Caring as much as you do was killing you

We need to talk about burnout in the arts, and how to recognise it.
Photo: Verne Ho via Unsplash. A figure with the body bent and hugging the legs, sitting on a pink carpet.

Burnout is an occupational hazard in many people-focused jobs. People in these roles routinely go “above and beyond” for the benefit of others – often in the face of funding cuts and policies that make their work harder than it needs to be.

Since COVID-19, concern has grown about burnout in the arts and culture sector. However, burnout isn’t a new problem for artists. As one arts worker told me in a 2019 interview:

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