FRIED. The Burnout Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#straightfromcaitandsarah: Answering Your Most Common Burnout Questions Feb 26, 2023

Show notes

Recovering from burnout requires you to be okay with being uncomfortable. Rest is actually incredibly productive, and even though you might feel restless or guilty about sitting still it is vital for recovery. In today’s #straightfromcaitandsarah episode, Cait Donovan, host and burnout speaker, and Sarah Vosen, FRIED burnout coach, answer your most common burnout questions from the FRIED Facebook group.

If you are expending too much time and energy and not receiving enough resources back, this will contribute to burnout. You can’t go into burnout recovery the same way as you tackle other issues, because it requires an entirely different approach. When your resources are depleted, you need to rest in order to refill those resources. Your body is likely to start sending signals in the form of various ailments and symptoms if you ignore the signs for too long and refuse to rest.

When you are experiencing signs of burnout, it is time to stop and take a break. Allow your body to rest and check in on your routine to see where you may be able to change things. Often you will find yourself running on autopilot and doing things a certain way when there may be a simpler way to do them that enables you to expend less resources.

Quotes

• “Recovery requires a different way of being, a different way of doing, a different mode of operation.” (3:35-3:40 | Sarah)

• “A lot of burnout recovery happens in these spaces where you learn to sit with feeling uncomfortable.” (6:59-7:07 | Cait)

• “When you are faced with the choice of guilt or resentment, choose guilt every time; because resentment eats at you.” (8:09-8:21 | Cait)

• “The guilt isn't the problem. The avoidance of the guilt is the problem.” (10:09-10:12 | Cait)

• “When we're burnt out, we have depleted our resources oftentimes, especially time and energy, and we're giving too much. And we're giving too much out to things that aren't refueling our resources. So pausing for a second and a break is a good time to do this, to take an inventory of what am I spending my time, money, and resources, energy on? And what can I stop giving to?” (16:09-16:40 | Sarah)

• “Rest is receiving resources.” (17:52-17:55 | Cait)

• “Any symptom from head to toe can be part of a burnout scenario.” (30:52-30:56 | Cait)

Links

https://bearaby.com

Burnout isn’t a personal failure or a lack of resilience. It’s a signal that something in the system, expectations, roles, pace, or support, is out of alignment. Conversations like this one help surface the human experience of burnout, while the broader work continues to explore how organizations can respond more intelligently and sustainably.

To explore burnout, leadership, and sustainable performance through a workplace and organizational lens, connect with Cait Donovan: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-minute reel: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Kute Blackson: Accept, Grieve, and then Surrender to Recover from Burnout Feb 19, 2023

Show notes

Kute Blackson is an inspirational speaker and transformational teacher. He is a member of the Transformational Leadership Council, a group of 100 of the world’s foremost authorities in the personal development industry. He learned about the power and the magic of surrender when his mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer and his time with her became more precious than ever before.

Surrender is a powerful tool for transformation and is an important part of burnout recovery. Humans are naturally hardwired to surrender, but as we grow up, we become resistant to it. We tend to forget that the ego is simply a pattern of behavior and not actually who we truly are. When we mistake ego for personal identity, surrender can feel like death instead of being seen for what it really is, a chance to let go and fully accept life for what it is.

Resisting surrender is exhausting and can lead to burnout. When we fully accept surrender for what it is, we can grieve and then move forward. Tune into today’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a conversation with Kute Blackson about the magic of surrender.

