Burnout is on the rise—again. And like most of the workforce, no one is entirely sure on how to fix it. That’s where corporate wellness consultant Rhia Batchelder (she/her) comes in. Also the founder and CEO of Rebuild with Rhia, the burnout expert had to experience severe burnout herself before discovering her current career path. “I practiced law in very intense environments for about six years,” she says. “It took me about two years to heal from burnout and get back up to full capacity. In 2021, I was interviewing for some less intense legal jobs, but couldn’t shake the feeling that I was meant to start my own business and spend my time researching, writing, and speaking about topics that are important to me. I also knew I wanted to avoid the management styles found in law, and what it’s somewhat infamous for. So I took a leap, pulled out of late-stage interviews, and Rebuild with Rhia was born.”

If you’re experiencing burnout yourself or want to avoid it altogether, keep reading for Rhia’s recommendations.

Be real with us: Is the only solution to burnout quitting our job?
Absolutely not! Sometimes if your workplace is extremely toxic or not a fit for you, quitting is a great option. But I hear a lot of stories from people who quit thinking it was the solution, only to end up burned out again in six months. The key is to figure out why you’re experiencing burnout. Get clear on all of the stressors that are causing your feelings. Is there anything you can shift without completely quitting your job? Ex: Setting boundaries around hours and capacity; having a difficult conversation with a manager about a stressful dynamic or communication style; engaging in more positive self-talk; setting up systems to make your days run smoother; offloading a few home obligations; and engaging in effective stress management through a realistic routine you can be consistent with.

If you’re showing up for yourself already in these ways, and your stressors are from a toxic work environment, you have my full permission to quit ASAP.

What are steps we need to take to relieve ourselves from work-related burnout?
Some steps include:

Step 1: Start a morning routine doing something you like for at least 10 minutes. Stay off your phone during this time—I want you to stay in your world for a little bit before jumping into your to-do list and information overload. Showing up for ourselves in small ways can help us build confidence and be less reactive to stress throughout the day. The bonus with starting to prioritize self-care is that you’ll notice your confidence grow, too. I find that the morning is the easiest place to start, because we tend to have the most motivation and energy. I highly recommend a walk (movement doubles as stress management), but I’ve had clients have success reading, sitting outside in the sunshine, meditating, journaling, cooking, and more.

Step 2: Reduce stressors as much as possible. Imagine you’re on a life raft with all of your obligations, but now you have a leak. You need to throw things overboard until you can patch up that leak in order to save the whole raft. We are throwing some stressors overboard so you can bounce back from burnout as quickly as possible. Create a list of your stressors and see where you can offload things, at work and beyond. Ex: If meal planning is a stressor for you, outsource it to Chat GPT, which can make a whole meal plan with a grocery list for you, or invest in a meal-kit delivery service.

Step 3: Work on bringing stress management tools into your life. Beyond reducing the amount of stress we are navigating, we also need to physically move through our stress responses. Burnout is a state of exhaustion due to prolonged stress. If you can learn to get out of the stress response and down to baseline more effectively, you will see relief! A few evidence-based stress management tools that work are: 20-60 minutes of movement, meditation, breathwork, creative expression, laughter or crying, spending time with your people, dancing (or flailing) around your home, and EFT tapping.

Step 4: Take your patterns seriously. If you’ve always been the type to overwork, wear perfectionism like a badge of honor, or beat yourself up for not being enough—those things need to be addressed. Our mindset can have a big impact on how stressful work feels to us, and how comfortable we feel with setting and enforcing boundaries.

We know that women and people of color are burning out at higher rates, but why is this?
Women are burning out at rates around 10% higher than men (depending on the industry, this number shifts around), while Black and Hispanic women tend to see some of the highest burnout rates. At work, women are often navigating additional hurdles to success. Bias rooted in patriarchy—which can be conscious or unconscious—means we have to work harder to be taken just as seriously as our male peers. Beyond that, most women are taught to be givers from a young age. We are taught people pleasing, self-sacrificing, minimizing our needs, and second-guessing ourselves. Then, as adults, women tend to struggle to prioritize self-care unless it has to do with improving our appearance. These are all stressors that can lead to burnout and feeling unfulfilled.

Black and Hispanic women are facing all of the same biases that stem from patriarchy, but also have to navigate racial biases. They have two additional layers of stress added to everything they do at work. Once again, women of color tend to have to work incredibly hard to be given opportunities others are more freely offered. They often feel a strong desire to prove themselves for that reason. They navigate microaggressions, but are expected not to speak up about them.

How can companies avoid losing crucial leadership from these people?
If companies want to retain diverse workforces, they need to take culture seriously and provide more flexibility and understanding at work. Currently, there are many organizations quietly removing their DEI teams—I cannot overemphasize how massive of a mistake this is. The people at the top usually do not understand the reality of their employees’ experience, and this issue is compounded when the C-Suite of an org doesn’t include women and people of color. We know that having women and people of color in powerful positions in an organization improves culture and net margins, so I hope more companies start taking the burnout crisis seriously. Old-school corporate culture is dying, but many don’t see that yet.

What’s your advice for those who wanna stop experiencing burnout, but don’t know where to start?
Burnout can feel challenging, isolating, and like an identity shift—especially for ambitious women. I promise you that your capacity and passion will come back, though. The first step is to stop shaming yourself for having lower capacity. I think that is a massive challenge for ambitious women who always saw themselves “doing it all.” Maturing is realizing it’s not possible to do it all, without help, and stay sane. Once you set down the shame stick you’re beating yourself with, it’ll be easier to take action. Remove whatever you can from your life raft, ask for help, and start one feel-good routine that you can realistically be consistent with. Be kind to yourself, and use this as an opportunity to learn a new way of living that centers you and your needs.