The Position Papers (1/3) | Favourite Positions Podcast

Burnout is usually framed as doing too much of what you don’t care about. But what happens when the exhaustion comes from things you genuinely love?

In this opening episode of The Position Papers mini-series, Alexandra Young explores a quieter, more complex form of burnout – the kind that exists alongside high engagement, ambition and growth. Drawing on research and her experience of balancing an MBA with a full-time leadership role, she reframes burnout as a design and misalignment problem rather than a personal failure.

This episode explores why highly invested people are often most at risk, how competing commitments create hidden strain, and what actually helps when stepping back isn’t realistic or desirable.

In this episode

• Why burnout and engagement can exist at the same time
• The difference between working hard and cognitively carrying work
• How pace misalignment between individuals and systems creates friction
• The hidden guilt of caring about multiple things at once
• Why traditional burnout advice often misses ambitious, invested people
• Burnout as a design problem rather than a workload problem

Five shifts discussed

1. Defining what “good enough” looks like in the current season
2. Naming trade-offs out loud instead of carrying them privately
3. Designing recovery before depletion
4. Being explicit about how you work best
5. Recognising early personal warning signs

Key questions from the episode

• Is your current pace chosen or accumulated?
• What trade-off are you carrying silently?
• If you redesigned your week around how you actually work best, what would change?

Research referenced

• DHR Global (2024). Workforce Trends Report.
• Found 82% of workers report burnout while 88% report high engagement, highlighting that burnout and engagement can coexist.
• Lang, J. J. et al. (2023). Are algorithmically controlled gig workers deeply burned out? BMC Psychology.
• Demonstrates that burnout and work engagement can be positively correlated.
• World Health Organisation. ICD-11 Burnout Definition.
• Defines burnout as chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
• Primeast (2025). The Manager’s Guide to Spotting Employee Burnout.
• Practitioner research on how burnout can coexist with high responsibility and investment at work.
• DHR Global (2024). Generational burnout findings.
• Shows Gen Z and millennials report the highest burnout rates across the workforce.

About The Position Papers

The Position Papers is a three-part Favourite Positions mini-series on business school, confidence and growth, recorded during Alex’s MBA alongside full-time leadership. Each episode explores the intersection of ambition, identity and modern work.

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