Quotes

• “When I began to surrender and accept that she may not live, maybe this is it, it’s as though it transformed me because every moment became sacred.” (7:08-7:22 | Kute)

• “It was so profound, because I would sit in chemo sessions with my mother holding her hand in such gratitude for this moment that I had with her. I would sit in the park with her, all the things that I deemed a waste of time, because I was busy saving the planet, that I didn't have time to just sit and take a walk in the park with my mother because it was just not productive was so precious for the first time like it could be the last moment. And so the process of surrendering transformed my relationship to the moment, my relationship to her.” (7:47-8:23 | Kute)

• “Surrender is the most powerful thing that we can do as human beings.” (11:58-12:01 | Kute)

• “Surrender is when we stop trying to force or manipulate life to fit our limited idea of how we think it should be and how we think a relationship should be. It's letting go of who we think we should be, and how we think life should be so that we take the limitations off of life so that we can be truly open and available to the highest unfolding that is seeking to happen.” (15:08-15:37 | Kute)

• “When we surrender, that’s when the magic happens.” (15:44-15:47 | Kute)

• “Surrender is our natural state. That's what I just want people to get. Surrender is in fact hardwired into our physiology.” (24:10-24:19 | Kute)

• “Surrender is a death and when we allow ourselves to fully, fully, fully accept, then we can fully grieve. And when we fully grieve that’s when we're able to let go.” (41:10-41:21 | Kute)

Links

https://bearaby.com

Connect with Kute Blackson:

Website: www.kuteblackson.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kuteblackson/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kute-blackson-35755519/

Book: www.themagicofsurrender.com

Connect with Cait:

Cait Donovan is a keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast, specializing in burnout, mis/match, and sustainable performance at work. She partners with corporate leaders, teams, and professional associations through keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions that treat burnout as data, not failure, to help organizations reduce burnout without blame or shame and build healthier, high performing cultures.

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

BONUS: FRIED Burnout Recovery Group Coaching with Sarah Vosen starts Feb 19th! Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

To explore burnout, leadership, and sustainable performance through a workplace and organizational lens, connect with Cait Donovan: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-minute reel: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

#straightfromcait: The Workplace is a Trauma Recycling Center Feb 12, 2023

Show notes

There are two major theories when it comes to burnout. The first is that it is entirely preventable through a simple shift in workplace culture. The second is that burnout is not always avoidable but can be eliminated through self-care, establishing boundaries, and self-advocacy. According to Cait, the truth is somewhere in the middle. In today’s #straightfromcait episode, Cait, host and burnout speaker, talks about the workplace as a trauma recycling center and what that means for burnout.

A toxic workplace often is the result of people recycling their own traumas back onto their peers. Everyone in your workplace, even the people you dislike, has their own trauma that they are bringing to work with them. Our society is not equal and there are many social determinants of health that impact a person’s susceptibility to burnout. Also, since everyone comes from different life experiences, your idea of workplace trauma might be very different from your coworker’s.

By working with a trauma informed therapist and making time for self-care and self-advocacy, you can work to heal from trauma so that you bring less of it with you to your job. Give yourself grace and compassion above all else, and then find compassion for others as well.

Quotes

• “After interviewing more than 100 people for this podcast and working with countless others, I have yet to meet a person who recovered from burnout without engaging in some form of self care.” (2:24-2:35 | Cait)

• “The workplace is a trauma recycling center. Workplace culture can be toxic, and we like to blame that on the system. Listen up everybody. I've said this before I'm gonna say it again. We are the system. The people making decisions at the top have just as much trauma as the people burning out along the path. Do you think that the bullies are people who have worked through their own sh*t? Hell no. Do you think that bosses who demand nonstop working and don't understand that you don't want to slash can't actually work 27 hours a day have been through successful therapy or trauma healing? Hell to the no.” (3:23-4:08 | Cait)

• “Until we have created a culture where there aren't large percentages of people who are neglected, abused and traumatized, burnout is always going to end up being one of the results.” (4:28-4:39 | Cait)

• “A psychologically safe workplace for you is not a psychologically safe workplace for someone else.” (6:42-6:47 | Cait)

• “When you respond with harshness, even internally, what you're doing is recycling your own trauma in your own body every day. Freeing yourself from that is a powerful step towards reclaiming power over your life and healing from burnout.” (11:48-12:05 | Cait)

