Chronic Stress: Connecting the Dots between Layoffs and Burnout with Cait Donovan (Originally Posted on Nerd Journey 10/29/24)

Burnout sneaks up slowly, leaving you drained and wondering what went wrong. Cait Donovan joins Nick Korte on Nerd Journey to talk about how chronic stress builds over time, why layoffs can be a breaking point or a relief, and what it really takes to recover. She breaks down burnout risk factors, the role of personal history and workplace culture, and why some people hit a wall while others find a way forward. 

How do you know when it’s time to make a change? What steps can you take to regain control? Cait shares strategies for protecting yourself, setting boundaries, and rethinking resilience in a way that actually works.

Quotes

• “Burnout has to be the end result of a long period of chronic stress. It’s like chronic, chronic stress.” (06:03 | Cait Donovan)
• “Sometimes we have to start with the really practical stuff and allow that to shift our emotional state rather than sitting and working through an emotion while the stressor is still alive for you. We have to shift the stressor so that you can work through the emotion and not the other way around.” (17:15 | Cait Donovan)
• “If you are in a situation that for some reason is toxic or sort of impossible to ignore, you can’t meditate your way out of it.” (26:51 | Cait Donovan)
• “I think that it’s wise to remember how much power and autonomy you do have in your life. When you are under chronic stress, we tend to end up under this illusion that we don’t have any control and that we don’t have enough autonomy. And if you’re feeling that way right now, I would challenge you to challenge that.” (50:28 | Cait Donovan)

Links

This episode was also published on Nick's show Nerd Journey - https://nerd-journey.com/chronic-stress-connecting-the-dots-between-layoffs-and-burnout-with-cait-donovan/

Nick's Layoff Resources Page (the most impactful conversations and advice from his show on burnout, including the one with Cait) - https://nerd-journey.com/layoffresources/

Nick's blog post that speaks to his love for podcasting and how the layoff resources page came to be https://blog.thenetworknerd.com/2025/01/25/a-healthy-obsession-lessons-learned-from-300-episodes-of-the-nerd-journey-podcast/.

Previous episodes featuring Cait in which she shared her story of burning out and the transition into coaching and speaking

https://nerd-journey.com/across-the-patterns-of-burnout-with-cait-donovan-1-2/

https://nerd-journey.com/the-beautiful-right-turns-with-cait-donovan-2-2/

Some of the most impactful episodes featuring technologists sharing their stories of burnout:

https://nerd-journey.com/riding-the-burnout-wave-with-jonathan-f-2-2/

https://nerd-journey.com/countdown-to-burnout-with-tom-hollingsworth-3-3/

https://nerd-journey.com/management-and-the-hypergrowth-startup-with-andrew-miller-2-3/

https://nerd-journey.com/pause-and-step-outside-with-andrew-miller-3-3/

https://nerd-journey.com/burnout-and-recovery-with-josh-fidel/

Connect with Cait:

Cait Donovan is a keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast, specializing in burnout, mis/match, and sustainable performance at work. She partners with corporate leaders, teams, and professional associations through keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions that treat burnout as data, not failure, to help organizations reduce burnout without blame or shame and build healthier, high performing cultures.

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm