Last Updated on October 8, 2026 by Fly High Coaching
Learning how to overcome job burnout starts with recognizing it, and that is harder than it sounds for high achievers. Burnout rarely shows up overnight. It builds slowly through late nights, interrupted sleep, and treating every email like an emergency. Are you just working hard, or are you already a few steps past your capacity?
In this episode, you will learn more about how to overcome job burnout before it takes a toll on your mental and physical health. Our host and CEO Porschia, alongside our guest, Katherine Thompson, will share their insight on the real difference between stress and burnout, and why top performers are often the last to notice the warning signs.
They will also discuss the 3, daily check-ins most busy professionals skip, and the 3 skills Katherine teaches to help people recover, starting with setting clear boundaries. The conversation also covers the 2 habits that make work-life balance possible, the common misconception that keeps high performers stuck, and what organizations can do to build workplace resilience.
Katherine Thompson is the Executive Director of Spero Psychological Services and an organizational consultant focused on workplace mental health, culture, and sustainable performance. She partners with leaders and teams to reduce burnout drivers, strengthen boundaries, and build healthier systems, especially in high-pressure environments.
What you’ll learn:
- How to overcome job burnout by catching the “slow creep” before it takes hold
- Why stress and burnout are not the same, and how to tell which one you are in
- 3, simple, daily check-ins that show you when you are running past your capacity
- How to set boundaries at work when you are the go-to top performer
- The 2 habits that make work-life balance realistic, not a myth
- How companies can build workplace resilience and respond when an employee is struggling
Resources:
- Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Today, we are talking about how to overcome job burnout with Kathryn Thompson. Kathryn Thompson is the executive director of Spero Psychological Services and an organizational consultant focused on workplace mental health, culture, and sustainable performance. She partners with leaders and teams to reduce burnout drivers, strengthen boundaries, and build healthier systems that support people and results, especially in high-pressure environments.
Porschia: Hi, Kathryn. How are [00:01:00] you today?
Katherine: I’m doing well. How about yourself?
Porschia: I am doing well also. I am excited to have you with us to discuss overcoming job burnout. But first, we wanna know a little more about you. Okay. So tell me about seven-year-old Kathryn.
Katherine: So seven-year-old Kathryn, interestingly enough, I’ve always been in the books, as they say.
I remember also being told by my mother too that during recess I would not play. I would just read books. In car rides I would read books, and I think what that set in stone for me is the foundation of being an avid learner. What’s next to to conquer? What can my imagin- what can I do beyond what my imagination can even bring me to?
So seven-year-old Kathryn was very, I don’t know, l- I guess the term would be nerdy, but in that regard it [00:02:00] created a sense of owning who I was. Because if you are, not an outlier, but we’ll go with that, you have to have a sense of self that you can stand firm in and be confident in moving within that space.
And honestly, seven-year-old Kathryn I think would be very proud of Kathryn today
Porschia: I love it. Seven-year-old Catherine and seven-year-old Porsche could have been great friends because I was a nerd, am a nerd and- … was reading books. I was reading a book a day in middle school, and people just looked at me ’cause I was always in the library- Yeah
An alien or something. So I love it. I love it, Catherine. So tell us about some highlights or pivotal moments in your career before you started your business.
Katherine: Honestly what really became a pivotal moment is making that, taking that leap of faith to going from working nine to five to doing full-time entrepreneurship.
That was scary. That was not an easy decision to make, and I [00:03:00] didn’t make it without being calculated, and planning, and setting aside funds, and being very strategic. And I would say having the confidence to do so was a, a very big pivotal part of my career. I would say another one would be when I relocated to the Houston area.
I was in the Atlanta area. Having to create a new network in the Houston area was a bit daunting, but I think it was a launching point for my business. So I am grateful for that, that shift that it created
Porschia: I love it, and I think it… People who can, move to a new city, move cross country or to another country altogether are very- Yes
brave, so I wanna commend you for that. And you talked a little bit about starting your own business, but tell me what motivated you to start your own business.
Katherine: So I am a therapist. I’ve been a therapist since 2016 [00:04:00] it’s very surp- I don’t know. Time goes by very fast. It’s been a decade. It does not feel like that.
So in the clients that I would see, I was working spec- my main population was trauma survivors, specifically women of color. A common denominator I would see was how there was lack of resources, and I wanted, my passion was to close the resource gap seen in communities of color, in underrepresented populations.
So in that sense, I was like, okay, so that’s something that’s at play, along with mental health stigma. Being Colombian American myself, I saw firsthand how the way mental health was viewed got in the way from people getting the help that they may need. In, in my family, we could talk about feeling happy, angry, but frustrated or scared or worried, those weren’t very acceptable feelings.
