Truth, Lies and Work

185. Burnout Isn’t Your Fault (But Here’s How You Fix It), with Cait Donovan

Apr 3, 2025

46:57

Welcome back to Truth, Lies and Work, the award-winning psychology podcast from the HubSpot Podcast Network, hosted by Chartered Occupational Psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott. 🎧✨

🎙 Meet Our Guest: Cait Donovan

This week we're joined by Cait Donovan, burnout expert, speaker, author, and host of the hugely popular FRIED The Burnout Podcast. Cait’s unique approach blends modern biobehavioural health science with Chinese medicine, providing powerful insights into burnout recovery and resilience. 🌟🔥

Cait Donovan challenges the conventional narrative about burnout—that it's solely caused by individuals or their workplaces. She introduces the concept of the "Six Buckets" of burnout, highlighting that burnout results from a mix of factors including family background, personality, work environment, cultural pressures, physical health, and community support.

📌 What's Covered in This Episode?

Cait shares why the typical strategies for preventing burnout often fail, and why real recovery involves filling multiple "burnout protection buckets". She reveals how leaders can meaningfully support teams experiencing burnout without taking on the role of therapist, and explains why addressing burnout requires collective accountability rather than blame.

You'll hear practical advice on how to align personal and organisational values to build a healthier workplace culture, learn the science behind why asking for help is critical, and find out how to turn burnout recovery into resilience and growth.

If you're experiencing burnout, managing others through stressful periods, or simply looking to foster a healthier workplace, Cait's insights are essential listening.

💡 Key Takeaways From Cait Donovan

Cait explains why burnout isn't a simple blame game—neither fully the individual's fault nor solely the company's responsibility. Discover why collective resilience and shared accountability are vital to genuinely overcoming burnout.

Understand how "values misalignment" between what companies say and do can intensify burnout, and get practical strategies to genuinely support yourself and others through recovery.

🔗 Connect with Cait Donovan

Website:

https://www.caitdonovan.com/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitdonovanspeaks

Spotify (FRIED The Burnout Podcast):

https://open.spotify.com/show/2VhzgpY24d6xDhxPLGn9Ex

Apple Podcasts (FRIED The Burnout Podcast):

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fried-the-burnout-podcast/id1469939920

🎧 Coming Up Next

Join us next Tuesday for our regular episode packed with workplace news, expert insights, another provocative hot take, and our popular Workplace Surgery—solving your toughest workplace dilemmas. 🔥🎙

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Thanks for tuning into Truth, Lies and Work—see you next week! 👋

General Support with Mental Health and Well-being

If you have been affected by any of the themes in this episode, or are currently struggling with your mental health, the following resources may be useful.

Mind website: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/

If you are feeling in distress or despair, including feelings of suicide, please do consider calling the Samaritans for free on 116 123 (UK) or email jo@samaritans.org (Rest of World)