I Quit

After spending 25 years climbing the corporate ladder, I quit.

I got sick.

I burned out.

I woke up.

For many years my job provided great things, including stability and security. I got to travel, experience cool shit and work with some incredible people. I found a career that allowed me to channel my competitive drive into winning work, building teams, and empowering others. I opted-in. I loved it and I was good at it. I also got to play a lot of golf, which was by far the best perk of the job. Then everything changed.

As some of you may know, I’ve been battling a serious chronic health condition that required me to take extended medical leave. I had been pushing through extreme pain, chronic fatigue, and brain fog for months, and it finally caught up with me. Up until that point in my professional and athletic career, I’d been rewarded for my tenacity, drive and work ethic. This was one thing, however, that I could not out work. I had to step back from everything to focus on my health. I needed to rest. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was also suffering from burnout.

While going through treatment, I had time to reflect on a lot. My career, what I’d accomplished, what I was most proud of, what I’d change. Who helped me along my journey, and who hurt me. Who I may have hurt, even unintentionally. My unhealthy relationship with perfectionism and productivity, and where that stemmed from. How intertwined chronic stress, burnout, chronic illnesses and autoimmune diseases are. How women are affected disproportionately higher than men. How people of the global majority are affected disproportionally higher than white people. How broken our healthcare system is. How quickly we dispose of people when they are inconvenient or speak truth to power. Like I said, I processed a lot of things and woke up to what was making me, and so many others so sick.

The biggest takeaway from my experience so far:? The existing way we’ve been working, isn’t working. It’s causing a mental health and chronic illness crisis that no one seems to be doing anything about. A recent Global Talent Trends report from Mercer found that 82% of employees are at risk of burnout this year. Let that sink in.?

The cause for concern isn’t just because employees are working longer hours. It’s not fixed by a seminar on how to have better work/life balance. The problems are systemic. It’s repeated exposure to toxic work culture, sexual harassment, misogyny, narcissistic abuse, racism, performative and transactional equity work, and homophobia, all of which are alive and well in corporate America, and actively causing harm. I know from experience. ?

You’re probably wondering why I’m posting this here, or shocked at my candor. 82%, that’s why. I’m no longer afraid to say the quiet part out loud, because we can’t afford to ignore it. Speaking my truth is how I’m healing the wounds caused by corporate. I know I’m not alone in struggling with burnout, and if sharing my story helps anyone, then it was worth the risk.?

I’m positive I will ruffle some feathers. I already have. There will be others who question my decision to leave. To them I say this:? It takes a lot of courage to walk away from a career and life path you are on. That you’ve worked hard for. Made yourself sick for. You’re conditioned to think that you are a failure if you don’t reach the top, wherever that is. Some arbitrary place that always seems to shift when you get close. Climbing the ladder came at a cost for me. My mental, physical and emotional health. That doesn’t make me weak, it makes me human. I don’t feel like I’m walking away from anything. I’m running towards creating a better way of working. My illness forced me to evaluate what’s important, and I chose myself. I’m opting-out.

I’m taking the skills that I learned from my 25 years in corporate and I’m combining them with the awareness of someone who is now fully awake. I can see how broken our systems are, and I’m doing something about it. For my own self-interest, and because I want to live in a world where we can all win. Where true equity exists, where advocating for racial and gender equity is not a career-limiting activity. I believe that this is possible in my lifetime, but I’m done waiting. New systems don’t build themselves, and it’s not done by one. I’m calling in other co-conspirators for change. But first, we need to heal.

I created the Pancake Collective to provide support and resources for those who are burning out or battling serious health conditions because of chronic stress. You are not alone, and we’d love to help. I’m building a collective with educational resources to help identify and manage burnout symptoms, workshops, virtual meetups, peer mentorship, and book discussions. I believe that we can all heal and reconnect to build a more sustainable, regenerative and equitable way of working, in community. One that values people and the planet before profit.?

If any of this resonates with you, I’d love for you to follow along as I prepare to launch my new business.

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In health,

Dana