Links

https://bearaby.com

Erica Cuni - https://www.ericacuni.com/

Nidha Tewari - https://www.wellbeingspeaker.com/

Holly Doll - https://www.hollyangeladoll.com/

Kari Zee - https://www.karizeecoaching.com/

Connect with Cait:

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Nina Blackshear: Eliminate Imposter Syndrome in High Achievers Feb 05, 2023

Show notes

Nina Blackshear is an attorney and executive coach who specializes in coaching high power and high potential women to overcome obstacles like imposter syndrome. She experienced burnout while working in a high achieving career at a large pharmaceutical company. Getting let go turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the blinders came off to reveal the toxic environment Nina had been keeping herself in. She spent the next six months working on herself and re-evaluating her next career moves before getting involved with coaching other high achieving women.

While evaluating the source of her imposter syndrome with a therapist, Nina became aware of her mother’s narcissistic behavior and how it was still affecting her as an adult. Since she was unable to get the desired attention from her mother, she was seeking someone to fill that role even in her professional life. By attributing this mother role to co-workers, she created unhealthy attachments that left her emotionally unregulated anytime these women would provide even remotely negative feedback.

Imposter syndrome is caused by both internal and external factors. There is only so much you can do about the external factors, but you can change your mindset to eliminate the internal factors. Tune into today’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a conversation with Nina Blackshear about eliminating imposter syndrome, stopping the lies, and being unapologetically authentic.

Quotes

• “There are other places to go. There are other places to work. There are other things that you can be doing. It's not just this, you don't have to succeed in this particular place” (11:48-12:01 | Nina)

• “When you start to compromise the integrity of who you actually are in order to fit a culture, in order to gain an opportunity, in order to achieve in a culture that may not be that interested in your success. That's when that happens. Imposter syndromes also starts to creep in, in addition to the burnout, right? And it feeds on each other like a snake eating its own tail, because the more you pretzel yourself and strive to be something that you're not, the more stressed out you're going to be. And so you add that internal burnout on top of what external factors are creating burnout, and it's a recipe for like bursting spontaneously into flame.” (14:45-15:21 | Nina)

• “You might feel like an impostor because you are one.” (28:44-28:47 | Nina)

• “High achievers don't like to tell you that they don't know something. They want to come up with something on the fly in the moment that sounds good, and they're hoping you don't catch that maybe they don't really know as much about it as you think they do.” (30:13-30:23 | Nina)

• “I really think you can eliminate slash overcome impostor syndrome. I don't think it's something you’ve got to live with like a backpack you carry all the time.” (41:16-41:24 | Nina)

• “Stop lying, but also unapologetically be your authentic self.” (42:35-42:39 | Nina)

• “Even if you're not in an environment that’s showing you your value and your worth or appreciating it, you have so much to offer. You have so much to give, you just might need to change the scenery to feel fulfilled, to feel seen, to feel like you're contributing.” (56:42-56:59 | Nina)

SPONSOR:

Bearaby - the anti-anxiety weighted blanket that Cait swears by!

https://bearaby.com

Connect with Nina Blackshear:

Website: www.ninablackshear.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-blackshear/

Connect with Cait:

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Susie Moore: Let It Be Easy Jan 29, 2023

Show notes

Susie Moore is a world renowned life coach, author of Let It Be Easy: Simple Ways to Stop Stressing and Start Living, as well as the host of the Let It Be Easy podcast. Susie’s life growing up was anything but easy. She grew up on welfare, moving frequently between domestic violence shelters, and her main hope for her future was to have stability and financial independence. However, once Susie was out of that situation and married in her own place, she realized that she was still unhappy. It wasn’t until she did a lot of inner work with consistency and intentionality that she was able to change her thought patterns and her life.

The first step toward an easier life is taking responsibility for your emotions. The way you feel inspires your actions, so by controlling your emotions you can change how you show up in the world. Next, be selective about who has access to your time and energy. If you are always hanging around people who are negative, it will be that much more difficult to remain positive and handle stressful situations. The more you fill your days with hobbies, carefully curated friends, and rich life experiences, the more you will be able to stay calm when something does not go your way.

