11 Comments
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Denise Mills's avatar

No burnout policies here in Australia. I was lucky my burnout was during covid, which meant I could work from home and fall asleep every 2 hours (this made my work stretch out till the night time, but still... if I hadn't been able to work from home I don't know how I would have survived).

Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

The WFH life really does help. But for me it’s a pro and a con because I struggle to turn off. It’s something I’m trying to improve. Going to the spa instead of working also helps with that. lol

Jos P's avatar

Dude i want burnout pay

Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Haha. Actually, Jos, I thought maybe you were Dutch. Your first name is popular in the NL. I also want it! But unfortunately it’s not part of freelancing… win some and lose some.

Jos P's avatar

Yeah (yos). Glad you’re finding balance as a youngster. I’m much older and I didn’t find a way to stop constantly running until my mid-50s. Nothing changed but my mind.

Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Maybe I’m an oldster in the body of a youngster. ✌🏻I’m feeling that mindset shift!

Susannah Mary Leopold's avatar

Same in Austria. You'd obviously need your GP or (more likely) a psychiatrist to sign you off though. There's a limit to how long you'd be on full pay for - about 3 months, I think. Then you have to apply for something else. Moving away from being self-employed cured my perfectionism 😅 Great you've managed without having to do that!

Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Yes yes. Same in NL according to what some friends have shared with me. But I believe you can stay on burnout leave for up to 1 or so in the NL as long as the doctor still thinks you need it. In NYC, where I’m from, I don’t think burnout is in employers’ vocabulary. Although I have not been employed full time for a long time. Tbh, I think aging and caregiving for my mother who has Alzheimer’s has made me less of a perfectionist. Life’s too short!!!

Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

I'm totally saving this and linking to it in next week's newsletter because I've actually written something similar (but different).

I totally understand where you're coming from. There's always that nagging feeling that you should be doing more, working longer, etc. You have to consciously take a step back to remind yourself that hey...you run your business...it does not run you.

Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Love that! You run your business, it doesn’t run you. So right! Thanks for linking to my piece in your next post. Would love that! Can’t wait to read it. 🫶

Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

If anyone cares to share, I'd love to know how you navigate lowering expectations of yourself and others and how you manage to care less.