I spent fourteen years in the financial services sector, navigating an industry where long hours were simply part of the landscape. Twelve-hour days felt normal, weekend work was expected, and the relentless pace was just how business was done.
Like many of my peers, I equated busyness with productivity and assumed that working harder would naturally lead to better results.
Over time, I began to question whether this approach to work was truly sustainable or effective. This reflection eventually led me to establish Invicta Vita, my organisation dedicated to addressing what I now recognise as one of the most pressing issues in today’s business landscape: executive burnout.
The statistics paint a stark picture of our collective exhaustion. At least 79% of UK employees experience burnout, with around 35% reporting extreme or high levels of burnout. Even more alarming, 88% of UK employees have experienced burnout in the last 2 years. For those in leadership positions, the stakes are exponentially higher. A staggering 75% of C-suite executives are seriously considering leaving their positions for better wellbeing support.
But here’s what troubles me most: we’ve created a culture where admitting fatigue is seen as weakness, where vulnerability is viewed as incompetence, and where rest is perceived as laziness. This toxic narrative is killing our leaders, literally.
As founders and business leaders, we’ve somehow convinced ourselves that suffering is synonymous with success. We wear our exhaustion like armour, boasting about sleepless nights and missed meals as if they were achievements worth celebrating. But what if I told you that this approach isn’t just damaging, it’s counterproductive?
The research is unequivocal: rest isn’t the enemy of productivity; it’s its greatest ally. When we prioritise sleep, we’re not being indulgent, we’re being strategic. Studies show that sleep-deprived leaders display less emotional self-control and make decisions comparable to someone who is legally intoxicated. Moderate sleep deprivation impairs cognitive abilities to such an extent that someone sleeping six hours for two weeks performs like someone who pulled an all-nighter.
Exercise, too, plays a crucial role in executive performance. Regular physical activity doesn’t steal time from work, it enhances every hour we spend working by improving memory, cognitive flexibility, and emotional resilience. A 2021 study found that aerobic exercise helps individuals recover from mental exhaustion, boosting motivation and overall wellbeing.
At Invicta Vita, we’ve observed a fascinating paradox: the most successful individuals we work with aren’t those who work the longest hours, but those who work the most strategically. They understand that sustainable success requires sustainable practices. They’ve learned to delegate not out of laziness, but out of wisdom. They’ve discovered that saying ‘no’ more frequently allows them to say ‘yes’ to what truly matters.
The shift from hustle culture to rest culture isn’t about working less, it’s about working smarter. It’s about recognising that creativity flourishes when the mind has space to breathe, that innovation emerges from reflection, not just action, and that the best decisions come from leaders who are mentally and emotionally present.
I’ve witnessed this transformation countless times. Founders who initially resist the idea of taking breaks, who view delegation as abdication, gradually discover that rest enhances rather than diminishes their performance. Their creativity returns, their decision-making sharpens, and their teams respond to leaders who are emotionally regulated and mentally clear.
The conversation around executive wellbeing must shift from stigma to strategy. We need to reframe rest as a competitive advantage, not a personal failing. We must challenge the narrative that equates busyness with importance and exhaustion with dedication.
Despite some improvements since 2024, in managing stress and preventing burnout, the UK workforce continues to struggle with the effects, with one in five workers still needing time off work due to mental health struggles caused by stress. This isn’t a personal crisis, it’s an economic imperative. Burnt-out leaders create burnt-out organisations, and burnt-out organisations cannot compete in today’s complex marketplace.
As I reflect on my journey from banker to advocate for executive wellbeing, I’m struck by how revolutionary the concept of rest has become. That something so fundamental to human functioning now requires advocacy speaks volumes about how far we’ve strayed from sustainable success.
The future belongs to leaders who understand that taking care of themselves isn’t selfish, it’s strategic. Who recognise that vulnerability isn’t weakness it’s courage. And who grasp that in a world obsessed with doing more, the ultimate competitive advantage might just be the wisdom to rest well.
Read more:
The executive burnout: Why rested founders build better businesses