isolation either. It's not like one or two people are struggling while the rest of the office is thriving. The exhaustion here is systemic. The entire workplace is running on fumes and nobody's doing anything to fix it because this is just how things are now, right?

You're supposed to be exhausted. You're supposed to be overwhelmed. And if you're not, then are you even working hard enough? This is the toxic myth that keeps burnout culture alive. Corporate culture has somehow convinced us that being constantly on the edge of collapse is a normal part of the job. That if you're not struggling, you must [00:02:00] not be working hard enough.

That if you need a break, you're not committed. And that's exactly why people keep pushing through even when their bodies are begging them to stop. And here's what's really wild. Everyone in the office knows it's bad, but nobody really talks about it. Not in a real, meaningful way at least. Oh sure, people probably joke about it, like, Oh my god, I think I'm legally more coffee than human at this point.

Or, I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead. But it's not actually funny. That humor is a coping mechanism. It's the only way people can acknowledge the problem without having to deal with the uncomfortable truth that their workplace is running them into the ground and they don't know how to make it stop. So that's what we're talking about today.

What happens when you're stuck in a work culture where burnout isn't just present, but it's the norm? When overwork is rewarded, exhaustion is expected, and the [00:03:00] idea of self care is nothing more than a meme that people share in Slack but never actually practice. More importantly, we're going to talk about how do you survive it.

How do you protect your sanity when you're working in a place that feels like it's constantly on the verge of collapse? Because you can't fix an entire workplace overnight, and you definitely can't single handedly change a toxic culture. But what you can do is make changes that help you protect your energy, reclaim some of your time, and stop burnout from completely consuming you.

So buckle up, my friend, because we're about to get real. If you're tired, if you're frustrated, if you're just playing over it, then this episode is for you. So how does this happen? How does an entire workplace go from being challenging but manageable to feeling like a pressure cooker where everyone is seconds away from imploding?

Because I want to be clear, burnout doesn't just appear out of nowhere. It doesn't happen [00:04:00] because a handful of employees individually failed at self care. It happens because the workplace itself is designed in a way that makes burnout not just possible, but inevitable. It's essentially like a bomb that's been slowly assembled over time, piece by piece, and whether it detonates today, next month, or next year, one thing is certain, it will go off at some point.

So let's talk about what's lighting the fuse of this bomb. The first is unrealistic expectations accompanied by very little support. You've got You've got 20 hours worth of work to do in an eight hour day, and yet nobody seems concerned about how that math doesn't add up. You're expected to just figure it out, without extra resources, without additional support, and without any clarity on what actually matters.

And when you inevitably struggle to keep up, instead of adjusting the workload, leadership's response is often, have you tried [00:05:00] prioritizing better? Oh, you mean prioritizing between the ten things I was told are all number one priorities? Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that. When this becomes the norm, employees are left in a constant state of fight or flight, trying to keep their heads above water in a system that was never designed for them to succeed.

And the thing is, this isn't just happening at your level. Your boss? They're overwhelmed too. Their boss? Same. The entire leadership chain is just as burned out, which means they're making decisions that don't actually solve anything. Instead of addressing workload issues, restructuring teams, or even reallocating resources, leadership often just reacts.

They slap temporary fixes on long term problems and call it a day. Maybe they tell you to work smarter, not harder, but don't actually give you the tools to do so. Or They say [00:06:00] that we're all in this together, but somehow their calendars are mysteriously free of the endless meetings they just added to yours.

Or maybe they keep pushing big company initiatives while completely ignoring the fact that everyone is drowning in the daily tasks that they have to do. And when leaders are in crisis mode, their ability to recognize your struggles disappears. They can't fix burnout in their teams because they haven't even figured out how to fix it for themselves.

Then there's the glorification of suffering. The unspoken expectation that the best employees are the ones who sacrifice everything for their job. I mean, you've seen it before. You've got the person who brags about how they haven't taken a vacation in years. Or the co worker who wears their exhaustion like a badge of honor.

Or the manager who sends emails late at night and expects an immediate response. This is work martyr culture. And it's one of the [00:07:00] most insidious parts of burnout heavy workplaces. Because when overwork is treated as commitment and exhaustion is seen as dedication, people stop feeling like they actually can take a break.

