Going Back to Work After Burnout

One of the common struggles for people recovering from burnout is knowing when to return to work. There are many reasons why it is a struggle, such as fear of burnout relapse, worry that they won’t be able to do their job, explaining their work absence to a new employer, and fear that colleagues will judge them. Some of these fears were present for me, and the struggle was compounded by not knowing if I wanted to return to my career.

Much like burnout recovery, returning to work isn’t a linear process. It is a process that involves reflection, discovery, experimentation, and creation. This process often involves letting go of long-held beliefs of what your working life "should" look like and creating one that supports your health and well-being now and in the future.

The pathway back to work after (or even during) burnout is unique. What works for one person may not work for another. Research into this area, despite being limited, has indicated several factors likely to assist with a healthy return to work after burnout. From this, I have created a checklist to help those looking at returning to work after or during burnout. I have split these factors into two categories: those about us, the individual, and those related to the system: workplace factors.

Return-to-Work (RTW) Checklist

Individual factors

• Reduction in burnout symptoms (e.g., cognitive impairment, sleep).
• Understanding of one’s triggers for burnout.
• Effective coping strategies to respond to burnout triggers (i.e., managing stress).
• Support from family and friends.
• A behavioural pattern that has a balance between activity and rest.
• Duration of absence from work (less than six months).
• Manageable or lack of personal stressors.
• Presence of optimism.
• Assertive communication capabilities.
• Commitment to work.
• Perceived validation of burnout experience.

Workplace factors

• Level of control over how one manages their work.
• A workload that starts small and increases over time; can be modified to suit current capabilities; has low physical and emotional demands to begin.
• Support from colleagues, supervisors, and management.
• Positive mental health work culture.
• New job/employer rather than going back to the old employer.
• Communication, knowledge, and empathy capabilities of RTW coordinator.
• Job security.
• Meaningful work.
• High skill discretion (i.e., breadth of skills usable on the job).

My RTW Experience

When I returned to work, I didn’t have the above checklists. However, reflecting on it now, I can see why my health continued to improve as I returned to work because many of the things on the above list were present.

Individually, I was ready to go back to some work. When I returned to work four months after burning out, my burnout symptoms had started to lift. My energy had returned, and the brain fog had lifted. I also had a better understanding of burnout and how it related to me thanks to therapy, journaling, talking to others who had burnt out, and reading up on burnout. I also worked on and developed more effective coping strategies that I could use to support myself with my return to work—for example, assertive communication and boundary setting. I also had the support of my husband with returning to work. He walked me to the train station every morning for my first few weeks as I was anxious and needed help. I was also very mindful about incorporating rest to support my return to work and included this as best as possible. I also didn’t have any other major unmanageable personal stressors going on in my life at the time, and, in fact, not working was creating a financial burden on our family, so going back to work helped reduce this stressor.

Regarding workplace factors, I can see now that my choices were wise considering my stage of recovery. When I returned to work, I didn't work in a clinical role providing psychotherapy. I wasn’t well enough for this and was still unsure if I wanted to do this work again. So, I started a nonclinical job, teaching part-time. This didn’t have the same emotional or mental load for me as going back to providing therapy would. I wanted to test the waters of my capacity to work gradually, so I went part-time. When I started, my new employers didn’t know the details of my burnout. I wasn’t sure I could trust them with this information, but I shared it with supportive colleagues over time. The work was meaningful and allowed me to use and gain skills. Unfortunately, there were a lot of factors that became apparent that weren’t conducive to my health long-term at this job—things on the RTW checklist above, such as a negative mental health culture, lack of communication and support, high work demands, and rigid work practices. I recognised them and was able to start working on an exit plan.

About a year into the teaching job, I started to have more capacity to work and began to explore my future work life and what I wanted that to look like. I started writing a book and continued working on a podcast I had created during my burnout recovery, creative pursuits that filled me with energy. Over time, I began to entertain the idea of going back into providing therapy and explored this through reflective journal writing and talking to supportive friends and family. I decided to start my own therapy business in July 2022—a business in which I could tick all of those workplace factors to support a successful return to work, and work in a sustainable way that helps me thrive. That is where I am at today.

If you find yourself at this juncture, please reflect on the checklists above and work with your personal and professional supports to develop a plan that supports your health to recover, prevent, and grow from burnout.

Take care of you.

To find a therapist, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.