You don’t have to live your life on hard mode. Tune into today’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a conversation with Susie Moore about how to let life be easy, take control of your emotions, get out of your own way, and surround yourself with the right people.

Quotes

• “Being very selective about who has access to you, and your energy, and your time and attention is critical.” (9:37-9:44 | Susie)

• “Sometimes we tell ourselves a story that well, this is it, there's nowhere else and it might not always be true.” (13:46-13:52 | Susie)

• “Just taking responsibility for my emotions is the number one thing in my life, because we act based on how we feel.” (16:28-16:35 | Susie)

• “If I have a rich life, if I have hobbies, if I have friends, if I have experiences, I'm going to be just naturally more soothed because I'm less attached to any one thing going my way.” (34:34-34:43 | Susie)

• “The reason that I think some people can create and move forward and have momentum is not because they're talented, or special, or unique or different. They just don't have sloppy thinking. Right? It's like, wait, let me rethink this. Do I sound like an idiot? Wait, oh, no, I'm not good enough, actually not ready for that, she's gonna reject me. I am not playing that game with myself. Like, I'm simply not. And if I'm with my heart creating something that I feel is of use or is beautiful or is interesting, that's enough. And if there are errors, or typos, or I missed the mark, that's also okay.” (55:41-56:16 | Susie)

Links

SPONSORS:

Cuely - the AI + you tool to help you get those health habits in place - in a way that really works for your calendar! https://cuely.ai/FRIED

Bearaby - the antianxiety weighted blanket that Cait swears by! https://bearaby.com

Connect with Susie Moore:

Website: https://susie-moore.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susie.moore/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiemoore/

Workshop: http://becomeyourownlifecoach.com/

Connect with Cait:

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

#straightfromcait: Burnout, Depression, Anxiety, and Medication Jan 22, 2023

Show notes

Have you been feeling numb and mentally disconnected from your life? This is a very normal way to feel when you are experiencing burnout. There is a natural overlap that occurs between symptoms of burnout and symptoms of depression and anxiety. In today’s #straightfromcait episode, Cait, host and burnout speaker, talks about the debate on whether to use mental health medications to treat the depression and anxiety symptoms that can occur with burnout.

Sometimes people worry that it would be cheating to use medications to treat their burnout. They think they should be able to do it all on their own and may feel uncomfortable about the concept of trying mental health medications. However, you are serving no one by refusing to utilize all the resources at your disposal. Sure, exercise and eating right and building a support system will all help you improve, but when you’re burnt out it is extremely difficult to engage with your life in that way. So if you have access to a therapist or a psychiatrist and are diagnosed with a mental health condition and your doctor wishes to prescribe medication for you, you should try it! It is not unfair to anyone for you to use the privileges that you have available to you in order for you to recover.

This is your permission to use any advantage and resource you have access to. Go see that therapist, get that prescription your insurance covers, do whatever you need to do in order to get yourself back on track. The more you heal from burnout the more you will be able to use that energy to give back and help others who are struggling. The more people collectively heal from burnout the more we can work together to end burnout culture.

Quotes

• “In the working definition of burnout as it currently exists, which I personally find to be incomplete, it tells us that mental distance is about work. What I've found is that that sense of disconnectedness, that separation from life, occurs across the entire life spectrum.” (2:50-3:09 | Cait)

• “This distance, this numbness, this inability to feel close or connected to people is often in a strange overlap place with depression.” (4:26-4:37 | Cait)

• “I got caught up in this idea that most medication can be avoided, and a lot of people I know in the Chinese medicine world are pretty anti-prescription overall. Over time, I've learned to realize that this is not really my stance. I know the research that says that exercise, good food, proper rest and building a support community are just as good for depression as medication if not better, in some cases. But I also think that it is absolutely bonkers that we would ask someone who was depressed to try and do those things. You don't have the wherewithal when you're burnt out or depressed to engage in your life in that way. So if you need medication to be able to do the things that you need to do to improve your situation, and you've been diagnosed, and you've been offered a prescription, you should at least try it.” (5:47-6:40 | Cait)

