Caroline Hughes: How to Prevent Burnout at Work | Episode 170Caroline Hughes: How to Prevent Burnout at Work | Episode 170
Brain Shaman
Caroline Hughes shares how her successful corporate career ended in a dramatic burnout, and how she began rebuilding her life and energy. The conversation looks at burnout’s warning signs, personal habits, and workplace cultures that can either fuel exhaustion or support healthier ways of working.
58:26•20 May 2026
Burnout, Perfectionism and Saying “Enough”: Caroline Hughes on Work and Wellbeing
Episode Overview
- Burnout often develops silently in high achievers who combine perfectionism with a strong need to please, especially in demanding environments.
- Key markers of burnout include deep physical exhaustion, growing cynicism, and harsh self‑blame, even when outward signs of stress are minimal.
- Simple tools such as an ‘energy inventory’ and separating facts from inner stories can reveal where life is out of balance and reduce overwhelm.
- Turning vague expectations into clear agreements with bosses, colleagues, and family helps prevent resentment and chronic overload.
- Teams and organisations can support sustainable performance by honest conversations, clearer boundaries around time, and modelling healthy work habits.
“Every action we take is a step towards the person we’re becoming.”
What drives someone to seek a life that doesn’t run on empty? This conversation on Brain Shaman teams up host Michael Waite with executive coach and leadership mentor Caroline Hughes to unpack occupational burnout in a way that’s raw, practical, and often darkly funny. Caroline shares her story of going from “high‑flying executive” to collapsing on her kitchen floor on the way to a multimillion‑euro leadership project.
She talks through the shock of being told she had only “13 to 15 minutes worth of energy for the day”, the terror of neurological tests, and the surprising relief when doctors suggested it might “just” be stress. Her experience makes this episode especially helpful if you’re the driven, high‑achieving type who tells yourself you’re just tired, not stressed. The discussion breaks down what burnout actually is, drawing on Christine Maslach’s research: physical exhaustion, cynicism, and harsh self‑blame.
Caroline explains how perfectionism and people‑pleasing can quietly set the stage, while organisations pile on vague expectations, constant availability, and what she calls “wellness washing”. You’ll hear simple tools rather than vague platitudes: doing an “energy inventory” across work, relationships and life; using two circles on a page to separate facts from the story in your head; and turning unspoken expectations into clear agreements with bosses, partners, and teams.
She argues that burnout is “100% preventable” when individuals and workplaces share responsibility for sustainable performance. This episode suits anyone feeling overworked, leaders worried about their teams, or people in recovery who recognise that swapping one addiction for workaholism isn’t exactly healing. It asks a tough but essential question: if every action is a step towards the person you’re becoming, are you happy with where your steps are taking you?
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