Melanie Triffett was overcome with a wave of intense sorrow as she sat at her desk. The feeling of suffocation that had been gradually intensifying, particularly over the last ten weeks, had finally overwhelmed her. “I had never experienced panic attacks before, but one morning I found myself in tears, trembling in my chair,” she revealed to SBS News. “I was at a loss about how to even begin the day.” Prior to the 2019-2020 bushfires, Melanie had ascended to the role of general manager at a Melbourne-based primary healthcare provider that caters to regional areas. Then the pandemic hit.
Her husband’s work came to a sudden halt. She found herself homeschooling her two children while concurrently adjusting the responsibilities of her 60-strong team to comply with new COVID-19 safety protocols. When she consulted her GP in May 2020, she was told she was suffering from severe burnout and was on the brink of hospitalisation.
While Melanie’s experience with burnout was severe, feelings of mental exhaustion are familiar to many workers. According to a survey conducted by NSW Work Health and Safety (WHS) in 2023, burnout affects two-thirds of Australian workers. Looking back three years later, Melanie expresses gratitude for her collapse, as paradoxical as it may sound. The episode forced her to prioritise her own wellbeing and preempt future episodes of burnout.
Lyndall Strazdins, the mental health director at the Australian National University, described workplace burnout as a “cluster of reactions” to prolonged stress. “It’s how people physically and emotionally respond when they’ve been under intense pressure and stress,” Strazdins explained. The clinical psychologist noted that burnout, which shares many symptoms with depression and anxiety, is a subject of debate in terms of how it should be conceptualised.
According to Strazdins, burnout is a mix of mental and physical symptoms such as exhaustion and fatigue, combined with a consistent sense of disengagement. It’s not just about doing “too much for too long,” she clarified. Burnout is linked to other psychosocial hazards in the workplace that affect mental health, including reactions to “bullying, harassment, discrimination and general unfairness.”
A NSW Government report on understanding burnout highlighted its detrimental impacts on job performance and productivity, leading to decreased fulfilment, motivation, and purpose. Outside of work, burnout can exacerbate physical conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, and weaken the immune system. It can also trigger other mental health disorders, impacting the overall quality of life.
Melanie described the loss of her ability to function as frightening, prompting her to take a six-week leave to focus on her health. The experience also deeply affected her husband and children. “Seeing me, who has always worked hard and functioned well, deteriorate to the point where getting out of bed and having breakfast felt like an achievement,” she said. This sudden loss of cognitive and managerial abilities left her questioning what it meant for her and her family.
Melanie later joined an eight-week coaching programme at the Balance Institute, which aims to help ambitious female professionals achieve work-life balance without burning out. Jo Stone, the founder and CEO of the Balance Institute, empathises with many of the women who come to her programme. She recommends setting boundaries as a key strategy for achieving work-life balance and avoiding burnout.
Julia Richardson, head of marketing and management at Curtin University, echoes this advice. She suggests establishing rules such as “not reading emails after 6 pm” and making time for hobbies and other pursuits. Stone also promotes boundary-setting, alongside developing a sense of self-worth outside of work.
Now, Melanie greets each morning with a sense of calm. She’s more patient, has regained her work rhythm, and is nurturing the skills of those around her. She urges workers to be kinder to themselves and to challenge the notions that might lead to burnout. “There is another way to live your life,” she said. “You can strike a balance.”
