Burnout expert says 20% rule will prevent you from getting too stressed at work

Burnout is real guys. Sure, a lot of people might feel a bit tired out or just over their job the end of the day.

But burnout is a whole other level. NHS say it is the result ‘of a prolonged period of stress which negatively affects your wellbeing’.

Having emotional, behavioural and physical symptoms, it can be subtle at first but the NHS say these can ‘progressively deteriorate and become overwhelming’.

So, it’s important to take measures to look after yourself if you find that work is getting a bit too much.

Over on TikTok, Dr Clair Ashley gives ‘burnout, stress and career’ advice to people working ‘high demand jobs’.

A ‘burnout expert’, she claims the ’20 percent rule’ will reduce your risk of being burnt out.

Getty Stock Photo

She explains the method: “If you spend 20 percent of your time at work doing work that is personally meaningful for yourself, you will reduce your burnout risk by 50 percent.”

That includes work that ‘gets you out of bed in the morning’ or ‘puts fire in your belly’, not that fills you with dread.

And Dr Ashley claims that this is ‘very, very achievable’ to do.

She explains the study comes from a ‘huge American study’ on doctors, which was conducted in 2009, where they found '20 percent is the sweet spot and doing more than 20 percent didn’t have any further benefit on burnout risk'.

Also those spending less than 20 percent had 'higher rates of burnout'.

Dr Ashley advises you to think about what ‘personally meaningful work’ actually means to you, and to audit how much time you’re spending doing that at the moment.

“And thirdly, think about you could tweak your role or set some goals so that you could aim for a promotion, or a side-step, or get some additional responsibilities, or go on a course, or do some professional development – anything that gets you to that 20 percent mark." she said.

TikTok / @drclaireashley

“Because it will reduce your burnout risk by 50 percent.”

Obviously, not everyone is going to be working in jobs where they can manage their time like this, but it is a beneficial practice if you can get it in.

And one user wrote: “It doesn’t protect you from toxic management though, which caused my burnouts.”

One even asked: “What about when your job is rubbish and you literally do it because it’s the only job you could get and you find none of it meaningful?”

I mean, it might be worth looking elsewhere again if that’s how you really feel.

And a lucky user wrote: “Very blessed to say I finally found a job where I love like 70 percent of my tasks.”

To which Dr Ashley replied: “This is great! Hold onto that job.”

Topics: Health, TikTok, Mental Health

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_