#95: 4 Types of Career Burnout
If you’re feeling crispy around the edges—or fully burnt to a crisp—I hope this helps you name what you’re feeling.
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4 Types of Career Burnout
If you’ve been here for any length of time (some of you have been reading Laid Off Life for nearly two years—!!), you know I’ve written about burnout before. In fact, long before I got laid off, I was already quietly burning out. But I didn’t have the language for it back then. All I knew was that I felt off for a really looonnnngggg time. Not just tired—but like I was miscast in my own life.
Turns out, there’s a name for that kind of burnout. It's called misalignment burnout. According to a Forbes article I stumbled on, it happens when your job or environment conflicts with your inner values. It’s not just “I can’t deal with my job.” It’s “This isn’t me, and I don’t even recognize who I am anymore.”
But misalignment isn’t the only flavor of career burnout. As I kept digging, I found an article from Psychology Today that outlines four sub-types of burnout. Who knew?
Here’s a quick breakdown:
1. Frenetic Burnout.
You’re overloaded and working nonstop, trying to prove your worth through overachievement. You’re a human hamster wheel with a Google calendar.
2. Under-Challenged Burnout.
The opposite. Your work is so mind-numbingly repetitive, your soul starts peeling away in tiny, quiet flakes. There’s no challenge, no learning, no spark.
3. Worn-Out Burnout.
Tasks are vague. Systems are broken. Leadership sucks. Eventually, you just kind of… give up. This is the burnout of learned helplessness. (Shoutout to everyone who’s rage-Googled “how to write a polite email that says this isn’t my job.”)
4. Misalignment Burnout.
You’re working in a place—or a role—that’s fundamentally at odds with your values. You keep telling yourself it’s fine. It pays the bills. But inside, it feels like you’re slowly being erased. (Me, me, me at my last job!!)
After my layoff, I thought I be leaving burn out behind. Surprise! Turns out, you can be burnt out without a job— or at least carry that lingering burnout with you for a long time.
TLDR; Ive discovered after much reflection that the noxious engine that drives burnout for me is self-imposed pressure. No boss, no office politics, no heavy workload—just the anxiety of me trying to live up to imaginary expectations and chasing invisible gold stars. (Classic eldest child energy.)
As my workload has started to become fast and furious again, I’ve found myself inching back toward that familiar cliff where I put pressure on myself to keep going at 100 MPH even when my body is asking me to slow down. And this time, I’m trying to apply my hard-won wisdom and not to go full Thelma & Louise.
Here’s what I’ve been trying instead:
My (Evolving) Anti-Burnout Toolkit
One Lazy Day Per Week.
A Yale study found that building in one lazy day a week has real mental health benefits. So, I aim to fully flop on the couch at least one day per weekend—no guilt, no errands, no “just one email.” When I am able to pull it off (sometimes!), I feel like my brain has been Windexed.
Unstructured Mornings.
When I can, I leave my mornings unscheduled. No calls. No meetings. Just me, my coffee, and whatever I feel like doing—reading, walking, working out, listening to podcasts. This little act of daily freedom helps me tune into what I want and need, not what’s urgent.
Energizing Hobbies.
I’ve sung since I was a kid, and joining a local choir last year has brought me so much joy. Singing with other humans? Instant serotonin. Highly recommend finding the thing where you can’t use your phone for a few hours. It’s so rejuvenating.
Meditation That Doesn’t Make You Want to Scream.
Yes, I know. Every self-care list includes “meditate.” And yes, it used to make me roll my eyes too. But I finally found what works for my busy brain: lying-down, guided meditation. Ten minutes. Every day. Or at least most days. It’s the only “meeting” I look forward to.
Burnout is tricky because it wears so many masks. It can look like lack of motivation. Like indecision or depression. Like endless scrolling when you should be relaxing. But often, it’s your soul waving a tiny white flag.
If you’re feeling crispy around the edges—or fully burnt to a crisp—I hope this helps you name what you’re feeling. Because naming it is the first step toward reclaiming your energy.
And if you’ve found something weird, wonderful, or off-the-beaten-path that helps you fight burnout (ice plunges? forest bathing? rage dancing?), tell us about it. I’m always looking to expand my toolkit.
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Have thoughts about what you read, have suggestions for future topics, or a question you want me to answer? Want to share your layoff story with our community? Send me a message! I’d love to hear from you.
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