• “Do not try to hero your way through burnout by being tough and not relying on options that could make it easier for you.” (6:54-7:01 | Cait)

• “The more that I use my privileges to my advantage, the more I can serve the people I'm here to serve, the better I feel, and the better my life becomes.” (10:30-10:42 | Cait)

• “If you have access to making something better for yourself take it, use it, get your energy back, spend that money honey and get that prescription that's covered by your insurance. Take every single advantage that you have and then when you're feeling strong enough and fulfilled enough and happy enough, spread that sh*t around like wildfire.” (14:34-14:52 | Cait)

• “We don't end burnout culture by making a massive culture shift. We end burnout culture by not participating in it anymore. We don't participate in it anymore when we heal. So use your advantages, every single one you've got, so that you can reach behind you and pull the next person up in any way that you can.” (17:09-17:32 | Cait)

Links

SPONSORS:

Cuely - the AI + you tool to help you get those health habits in place - in a way that really works for your calendar! https://cuely.ai/FRIED

Bearaby - the antianxiety weighted blanket that Cait swears by! https://bearaby.com

Connect with Cait:

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Julie Brown: Can I Just Get A Quick 3 Day Coma? Jan 15, 2023

Show notes

Julie Brown is a high energy Keynote Speaker who teaches the importance of networking. She is also the author of This Sh*t Works: A No Nonsense Guide to Networking Your Way to More Friends, More Adventures, and More Success, as well as the host of the This Sh*t Works podcast. Prior to her burnout, Julie was overworking herself to the point that she jokingly was jealous of a woman who had awoken from a three day coma, because at least that woman got to sleep. She and her husband were working such hectic schedules that they would not see each other at all during the week. Everything changed when the pandemic hit and Julie realized that the hustle lifestyle had tricked her.

Hustle culture is causing people to overwork themselves until they burn out. Julie was going ‘balls to the wall’ for everything every day of her life, except when it came to resting. She shares that the pandemic was a real wake up call, because she and her husband were unsure how they would ever go back to that jam-packed scheduled to the minute lifestyle. In addition to talking about Julie’s burnout story, Cait and Julie talk about the importance of networking, how to build a community, and the underestimated strength of weak connections.

Have you ever thought a three day coma sounded appealing? Tune into today’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a conversation with Julie Brown about building relationships, the dangers of hustle culture, and allowing yourself to rest.

Quotes

• “Your question to me was, ‘Oh, do you have a burnout story?’ And it was like, ‘Oh, you mean the time I was getting ready for work, and I heard the story about a woman who had just woken up from a three day coma. And I was jealous of her, because she got to sleep.’ And then I said to myself, ‘well, that's what I need. I just need a well timed coma. And then I'll just rest and then I'll be able to get up and I'll be good to go.’ And I knew something was wrong in my life where I didn't have time to rest unless there was a medically induced coma in my future.” (2:37-3:21 | Julie)

• “There was a point when I was hoping for a coma that I said, ‘Why am I working so hard for someone else? Why do I have this drive to do this for someone else? Can I convert this energy into something else for myself?’.” (6:11-6:29 | Julie)

• “You need to have that community in place before a crisis hits, because it's very hard to build a community in crisis.” (19:40-19:48 | Julie)

• “Asking for what you need, what would be helpful to you, because you have already given back to your network, because your network wants to be there for you, is invested in your success, whether that success is your mental success, whether it's your financial success, that's not needy.” (21:01-21:19 | Julie)

• “It's okay for us to be in places of need sometimes and be in places of abundance sometimes, as long as when we're in places of abundance, we are giving back to our community and giving back to our network.” (21:21-21:32 | Julie)

