BBC Wales News: Talking burnout, Dr Jill Williams
Updated: 3 days ago
I’ll always try to find time to help journalists with psychology-based articles as an ‘expert contributor’, so when BBC Wales News recently approached me, I was delighted to advise on a piece about #burnout.
As a Chartered Psychologist and burnout specialist, this is a subject I work with every day. But there is something particularly important about being able to take those conversations beyond the consulting room and into people’s living rooms.
The finished piece is due to appear across BBC Wales’ evening news (1st September 2026, 6.30 pm), online and on Radio Cymru – a great opportunity to help more people understand what burnout actually looks like, why it happens, and what we can do about it.
From a reporter’s questions to a film crew in my office
The process began with discussions with Gemma, a BBC Wales reporter, answering her questions by drawing on both the research around occupational burnout and on what I see in my work with burned-out professionals.
Then came the slightly less everyday part: a BBC film crew arriving at my office to interview me on camera and capture some of those thoughts for the news piece.
Being asked to condense a complex subject into relatively short answers, making it accessible without oversimplifying, is always a challenge. Burnout is becoming part of our everyday vocabulary, but that can sometimes obscure what it actually means.
You never can tell what’s going to make the final edit, but here’s what they asked me
1. What are people experiencing when they come to me with burnout?
There are three key groups of symptoms that I tend to see.
The first is physical and mental exhaustion resulting from chronic workplace stress. This isn't simply feeling tired after a difficult week. People can reach a point where they feel profoundly depleted.
The second is a change in how they feel about their work. Someone who was once engaged and motivated may find themselves becoming increasingly detached, negative or cynical about it.
And the third is a growing feeling that they're failing, becoming less competent, or no longer as productive as they used to be.
This last element can be particularly difficult for people who have always taken pride in doing their job well.
2. Is burnout becoming more common?
Possibly – although there are probably two things happening at once.
Research in recent years has shown rising reported levels of burnout. At the same time, we have also experienced an important cultural shift in how willing we are to talk about mental health and workplace stress.
People now have a word to describe the particular kind of exhaustion that can result from prolonged workplace stress. They are also much more likely to recognise the signs, particularly as information about stress and burnout has become easier to access online (including on my website blogs and Burnout help section).
There are plenty of possible contributors: chronic understaffing and employees being stretched to their limits, the "always-on" nature of digital communication, and increasingly blurred boundaries between home and work for some people.
Whatever the cause, recognising what is happening is important because burnout isn't something we should simply accept as the inevitable price of having a demanding career. It’s debilitating on a personal level, and also has significant economic implications for organisations, as their employees become less productive, make worse decisions, take time off, and may ultimately leave.
3. One of the biggest misconceptions about burnout
One of the points I was particularly keen to make to the BBC was that burnout isn't a sign of personal weakness. There can still be considerable stigma attached to admitting that you're struggling, especially in highly competitive workplaces.
Yet when one person is experiencing burnout, there is a reasonable chance that others working under the same conditions may be struggling too. Burnout, therefore, shouldn't automatically be viewed as an individual failing. We also need to look at the environment in which that person is working.
And there's an irony here.
The people who experience burnout are often highly conscientious, committed, and goal-focused. They may be the people who can always be relied upon to go the extra mile.
Unfortunately, some of the very qualities that can help you succeed professionally can also increase your vulnerability to burnout if they're combined with unhealthy workplace conditions.
4. Why "just take a break" isn't enough
Taking time away from work can certainly be necessary when somebody is exhausted. But on its own, a break may not solve the problem.
If you return to exactly the same conditions – and exactly the same patterns of responding to those conditions – it isn't difficult to see how the problem can begin again.
Something usually needs to change, whether that's within the workplace, in the individual's approach to work, or both.
Everyone's experience is different, but here are a few general tips I gave:
One is establishing a clear cut-off time for work and protecting the distinction between work and home life. Time off needs to be proper time off rather than time spent checking emails and mentally remaining at work.
Another is creating periods of what is sometimes called deep work: protected, uninterrupted time to concentrate on one demanding task rather than constantly switching between emails, messages, meetings and other demands.
And for people who find themselves doing a great deal of overthinking, it can help to deliberately redirect attention towards a deceptively simple question:
What is actually within my control here? That shift takes practice, but it does become easier.
5. Are employers doing enough about workplace burnout?
We can't talk seriously about workplace burnout without also talking about the workplace. The extent to which employers take their responsibility to minimise excessive stress and burnout seriously varies enormously. Overall, I don't think we're doing enough, which is particularly unfortunate because preventing burnout makes economic as well as human sense.
And workload is only part of the picture.
People can sometimes cope remarkably well with demanding workloads when other aspects of their working environment are positive. Having supportive relationships, being treated fairly, and having a reasonable degree of control over how you work can make an enormous difference.
So, even if an employer says the workload can't be helped, other aspects of workplace processes and support can often be improved.
Why I'm pleased to talk burnout with BBC Wales News...
Perhaps the most valuable thing about being invited to contribute to the BBC Wales piece is the opportunity to make burnout part of a wider conversation. For somebody watching the evening news, hearing the discussion on BBC Radio Cymru or coming across the article online, recognising themselves in a description of burnout could be significant.
They might realise that the exhaustion, cynicism or sense that they're suddenly no longer good enough at their job isn't them ‘going mad’, or something they simply have to push through.
And perhaps they'll also hear another message that I think we need to repeat more often:
Burnout isn't simply about an individual's ability to cope. Sometimes we need to change the conditions they're being asked to cope with. In my work, we look at the whole picture and, although we focus on what’s under our immediate control (i.e., an individual’s approach to, and beliefs about, work), often this means they will build the confidence to help bring about workplace changes.
Or, even if they decide nothing will change in that workplace, they move on with the best skills and personal insights and with the confidence to know that they deserve better.
I think I’m looking forward to seeing the finished BBC Wales piece – although the jury’s still out on how long that bottom button on my blouse was open and whether my belly has made it onto the evening news! I suppose even that will be a worthy sacrifice to get the news out.😊
Looking for help with burnout? I'm now taking applications for my flexible hybrid Uptrained Brain programme here. Book a free call and let's chat about your needs...
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