And even if you wanted to set boundaries, it's hard when you're surrounded by people who don't. Nobody wants to be the weak link. Nobody wants to be the person who looks less committed than the guy who hasn't taken a sick day in a decade. So what happens? Well, you push yourself harder. You work longer.

You respond to emails at all hours because that's what everyone else is doing. And just like that, you become part of the cycle too. And speaking of responding to emails at all hours, let's talk about the complete erosion of boundaries. Once upon a time, work was something that you left at the office. Now it follows you home.

It's in your pocket. It's buzzing on your nightstand. [00:08:00] I mean, sure, you log off at six, but somehow you're still answering quick Slack messages at nine. Your boss says we respect work life balance, but you keep getting meeting invites during lunch. Or let's say you take PTO, but you're still checking emails because no one else is covering for you.

And let's be real, nobody explicitly says we expect you to be available 24 7, but the unspoken expectation, it's loud and clear. And when there are no boundaries, burnout isn't just likely, it's inevitable. When you put all of this together, what do you get? You get a workplace that is constantly on fire.

But instead of putting out the flames, everyone's just trying to avoid getting burned. The truth is a culture of burnout does not happen by accident. It is created through years of bad habits, poor leadership, and unrealistic expectations that get passed down like some [00:09:00] kind of toxic corporate inheritance.

And if no one addresses it, if people keep grinding through hoping things will magically get better. Well, you already know what happens next. That burnout bomb explodes. The best employees leave. The ones who stay become disengaged. Productivity tanks. Innovation dies. And the cycle just keeps on repeating.

Unless someone finally does something about it. And that's exactly what we're going to talk about next. Because while you might not be able to single handedly fix an entire workplace, you can learn how to protect yourself. You can learn how to set boundaries, push back against some of these toxic expectations, and reclaim your energy even in a workplace that's doing its best to drain it from you.

So let's talk survival. Because if your workplace is a ticking time bomb, you don't have to go down with [00:10:00] it.

One of the biggest reasons burnout feels so overwhelming is because it comes with a sense of helplessness. You start feeling like you have no control, like you're stuck in a cycle of exhaustion that you just can't escape. It's frustrating because you're doing everything you're supposed to. You're working hard, keeping up, being the responsible adult, but it never seems to be enough.

The demands just keep growing, and you're left wondering if maybe the problem is you. But it's not. The truth is, some things are simply out of your hands. You can't control how much work leadership assigns you. You can't control whether they recognize burnout as a problem. And you can't make your company hire more people when it refuses to acknowledge that the team is already at its breaking point.

What you can control is how much of that pressure you let yourself absorb. You can control how you set boundaries. How you [00:11:00] communicate your workload. And how much of your personal time you allow work to steal. Think about the areas of your job that are causing you the most stress. Are there things that could be adjusted with clearer boundaries?

Are there ways to make your workload more manageable? Are you assuming responsibility for things that aren't actually yours to carry? When burnout has you feeling completely stuck, Even reclaiming just a little bit of control can make a difference. Now let's talk a little bit more about boundaries. They are one of those things people talk about a lot, but rarely actually know how to implement, especially in workplaces that run on burnout culture.

I mean, you tell yourself that you'll log off at 5, but then an email comes, and before you know it, you're knee deep in work until 9. You promise you'll take a real lunch break this time, but then a quick meeting gets scheduled right in the middle of it. [00:12:00] Or you want to push back on the never ending pile of projects that saying no feels like you're letting people down and you're a little worried about the repercussions.

The problem isn't just setting boundaries, it's sticking to them when work keeps pushing back on them. Take your work hours, for example. If your job technically ends at five. But people keep sending messages well into the evening. You have to decide. Are you going to respond, or are you going to let your boundaries hold?

The more you make yourself available outside of work hours, the more people will expect you to be available. It's not enough to want a boundary. You have to protect it, even when it's inconvenient and uncomfortable. The same goes for taking breaks.

If you're skipping lunch every day because you feel like you don't have time, you really need to ask yourself, what would actually happen if you stepped away for just 30 minutes? Would the company [00:13:00] collapse? Would the work suddenly become unmanageable? Probably not. But burnout convinces us that we have to be constantly working, that stopping, even for just a second, is a sign of weakness when it's not.

And let's talk about taking on too much. When something hands you yet another project when you're already drowning, your first instinct might be to say yes. But instead of immediately agreeing, try flipping the script. Say something like, I'd love to help with this, but I'm already at capacity. What would you like me to shift around to make space for it?