So I really wanted to be part of the change. I wanted to [00:05:00] close that resource gap. I wanted to eradicate mental health stigma so people can feel comfortable even having conversations like this. So that’s what brought me to to start my business.
Porschia: I love that. I love that. And I, have talked to some friends and family members to that point about being able to discuss emotions and also to show emotions, and I think you make a really great point.
I think things are changing now, but- … definitely when I was young, and I still think a lot of it is very prevalent it seems as though, there were certain emotions that were acceptable for girls, right? Exactly. Happiness, perhaps sadness, but no anger, right? Exactly. No, none of that.
And then boys, on the other hand, they have their own set of emotions. They could not, show that they were scared or frightened- Yeah, exactly …
Katherine: or,
Porschia: Anything like that. And I think as people grow up men and women kinda carry that with them. So I love how you [00:06:00] talked about, the emotions and being able to talk and express those.
So great.
Katherine: Exactly.
Porschia: Great. So before we get in too deep with burnout today, I wanna know what is your definition of burnout?
Katherine: Burnout in Sparrow’s definition is being at capacity and then going a few steps over that. We all know how much we can take in, whether we want to acknowledge that we know that or not.
Being a few steps beyond that, that’s where burnout starts, and that’s where burnout resides. And being able to be proactive and get ahead of burnout is what I do. That’s the work that’s the space that I’m in. Because we can try to walk back from burnout, but that’s not ideal because burnout affects your mental health, your physical health.
People, when they are burnt out, they may start having heart palpitations. They may start having panic attacks. They may start having body [00:07:00] aches. So it do- it is something that’s worth getting ahead of and addressing and facing head-on
Porschia: Yes. Many of our clients who are executives or professionals use the term stressed and burned out interchangeably.
How do you think stress is different than burnout?
Katherine: Stress, I would say, would be tension and a strive to have excellent work, and that’s different than having excellent work at the expense of your mental health and physical health. So stress is natural. W- if you care about anything, you’re gonna feel stressed out.
And so but that is more manageable than having compounded stress to the point that it’s hard to sleep, you’re feeling anxious, you’re feeling depressed, or any variations of the aforementioned. So that’s how stress and burnout differ.
Porschia: We’ve talked [00:08:00] about burnout in the workplace before, and that was back in episode 48.
It was a very popular episode, so I’m sure people wanna hear this one as well. But why do you think burnout and discussing burnout at work is important?
Katherine: The thing is, if people are maintaining, again, maintaining, ’cause you can touch burnout and bring it back, but if you are maintaining a level of burnout, you’re not as a an, a, as effective employee.
Your peak performance isn’t where it needs to be, nor would it be sustainable. Job satisfaction decreases. The team cohesion can go down as well and be affected. So there’s a lot of many… There’s different layers, not only how it affects the individual, but how it also radiate out- radiates out. So that’s something that’s worth addressing and getting ahead of.
Porschia: I agree. I agree. So what are some trends or patterns that you see with [00:09:00] burnout in the workplace?
Katherine: I would say right now it’s current events, what’s happening in the US and the world, that people are coming to work with that heaviness that then affects what their capacity already is. And again, burnout being a few steps above that, it- it’s making it a lot more difficult to navigate because you’re coming to work literally showing up with sorrow or heaviness or grief and loss, w- how- whatever it may look like for that individual.
And then you put the burnout that they’re already experiencing on top of it, that’s a huge issue, and it’s more prevalent right now, especially in underrepresented populations that can feel marginalized during these times. It just, it makes burnout feel heavier
Porschia: Yes. I agree. And something you touched on just now, but also [00:10:00] early in the conversation, you mentioned how burnout is a few steps beyond your capacity.
I wanna dig in there because… And I’m sure a lot of your clients are the same, but we have a lot of clients who are high achievers, top performers, and they, a lot of times, I think, have more trouble realizing- … that they are burnt out.
And so when someone is in that place where they’re reconciling, is this a few steps beyond my capacity, i.e.,
burnout, or am I just working hard- … how do you help someone make that distinction?
Katherine: It’s helpful to notice the slow creep. So it builds up. It doesn’t happen overnight. So if you’re working late hours to the point where you’re barely getting any sleep, or your sleep is interrupted because you’re wanting to make sure you respond to that email as soon as possible, if you’re [00:11:00] responding to situations and feeling as if it’s an emergency, if you are over-performing to the detriment of your own mental health and physical health, that’s things to stay attuned to.
