We’re in the Burnout Backlash Moment

And it's time we did something about it

Hi, hello, it’s me - your friendly strategist, former fash-tech founder and straight-talking mentor who’s had one too many Work Chats on the verge of a breakdown (mine, or someone else’s).

I’ve been feeling one deadline, one appointment, one delayed payment, one missed opportunity away from a burnout for many years.

But I am COMPLETELY OVER THE HUSTLE.

I am over the glossy, toxic productivity culture. It’s not cool to be “too busy” anymore.
We’ve seen what “girlbossing” did to an entire generation of women - high-functioning exhaustion with a smile (and laminated brows).
We’ve leaned in, and now we’re falling over.

We don’t need more self-optimisation. God, I cannot take much more habit-stacking or bio-hacking or milestone-smashing or fitness-tracking.
We need honesty. And we need tools that actually help.

The Burnout Backlash Is Here

I call it the burnout backlash moment - and it’s not just a venting, it’s a movement. Over some of my recent posts about working parents and working motherhood, I’ve spoked about being exhausted. But as one of my good friends (Angela of YAWUW) reminded me; this system is designed to keep us exhausted. Too exhausted to fight or speak up. Well it’s time we changed that.

More and more of us are saying:

• “I’ve built the thing. Why am I still I am still running at full pace?”

• “Is this… it? Is this what I’ve spent my whole life working towards?”

• “I’m failing at everything - at parenting, at work, at relationships”

• “I can’t do it anymore. I need to step away from my career”

• “Where is the BREAK? The rest? The reset?”

I don’t know, but it feels like the veil is falling and we understand the capitalist trap that “performance culture” has created (ie, it never ends). We’re craving real conversations about how to build something meaningful; something purposeful; without losing ourselves along the way. Being able to do what we love, while being able to be still, be present, have careers (if we want), spend (more) time with our family (if we need)

That’s Why I’m Writing Work Chats

It’s the book I wish I’d had when I was starting out on my career journey.
The one I needed when I hit burnout.
The one I now want to give to every brilliant, ambitious, big-hearted person trying to make a mark - without losing their mind or their spark.

It’s not a traditional business book. It’s not a memoir. It’s both. It’s real. It’s what I’ve learned from:

• Launching and closing a company

• Working across brand, tech, creative and community spaces

• Mentoring founders, freelancers, and “I’ve-had-enough-ers”

• Burning out. And then figuring out how to build differently

• Having two children with absolutely no maternity leave

• Grieving the loss of my mother while trying to work and trying to parent

• Feeling compelled to find a different way to do it

What You’ll Find in Work Chats

Each chapter is a conversation. The kind you wish your boss, your mentor, or even your past self had with you.

You’ll get:

• Strategy and real (honest and raw) stories

• Hard truths and soft landings - this is not an easy path forward, but it’s a path that needs to be carved

• Frameworks and f*ck it moments - how to ask for more, how to do less, how to walk away

• Tools you can actually use to set boundaries, to create space, to find a different way to do things

It’s not about leaning in. It’s about choosing how you show up in your own way.

What I’d Love

Share this post with a friend who’s been questioning it all.
Tell me what your Work Chats have been lately.
Or just… stay in the orbit. There’s more to come.
Jennie x