When you approach it this way, you're not refusing to do your job, But you are forcing leadership to recognize that you can't do everything at once. These are the moments where burnout takes hold.

When we let work creep further and further into our personal time, when we say yes to things that we don't have [00:14:00] capacity for, When we convince ourselves that we're just too busy to take a break, but the reality is the only way to change that cycle is to enforce the boundaries that you set. Now, when burnout becomes the office norm, it's easy to feel like you're alone in it.

Everyone around you is just as exhausted, just as overworked, just as resigned to the idea that this is just how things are. But one of the most important things you can do is find the people who see what's happening, who know that this isn't sustainable and who want to figure out a better way. This could be a coworker you trust, someone who gets it and who you can be honest with about how you're feeling.

It could be a mentor, someone outside of your company who can offer perspective on what's happening and remind you that no, this is not how work has to be. It could even be an online community, a space [00:15:00] where people talk about workplace burnout and share strategies for dealing with it. Burnout thrives in isolation.

When you feel like you're the only one struggling, it's easy to start blaming yourself. But when you have people who understand, who can validate your experience and remind you that this isn't normal, it gives you the strength to push back a little. And sometimes the best way to survive burnout is to get the hell out.

Now I know that's not always an immediate option. Maybe you need the paycheck. Maybe you're mid project and you're really committed to it. Maybe you're just not quite ready to make a move. That's okay. But even if you're not planning to leave right now, it does help to still have an exit strategy. Because just knowing that you have options can make your current situation feel a little less hopeless.

And start small here. Maybe you're going to update your resume, [00:16:00] even if you don't plan to use it yet. Or reach out to people in your industry, even if you're just checking in. Look at job postings, even if you're not actively applying. The more you prepare, the easier it will be to make a move when the time comes.

And if you do start looking for something new, prioritize workplaces that actually respect work life balance. Look for companies where employees take time off and don't get penalized for it, where leadership understands that burnout isn't a sign of productivity, but it's a sign that something is deeply broken.

Now, if you're in a leadership role or you're running a company, the truth is that burnout doesn't happen in isolation. It's not a personal failure of employees who just can't handle the workload. And it's not something that can be fixed with a mindfulness webinar or a pizza party once a quarter.

Burnout is systemic. And if your workplace is riddled [00:17:00] with exhausted, disengaged, and overworked employees, you don't have a workforce problem, you have a culture problem. Burned out employees don't just cost your company morale. They cost you money. According to a study by Gallup, employees who experience burnout are 63 percent more likely to take a sick day.

And 2. 6 times more likely to actively look for another job. That means higher turnover, lower productivity and increased absenteeism, all of which directly impact your bottom line. So if you're serious about creating a workplace where people actually want to stay and do their best work, it's time to start making real changes.

If your company operates in a way that glorifies overwork, where the people who put in the most hours. answer emails at all times of the night and just power through their exhaustion are seen as the top performers, then you are actively encouraging burnout. Employees watch [00:18:00] what gets rewarded. And if promotions and praise always go to the ones who sacrifice their well being, while those who set healthy boundaries get overlooked, what message does that send?

Does it send a message that self preservation is weakness? Listen, if you want to stop burnout from spreading, you have to stop incentivizing it. That means actively discouraging excessive overtime, recognizing the employees who work efficiently within their hours and leading by example when it comes to work life balance.

If your leadership team is bragging about how they haven't taken a vacation in years, you've got a problem. Another thing that should be obvious but needs to be spelled out, if your employees are constantly drowning in work with no end in sight, they will burn out. And no, telling people to prioritize better is not a solution.[00:19:00] 

If everything is urgent, nothing is urgent. If your team is expected to handle the workload of two or three people because your company refuses to hire more staff, that's not lean operations. That's exploitation. Take a real look at how workloads are being distributed. Are expectations realistic, or are you simply throwing more onto people's plates because they haven't collapsed yet? Are deadlines actually feasible, or are they being dictated by unrealistic executive timelines? If people are constantly behind, overwhelmed, or struggling to keep up, the answer isn't they need to manage their time better.

The answer is they need more support. Now, also, how does your company respond to boundaries? It's one thing to say your company values work life balance. It's another thing to actually enforce it and encourage it. Are your employees expected to answer emails late at night or on weekends? Are people taking [00:20:00] PTO only to be bombarded with work the moment they return?

