Everyone is burning out it seems. Burnout stories are everywhere. From Business Insider to The Guardian, people find their daily news feeds chock-a-block with dread and desperate headlines:

“I resigned from a 6‑figure job and gave up my pension after burnout broke me.”

“Burnout and brain fog: How the hustle culture is messing with young minds — Here’s why experts are alarmed.”

“‘I feel completely drained’: young professionals swamped by ‘infinite workdays’.”

Stories of burnout are so pervasive that we take it for granted that more or less everyone is, is close to, or will soon be, burnt out. It’s a certainty.

And the advice comes just as predictably. Unplug, meditate, cut back, get more rest, get more exercise, eat better, get rid of your senescent cells, gobble zinc, vitamin D, niacin, these will get you tip top again. All good things in themselves, but what if it’s missing the point?

What if burnout isn’t really about the exhausting grind at all?

What if burnout is actually about misalignment? Creating pain like an out of place joint or vertebrae. Like persistent neck trouble or those agonizingly tight hip flexors.

Taken this way, burnout might not be a sign that you’ve been working too hard. It might be that you’ve been working disjointed from your values, too long in a role or with a company that doesn’t fit who you are or what matters to you.

A Modern Crisis of Meaning, Not Energy

Recent studies back this idea. A 2023 McKinsey Health Institute report found that people with a low sense of purpose in their work were nearly three times more likely to experience burnout. Those with strong alignment between personal values and professional responsibilities reported better mental health, more engagement, and longer tenure.

In other words, the literature suggests burnout is more about being out of place.

We all know a real or apocryphal story about the executive who’s “winning”; high salary, big title, prestigious company, but who finds themselves sleepless and staring at the wall at 2 a.m. wondering why they feel so empty and alone when they ‘have it all’. Maybe you’ve felt this way yourself.

If it didn’t feel so much like work, would there be so many burnt out people?

The Cost of Misalignment

Misalignment has the highest personal cost, but it also costs companies. Gallup data shows that only 33% of North American employees feel engaged in their work. The rest are checked out, phoning it in, or quietly quitting.

For companies, this means the pain of things like high turnover, low morale, slower innovation, lost institutional knowledge, just to name a few. And casual dress or pizza Fridays don’t quite cure the deeper issues.

When someone is in the wrong role, even if they’re talented, even if they’re doing the job well, even if they come to work with a smile on their face, there’s a slow erosion that starts to show up.

They stop speaking up. They stop caring. Things become ‘good enough’. They become transactional. Then one day maybe they get fired for not being a ‘team player’, or they leave to try to find something else, something that fits better. (Spoiler alert: they often don’t find it.)

This is where recruitment can get it wrong. Especially more and more as business and industry lean heavily into automated keyword filtering and invariably hire for resume alignment, not value alignment. Hiring is treated like a simple formula, but the method that’s being used isn’t adding up.

Burnout Is Really a Recruitment Problem

Burnout starts before someone ever steps into a role. It starts before the point of hire.

Companies and recruiters need to spend more time getting to know candidates better. But few do because time is money. But if candidates and companies are going to see the best outcomes for fit, satisfaction and longevity, then it’s just a bullet that needs to be bitten. One could argue that more time upfront getting alignment right can be more profitable later, since it could reduce churn and sick days, and improve culture and satisfaction.

For me, this just comes down to asking better questions and truly listening to what someone is and isn’t saying. Our role as executive recruiters isn’t to expediently fill gaps for companies. Our purpose is to act as a champion and advocate for both the company and candidate and do all we can to ensure synergy. It means both sides need to be really honest about who they are and what they need and expect.

When alignment clicks into place, it changes everything for both parties. Success is pretty easy to measure when you get glowing ‘thank you’ emails from the people we’ve placed and the companies we’ve placed them with.

Be True to Your Values

The right role fit for anyone is based on shared values and purpose. If that’s not there, a career becomes a job, and work becomes a task to endure.

Values-aligned leaders create healthier cultures. They bring purposeful clarity, which makes for happier teams. They make better decisions because their values match the mission. They feel good coming to work and sharing their full selves. It’s infectious.

Now, being true to your values is easier said than done. Careers are hard to find, and we all feel that being employed is better than not. Great candidates are also hard to find. So it’s also very true we take what’s available, and we can’t be idealistic about it either. Bills need to be paid, mouths fed, kids clothed. Projects need to be completed, quarterly targets need to be met. These are all real things.

So what can you do if you’re just feeling like the right role isn’t there for you now, and you can’t afford to wait for something better?

And if you’re a company, what can you do when you really need that role filled fast and don’t see the perfect candidate?

What Survival Decision-Making Looks Like

If you’re a candidate

For most people, there’s a middle ground between survival and self-actualization.

If you’re considering a role that doesn’t feel like the right fit, or if you’re in a role now that you can’t afford to leave yet, here are a few things to consider.

Protect One Corner of the Work

If you can’t love the job, find one part of it you can see yourself shaping or owning. Maybe it’s mentoring someone. Maybe it’s building a process you believe in. Maybe it’s how you treat your team.

Alignment doesn’t have to be everything, everywhere, all at once. It can start small. Having choice, even in small ways, can build confidence and restore energy.

Reinvest in Yourself

If your job drains you, invest energy somewhere that doesn’t. Take a course, build a skill, reignite a side project that gives you a sense of purpose and confidence and keeps your skills sharp. That side project might even become your main thing.

Don’t Confuse Survival with Failure

This one matters most. If you’re staying in or considering a misaligned role because it puts food on the table, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’ve prioritized responsibility. That’s not giving up that’s showing up. That’s ‘adulting’.

If you can stay awake to what you want, even if you can’t have it yet, then you haven’t settled. You’re just biding your time. That’s a difference worth keeping in mind.

If you’re a company

Sometimes the luxury of a perfect match isn’t available. You’ve got a gap, you’ve got deadlines, and you need someone in the seat now. But rushing that hire has consequences, especially at the leadership or strategic level.

Here’s are some things you can consider instead of hiring in panic mode.

Shift the Role, Not the Standard

If you can’t find the right person for the role as written, revisit the role. Can the responsibilities be divided temporarily? Can a contract or fractional hire carry the load while you search with more intention?

Stay Honest About What’s Essential

Sometimes roles get overloaded with task wish lists. If your candidate pool isn’t delivering, the issue might be scope and definition, not quality. Your actual role description might be the thing that needs a neck adjustment.

Strip the role back to its core. Forget about the list of tasks. What outcomes do you want?

Making Adjustments

Burnout doesn’t come from hard work. It comes from the wrong work. And poorly fitted candidates aren’t broken or bad, your hiring methods might need adjusting. The reality is when you find alignment, whether you’re a candidate or a company, it’s a lot like that feeling you get after a visit to your chiropractor. It’s a great relief.

Want help finding the right executive talent for your company? Reach us at Beprofound@profoundtalent.com