When Career Advancement Cost You More Than It Pays

Amanda Miller Littlejohn
Jul 17
1 min read

I have some news…✨

I was honored to be interviewed in SHRM this month for an article exploring the hidden costs of career advancement, and what HR leaders can do to recognize and prevent burnout.

As someone who has spent years coaching high achievers (and recovering from burnout myself), this piece felt…important.

The fact that SHRM is commissioning research and reporting on the mental health toll of overwork tells me that this conversation is shifting to spaces that have the power to change things.

We’re finally starting to name what so many professionals have felt in silence:

📌That wellness is not a renewable resource we can keep drawing from without consequence.

📌That burnout isn’t a personal failing, but a predictable outcome of how we reward overperformance and neglect boundaries.

📌That high achievers, especially those with marginalized identities or fragile financial backgrounds, are more likely to feel they have no choice but to push beyond healthy limits.

This article also affirmed something I’ve known intuitively and witnessed firsthand with my coaching clients: We can’t keep pretending that sacrificing our health, our relationships, and our sense of self is just part of the job description.

When I wrote The Rest Revolution, it was in part because I knew that no amount of individual grit could offset cultures that normalize burnout.

So it’s encouraging to see these ideas surfacing in leadership circles, and not just among those of us doing the personal recovery work.

Thank you to Emily Reigart for this thoughtful piece and for including my voice in the conversation.