Women, Burnout Culture and the Great Resignation with Sara McElroy

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below. 

Sara McElroy is a former hustle culture devotee, ex-chief marketing officer, the Wall Street Journal’s poster girl for pandemic career burnout, and a two-time member of the Great Resignation: class of 2021 and 2022.

Following a stress-induced shingles diagnosis in early 2021, Sara decided to hit the reset button on her life; she quit her hard-won CMO job and trekked to Peru's Sacred Valley to reset her frayed nervous system.

When she returned, she relocated from the buzzy metropolis of Atlanta to the beach in South Florida for a new job and a fresh start. But she once again encountered deeply ingrained cultural issues in her new role, and ultimately, she walked away again.

Finding herself in the company of millions of other women who also set unfulfilling jobs ablaze during the Great Resignation, she returned to her journalism roots and began to explore the stories, breaking points, and defining moments that led women to seek greater opportunity mid-pandemic. These conversations became the genesis of Raze to Rise – an organization created to amplify women’s voices from the Great Resignation and inspire others to blaze new trails in their own careers.

According to a recent report, more than 50% of women plan to quit their jobs within the next two years (Deloitte, Apr 2022.) Sara and I talk about how burnout is like a death by a thousand papercuts, and why healing often takes more than a career change or a vacation.

We also discuss misogynistic and toxic workplaces, the myth of “having it all” and why the Great Resignation is representative of a much bigger shift in how women are approaching their careers. Sara shares her recent journey in becoming alcohol-free and they discuss the post-alcohol transformation that I see happen so often in my coaching practice.

Finally, we make some predictions about the future of work for women and spitball some of the possible consequences of the Great Resignation for corporate North America.

Links:

https://www.razetorise.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sarajmcelroy/
www.linkedin.com/in/sarajmcelroy

Worried you’re burning out? Take my free burnout quiz, here: https://www.wendymccallum.com/pl/198095