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Burnout is showing up like a bad roommate — always around, always making noise, and never cleaning up. And somehow, we’re all pretending it’s normal.
I recently sat down with Kat Kibben, founder of Three Ears Media, LinkedIn Top Voice, and author of The Bounce Back Factor. We cracked open this whole burnout mess. It wasn’t just theory or advice from a mountaintop. It was an honest talk about what it’s like to lead, write, and work when you’re running on fumes.
Burnout Feels Different Now…and there’s a reason
“We’re all operating from a place of fear,” Kat said early on in our chat. They weren’t exaggerating. If you’re a recruiter, you know the drill — layoffs, AI hype, hiring freezes, “future of work” think pieces, rinse and repeat. You wake up every day wondering if your job is next or if you’ll need to explain your value again (to someone who doesn’t understand what you do).
But Kat put words to something I hadn’t really named: decision fatigue. We’re constantly being asked to pivot, perform, and produce. All without a break. And when you make decisions from a place of fear, you’re not building the future. You’re just trying to survive the now.
Leaders Are Tired Too…but hide it well
Here’s the thing: Most leaders are also burned out. They just don’t say it out loud.
“We were taught to be machines,” Kat explained. Especially for Millennials, the message was clear: If you work hard, things will work out. But now? You could be clocking 80 hours and still not get the promotion, the pay, or the peace you expected.
So leaders keep pretending. They smile through the Zoom. They offer encouragement in Slack. But underneath it? They’re in survival mode too.
What if We Told the Truth?
The most powerful part of our conversation? When we talked about honesty. What if we told our teams the truth — that we’re struggling? That we don’t have all the answers? That we’re human?
“Honesty doesn’t make you weak,” Kat said. “It makes you real. And that’s what people need right now.”
Being real doesn’t mean dumping your feelings on your team. It means naming what’s hard. It means modeling boundaries. It means showing people that rest is not a reward for burnout — it’s part of the job.
We Can’t Fix Burnout with Calendars
One of my favorite parts of Kat’s new book is that it doesn’t give you another checklist. It’s not “5 Ways to Be More Resilient” — because that’s not what we need. We don’t need productivity hacks. We need permission.
Permission to stop pretending. Permission to say “not today.” Permission to redesign work so it’s not just one long to‑do list with a paycheck at the end.
So What Do We Do Next?
We talked about boundaries. Not the Instagram‑mable kind — but the gritty, daily choices. Saying no. Logging off. Protecting your peace. Kat calls it “creating your bounce back,” and it’s not just about rest. It’s about resilience — real resilience. The kind that helps you stand back up without losing yourself.
If you’re in talent acquisition, you know the pressure. Hiring managers want faster fill times. Candidates want answers. Leadership wants results. But none of it works if you’re running on empty.
So here’s your permission slip: Be honest. Take a break. Redesign what “working hard” looks like. And let’s build a future of work that doesn’t require us to burn out just to belong.
Why I Wrote This
This post came from my conversation on The JD Fix with Kat Kibben about their book The Bounce Back Factor. We talked honestly about burnout, boundaries, and what it means to lead in 2025 when everything feels like a mess. If you’re managing job descriptions, teams, or anything else in talent acquisition, burnout is real — and so is the need for change.
At Ongig, we help companies clean up their job descriptions so candidates know what they’re signing up for — and recruiters aren’t stuck editing outdated templates from 2008. If you’re ready to make job descriptions part of the solution (not another stressor), request a demo.
FAQs
What is The Bounce Back Factor about?
It’s about real resilience — not hustle culture. Kat Kibben’s book tackles burnout and offers practical insights on how to recover without guilt.
Why is burnout different now?
We’re facing constant uncertainty: layoffs, AI, global tensions, and more. That uncertainty creates decision fatigue and drains our energy.
How can leaders support burned-out teams?
Start with honesty. Name what’s hard. Model boundaries. Encourage rest without guilt.
What’s the role of job descriptions in burnout?
Poorly written JDs can add confusion and increase workload. Good ones save time and set expectations clearly — reducing stress across the board.
How does Ongig help with burnout?
By streamlining job descriptions, Ongig saves teams hours of rewriting and reviewing. That’s time you can spend leading — not just editing.