• “If you are keeping score in your relationship, and you are always expecting tit for tat, you're never going to be happy.” (25:08-25:18 | Julie)

• “I always tell people to build their network slowly and with purpose, because you cannot manage growing, fostering a number of relationships and do it correctly. And do it without getting tired, because managing relationships takes a lot of time and energy.” (40:04-40:28 | Julie)

Links

SPONSORS:

Cuely - the AI + you tool to help you get those health habits in place - in a way that really works for your calendar! https://cuely.ai/FRIED

Bearaby - the antianxiety weighted blanket that Cait swears by! https://bearaby.com

Connect with Julie Brown:

Website: https://sayhitojulie.com/

https://juliebrownbd.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebrown_bd/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliebrownbd/

Connect with Cait:

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

#straightfromcait: How to Ask for Help Jan 08, 2023

Show notes

Is asking for help something that makes you feel very uncomfortable? Do you struggle with figuring out your needs, feeling safe when asking for help, and with actually accepting the help that is offered? Contrary to what many of us like to believe, we cannot do everything on our own. People need each other. In today’s #straightfromcait episode, Cait, host and burnout speaker, talks about how to ask for help.

Asking for help opens the door for other perspectives and possibilities you may not have been able to see on your own and also increases your access to resources, which in turn increases your resilience. However, it does not come naturally to everyone. People have this warped idea that asking for help is a sign of weakness or would somehow be an inconvenience to others. The best way to get better at asking for help is to practice. Start practicing asking for help in safe low-stakes situations until you feel more comfortable with the concept. Small daily asks like asking for a glass of water, having someone hold the door open for you, or simply borrowing a pencil can help train your body that asking for help is actually safe.

We are all interconnected and rely on each other for a functioning society. It is important for people to be able to ask each other for help and to feel safe in doing so. No one can succeed purely on their own all the time and trying to do everything by yourself will likely lead to burnout. Learn how to get more comfortable with asking for help, how to determine your needs, and how to accept the help that is offered.

Quotes

• “I want you to be able to take this year, use it for practicing asking for help, and do it so often that by the time we get to 2024 asking for help is so natural to you that you forgot that you ever really sucked at it.” (2:09-2:26 | Cait)

• “Asking for help is the only behavior that's even known to increase your resilience by way of increasing your access to resources.” (3:07-3:15 | Cait)

• “When you're burnt out, different perspectives and possibilities can be really hard to see, and simply asking for help increases your ability to see possibility, as well as opens the door for other people to present options that you might not have thought of yet.” (7:04-7:20 | Cait)

• “My favorite way to figure out where you need help and support and boundaries is to look toward the anger group of emotions, specifically resentment, but including anger, irritation, frustration, annoyance. The anger group is where we find so much great information.” (10:01-10:17 | Cait)

• “If you find yourself crowdsourcing for an opinion and nothing fits, I might want you to dig a little deeper to find out if you're completely help resistant. And if you are, it might be time for a coach or a therapist, right? Because we need to find a way to actually get the help in. If you're not going to let any of it in then asking for it is useless.” (14:52-15:12 | Cait)

• “Try practicing small asks to gain comfort with the act of asking. We have spoken at length about the fact that burnout recovery requires feelings of safety and asking can feel unsafe. So it is imperative that you ask with training wheels on before you hop on your bike and ride through the streets without a helmet.” (19:47-20:08 | Cait)

• “Learning to ask for help by starting small isn't just about your burnout. It's about your humanness. It's about interconnectedness, it's about not buying into and adding to individualistic burnout culture. It's about squashing this idea that alone equals better, and it's about finding ways to protect your long term health starting today.” (23:43-24:07 | Cait)

SPONSORS:

Cuely - the AI + you tool to help you get those health habits in place - in a way that really works for your calendar! https://cuely.ai/FRIED

Bearaby - the antianxiety weighted blanket that Cait swears by! https://bearaby.com

