It's no secret that work burnout is hitting people hard, particularly during a pandemic — and it's no different for politicians.
This week, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff announced his government would table a bill in parliament to restore the state's House of Assembly to 35 seats before the end of this year.
The move comes after a long push to increase the number of members in the House of Assembly, after it was reduced to 25 in 1998.
With government ministers juggling several portfolios, claims of burnout among ministers have been one of the reasons behind the recent push for change.
Last year, then-premier Peter Gutwein collapsed in his office, later citing burnout.
His resignation has been one of a number among senior government members in recent years, with many wanting to find a better work-life balance.
Former Greens leader Peg Putt was in Tasmania's parliament when the reduction in parliamentarians to 25 first hit.
She said she felt a distinct difference in her workload after the change was made — and she did not even hold a portfolio.
"It led to impossible workloads for ministers, but also for other members of parliament, just trying to cover everything that used to be done by 10 extra people," she said.
But what about the rest of us?
Unfortunately, not everyone working out there in the real world — who are also experiencing burnout — will have the luxury of it being fixed by a vote.
Representative for the United Workers Union Jeanette Armstrong welcomed parliament's move, but said workforce numbers needed to change in many other workplaces too.
"We are hearing about burnout across all of the industries and sectors we represent … cleaners, security, hospitality, farm workers … everybody is under the pump.
"A sector that we've talked about for a long time is early childhood education and care. We're seen educators leave the sector in droves, largely because of burnout."
She said COVID-19 had exacerbated the problem.
"Everybody has been left holding the can while colleagues are off sick because of the pandemic and other people have had to pick up the pieces," she said.
Clinical psychologist with the Black Dog Institute Matthew Slarke said his clients, especially healthcare workers, were displaying signs of burnout.
"A lot of the clients [who] I have worked with have reported burnout, high stress from their jobs and worsening mental health because of that," he said.
He said there were many factors that could bring about burnout, one of them being job security.
"People … feel like their job is less secure and [are] more likely to experience psychological stressors," Mr Slarke said.
"It comes from a combination of high work demand [and a] lack of organisational or job support."
Growing trend toward lifestyle changes
For those lucky enough to have the ability to change their circumstances, a switch to working from home, changing professions, reskilling or even embracing "van life" have all become popular solutions.
Hat business founder and owner Lauren Williams was working as a mortgage broker and managing her small business when she realised it was not sustainable.
"I was a mobile lender, so I was out on the road a lot out of business hours. There were no set hours, I always ended up doing more hours than I was required to," she said.
"I was also doing some consulting for Instagram marketing and I had a few side hustles too so I was always go, go, go.
She decided to go full-time with her small business and split her time between home and living in her van, travelling around Australia, and she has not regretted it.
"I'm a lot better, a lot better," she said.
Mr Slarke said that, while tree changes, working from home and other lifestyle changes worked for some, they might not work for others.
"The pandemic definitely changed the way we do work and [the way] we view work and, for some people, that was a good thing and, for others, it was not so much a good thing," he said.
"Working from home over the pandemic gave a lot of people flexibility, but it also blurred the lines between work and home life."
He said that, if you were experiencing signs of burnout, it was important to seek help from management early when it comes to workloads, and seek professional help if you're experiencing signs of depression or anxiety.
"Making sure that we're getting good exercise, good sleep and that we're eating a balanced diet can go a long way as well," he said.