Are managers sending urgent messages outside of work hours? If so, you don't have a work life balance policy. You have a work life theater policy. Boundaries have to come from the top down. If leadership isn't modeling healthy work habits, employees will never feel like they have permission to do so. And that means encouraging people to actually take their PTO without guilt or fear of backlog.

Making it clear that employees are not expected to answer work communications after hours. And creating a culture where breaks and lunch hours are actually respected. When boundaries are real, people feel safe to actually disconnect. And when people can disconnect, they come back recharged instead of running on fumes.

It's also important to train your leaders to recognize and prevent burnout. The thing is, bad [00:21:00] leadership is one of the biggest causes of burnout. If your managers are burned out, they're passing the stress down to their teams. If they don't know how to properly support employees, they're creating environments where burnout thrives.

Companies need to stop promoting people into leadership positions just because they were good at their individual contributor roles and start training managers on how to actually lead people. That includes how to recognize the early signs of burnout in employees, how to adjust workloads when teams are stretched too thin, and how to foster a culture of trust, communication, and psychological safety.

When leaders are given the tools to actually manage people effectively, instead of just focusing on output, workplaces start to shift from survival mode to sustainable productivity.

Lastly, if the only things your company tracks are output, how many hours employees work, [00:22:00] how many projects they complete, how much revenue they bring in, you are missing the bigger picture. What about employee engagement? What about retention rates or overall job satisfaction? Companies that only focus on short term productivity without considering the long term sustainability of their workforce end up losing their best people.

They might squeeze out more work in the short run, but they're also driving employees straight into burnout and eventually, probably, out the door. Instead of fixating on raw output, start measuring employee well being as a key performance indicator. That means checking in regularly, running anonymous pulse surveys, and actually acting on feedback when employees say they're struggling.

Because employees will talk about burnout. The question is, will your company actually listen?

So here we are. We've unpacked the [00:23:00] ticking time bomb of workplace burnout. How it spreads. Why it feels inevitable and what both individuals and companies can do to stop fueling the fire. And if you've made it this far, you're probably feeling one of two things. Relief that you're not alone in this. Or frustration that we're even having to have this conversation in the first place.

Or maybe both. Here's the truth. Burnout is not a personal failure. It's not a lack of resilience. It's not something that can be fixed with a deep breath, a better planner, or a few days off. Though, let's be real, I'm still gonna tell you to take those days off. Burnout is a systemic issue. And until workplaces stop running people into the ground and pretending that exhaustion is the price of success, we're gonna just keep seeing talented, hardworking professionals breaking down and walking away.

And I want you to sit with that for a second. Because that's the real cost of [00:24:00] burnout. Companies lose their best people. Industries lose innovation and creativity. And individuals lose time, energy, and themselves in the process. If you've ever found yourself looking in the mirror and barely recognizing the person staring back at you, if work has stripped away your joy, your confidence, Or your ability to care about the things that you once loved.

You know exactly what I mean. But here's where the hope comes in. Burnout is preventable, and it is not a requirement for success. If you're an employee stuck in a burnout heavy workplace, I want you to know this. You have more control than you think. You may not be able to overhaul an entire company's culture, but you can take steps to protect yourself.

By setting boundaries, pushing back, finding support, and when [00:25:00] necessary, finding a workplace that actually values you as a person, not just as a productivity machine. And if you're in leadership, it's time to take a hard look at whether you're actually fostering an environment where people can thrive, or if you're just hoping they survive long enough to keep the wheels turning.

Because the workplaces that refuse to change The ones that continue to glorify, overwork, and ignore burnout, they will lose in the end. They will lose their best people. They will lose their reputation. And eventually, they will lose their relevance. Burnout culture only survives because we allow it to.

The moment we start pushing back, advocating for change, and demanding better, that's when things start to shift. Stop accepting burnout as the norm. Stop pretending it's just part of the job. And start reclaiming the balance, energy, and fulfillment you deserve. Because work is just one [00:26:00] part of your life.

It is not your whole life. And you, my friend, were never meant to just survive. You were meant to thrive. And that's it for today. If this episode hit home for you, send it to someone who needs to hear it. And as always, stay balanced, stay badass, and I'll catch you next time.