When Jacinda Ardern resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister last month, her simple explanation was: “I’ve got nothing left in the tank”. Many praised her for knowing when to quit, but others wondered — was this a case of burnout?
It’s a buzzword in business circles and I even received a newsletter from my GP surgery recently pondering, “what is burnout?” Petra Velzeboer, chief executive of workplace mental health consultancy PVL, says the phenomenon is not just “stress” or overwork — it’s a 12-stage process.
