Beyond Burnout: Building a Culture That Restores

February 2026 GLC Monthly Learning Call Brief

Burnout is not an individual failure, it is a systemic, global challenge.

Summary of the calls

The February Call was facilitated by Scott and Josie Gwin from Resilience Resource. The topic of burnout is a perennial subject that we as a community understand to a degree but which we need to keep circling around as none of us has truly figured it out. Our Monthly Learning Calls are held on topics that fit into the broader thematic areas of organisational capacity building, survivor inclusion, current trends and collaboration and networking. With the start of the calendar year often being a busy time, we thought it was the right time for this particular topic, which also offered the opportunity to stop for 90 minutes and consider oneself as a valued human. Thinking about our own capacity is just as, if not more important, to our considerations around organisational capacity building as say for example our programme monitoring.

Scott and Josie opened up the call with the acknowledgement that we have all heard about burnout, experienced it in varying degrees and know it's an important issue. Yet, after over 50 years of the term being in use, it is still affecting people around the world, regardless of their cultural norms, in profound ways. Through a set of short slides Scott and Josie reviewed burnout and resilience understanding, strategic approaches to burnout recovery, and reviewed the training and resources that Resilience Resource offers.

What We Learned and Discussed

In the opening minutes of the call, Scott and Josie presented a key takeaway for this session: burnout is not an individual failure. Rather, it is a systemic, global challenge. This set the tone for the call to then focus on conceptual shifts that are needed to orientate how we view work, and community support.

Again, burnout is not a lack of personal resilience; it is a result of cumulative, unreleased stress deeply tied to how we define our worth. Many workers equate their self-worth with their output ("I am what I produce"). In the aid sector, this is intensified by "altruistic responsibility"—the belief that one is personally responsible for solving infinite global problems. Without intentional rhythms, the average lifespan of an aid worker is just three years. Organizations often "force" rest through high turnover rather than planning for longevity. This is not a Western-only issue. While cultural nuances differ (e.g., honor-shame dynamics in Asia or hierarchical dynamics affecting boundary-setting), the pressure to tie identity to productivity is a worldwide systemic phenomenon. And as we have talked about previously on other calls, the body often gives small warning signs over time that alert us to action being needed.

With these concepts established Scott and Josie then steered the call to discuss how to combat burnout, and that the focus must move from temporary "fixes" to fundamental changes in work philosophy. They shared stories of people they have worked with previously who had work responsibilities that were not sustainable for both themselves and their employer. The group then discussed that in doing this work and many ‘helping’ focused jobs we all deeply want to see positive change and are willing to go to great lengths to help those we are serving. However, this often comes at the detriment of ourselves, our work and the populations we are working with. Moving forward, we must work to define our responsibility as limited and shared, rather than infinite and bound to our personal identity. 

One of the key ways of finding rhythm and dynamic balance is through identifying what is ‘enough.’ What does ‘enough’ look like for work and rest in both the personal and professional spaces to prevent unsustainable striving. In the spirit of the Olympics that is currently happening in Milan the group discussed analogies of coaching to one another to find pace for the marathon we are in, much like endurance athletes. These athletes alternate intense work with deliberate recovery, what does this look like for us? How does this change over time? Scott also used the idea of a surfer having to constantly adjust their position on the board to ride the wave as an idea that we need to see where we can make small, daily adjustments to continue to regularly assess and define the ‘enough’ we are seeking.

The conversion then turned to considering the powerful damage of isolation as both a symptom and driver of burnout. Many ‘self care’ tools are done alone like journalling or exercise are practiced alone and can sometimes worsen isolation. Relational support is key to the human experience. Community, connection and being a part of a collective is integral to recovery and creating long term support. Burnout often leads to shame and withdrawal so a community of care acts as a vital buffer, diluting stress and providing a space for shared learning. In these communities, there is space for shared learning with others who have found their endurance and can share what has worked for them. While no two journeys are the same, learning and listening to others continues to open us up to possibilities and ideas for finding our own way. 

Moving forward, Scott and Josie encouraged participants to routinely assess their stress levels over time to learn and respond to what a person is experiencing. They offer resources on their website to do these assessments alongside books and journals that can provide further information and guidance in developing these rhythms.

What’s Next for the GLC

In ending each call the groups felt a sense of connection and desire to continue to simmer on the concepts introduced. Many GLC community members reflected that elements of what Scott and Josie shared can from a new or different perspective and that helped them put another piece together in their journey of burnout resilience. The group also recognised that the GLC is a space of connection and community that does strive to be an anecdote for isolation and loneliness. Thus we are so thankful for you being a part of this community, however you connect with us.

Resources shared

Links to resources created by Scott and Josie the Resiliency Resource Team can be found on theresilienceresource.org

Kneath (Chab Dai) shared a great article that discusses the complexity of self-care shown through illustrations

Other GLC calls on Burnout and resilience:

Sustainable Self Care Practices for Network Leaders (and all those serving the movement)

How to Help When Mental Health Care Isn’t Available

GLC Monthly Learning Call June 2025 - Strategic Resilience: Protecting Capacity, Purpose and Mental Agility in Chronic High-Stress Systems