Links

https://caitdonovan.com/resentment-journal

https://friedtheburnoutpodcast.com/

https://facebook.com/groups/friedtheburnoutpodcast

Connect with Cait:

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

BONUS EPISODE: The Burnout Panel Talks Quiet Quitting Jan 01, 2023

Show notes

Today, Cait reports live from The Burnout Panel. She joins Vanessa Zamy, Audrey Holst, Aileen Axtmayer, Dr. Sandra Lewis, and Dr. Sharon Grossman to talk about quiet quitting. These experts in the burnout field weigh in on what they believe is causing quiet quitting to be so rampant and the changes business leaders can make to help their employees feel included, safe, happy, and valued.

Quiet quitting is often a response to overwhelm and can be a coping mechanism for burnout. If your body does not feel safe in your work environment, you are likely going to start to disengage. It is also important to evaluate your current interests and values and see that they align with your role. When people choose to quiet-quit it tends to be due to no longer feeling aligned with their work. To get a handle on quiet quitting, first you need to regenerate your nervous system, so that it is not always on high alert for danger. In order for employees to feel valued, leaders must pay attention and create a safe, fun, and inclusive work environment. If employees start to feel undervalued, they will become resentful and more likely to engage in quiet quitting behaviors.

quiet quitting is not always a choice, sometimes it is a natural reaction to burnout. When it is not being used as a coping mechanism and is instead a conscious choice, it is important for leaders to really pay attention to the work environment. If employees are actively choosing to disengage, they likely feel resentment for some perceived unfairness and they may even feel completely out of alignment with the work they are doing. When employees and employers understand the causes behind quiet quitting, changes can be made to make a better work environment for all.

Quotes

• “There are two questions that the body is always scanning for is, am I safe, and do I belong. And this combination of perfectionism with an individual and within an organization can create a bit of a survival situation where people are showing up to work, their bodies are feeling like they are walking into a tiger's cage every single day, their body is getting flooded with cortisol on an everyday basis. And that is bouncing off of coworkers, and it's creating a really tough environment, which is creating those people who are starting to disengage out of survival.” (2:12-2:42 | Audrey)

• “When you can create space as an employer or as an employee to really examine these parts of yourself and understand where you're at with each of them, you can then use that framework to understand where your work might not be in alignment anymore, and what you can do to really shift and feel like your values, interests, personality and skills are aligned with the work that you're doing.” (5:29-5:51 | Aileen)

• “Achievement is what will allow you to feel pleasure once you've put in the work.” (7:33-7:41 | Dr. Sharon)

• “Resentment and quiet quitting have one major thing in common and that is a feeling or perception of unfairness.” (8:34-8:42 | Cait)

• “With support we can create conversations that allow resentment to be explored in a positive and beneficial way. Resentments turn into boundaries, and boundaries help protect us.” (9:17-9:28 | Cait)

• “The first thing is to start with regenerating and rejuvenating our nervous system so that then we can start to hear our creativity again.” (11:15-11:21 | Dr. Sandra)

• “Whether you're leading an entire business, or you're leading a team in a department, or you're about to become a leader, and you want to do it better than your current boss is, remember rewards, refreshments and recreation. Quiet quitting is preventable.” (13:51-14:04 | Vanessa)

• “Quiet quitting is a coping mechanism for burnout when it is used not as a choice but as a natural reaction. So I think we have to separate choosing quiet quitting to protect yourself and quiet quitting because you're so burned out that you have no other choice and you're just trying to make it through your day and not get fired.” (14:48-15:09 | Cait)

Links

Connect with The Burnout Panel:

Aileen Axtmayer https://www.linkedin.com/in/aileenaxtmayer/

Cait Donovan https://www.linked.com/in/caitdonovan

Sandra Lewis https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandraylewis/

Audrey Holst https://www.linkedin.com/in/audrey-holst/

Sharon Grossman https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharongrossman/

Vanessa Zamy https://www.linkedin.com/in/zamyvanessa/

Connect with Cait:

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025