So I would always recommend is check in with yourself daily because honestly, your capacity can change day to day. So being able to know the slow creep, the s- the gradual growth into burnout, catching it in the beginning stages where you are noticing these trends and patterns, being a peak performer and a high-achieving professional, it’s very important.
Porschia: Yeah. Yeah. So you mentioned people should check in with themselves daily. How should they check in with themselves?
Katherine: I would say starting with the basics. Are you drinking water? Are you eating? Are you m- moving your body? Those sound so basic, however, when people are [00:12:00] so- Stressed or overworked or booked and busy, however we wanna phrase it, those things fall to the wayside.
So being able to check in with yourself about that, and also, how am I feeling? That sounds also very rudimentary, but it’s important. Am I feeling like I need to give myself five minutes to sit in silence and just be? Turning off my devices, putting myself away on Teams just so I can give myself a moment to recenter.
It may only take three of those five minutes. However, allowing yourself the space to breathe, that’s another thing that people stop doing when they’re feeling very stressed, is they’ll hold their breath. So being cognizant of those little things are ways to be able to check in with yourself so you don’t engage or you don’t fall into the slow creep.
Porschia: Okay. Great. I love those tips that you gave us. [00:13:00] From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve seen executives and professionals have with job burnout?
Katherine: I would say being a top performer comes with its own price. There are things that are going to, that are gonna be demanded of you that will push you to that limit.
And the thing is, a lot of times people think, “Okay if I’m not over-performing, I’m not earning my spot on the team. I’m not a valued member of the team. There is no upward mobility for me if I’m not over-performing.” The thing is, a lot of high-achieving professionals they reach burnout a little s- quicker because of the demands of their job.
So being able to check in with yourself, put things in place if you are in burnout, knowing your mental health day policy at work, [00:14:00] knowing what resources do they have? Is there a steps challenge? A lot of organizations do that. What is something that you can do to balance out the rigor of the work that you do?
‘Cause let’s be honest, the, it, there, it’s not, there are certain jobs you can’t just skate by. And knowing that pressure exists, you can put things in place in a proactive way
Porschia: Great. Great. So let’s say, Catherine, that someone is listening to this episode and they realize, oh my gosh, they see themselves in what you described.
They said, “You know what? I am steps p- beyond my capacity. I am burnt out.” I, thought about the different check-in things that Catherine said and they realize, “Okay, I’m burnt out from my job.” What are some tips or suggestions that you’d give to someone who wants to overcome that job burnout?
Katherine: [00:15:00] [00:16:00] Step one is being able to identify that.
So they have done that, and that’s a, a very important thing, to be able to check in with yourself and have that outcome and be like, “Oh, goodness, I need to take a step back,” or, “I need to recenter.” So something that’s super helpful with that, honestly, is my coaching program. It’s called Resilient Si.
Si being yes in Español, in the sense of you can do this. Something that I teach in my coaching program is how to navigate setting clear boundaries, ’cause that’s the thing. When people are burnt out, they’re saying yes to everything under the sun. So setting clear boundaries is important.
[00:17:00] Navigating and moving with high emotional intelligence, and being able to identify, “
This person may not have the highest of emotional intelligence, so this is how I’m going to choose to manage that conflict.” And also, having the tips and tricks and the skill set to navigate microaggressions in the workplace, which can also lead to burnout.
So that’s something, granted, it’s… I don’t want it to sound pitchy, but it’s true. It’s tried and true to help people navigate burnout, and to get back recentered and living a life that feels balanced, because I know we’re gonna talk about this, segueing into it a little bit, work-life balance can be attained.
It’s not a myth or a theory or a concept in a far away land.
Porschia: So- I have a lot of thoughts about- … what you just said. I think, it’s just all great things. But [00:18:00] I wanna circle back, before we get to work-life balance, I wanna circle back to what you said about setting clear boundaries, ’cause that’s one of the biggest hurdles that our clients have is setting boundaries.
If someone says, “You know what, Catherine, I realize that at work people just give me more projects. I realize I’m doing other people’s work.”
“
Porschia: But I’m a top performer. I feel like I’ve gotta get to the top.” What are some ways that they can start setting boundaries at work?
Katherine: I think it goes back to what is your capacity?
Because some people, they can have a capacity to do five other people’s jobs, and while others do not. So i- identifying what is your capacity, that’s step one. And also a big thing is acknowledging not everything is an emergency. I always used to joke with my clients, like, “If it’s a true emergency, call 911.”
Do not loop me in. There’s nothing I can do. So being able to know that there is a [00:19:00] sense of urgency if you allow there to be one.
Porschia: I love that. I love that. If it is a true emergency, call 911. Yes. Love that quote, Catherine. Love it. So you mentioned some of your thoughts on work-life balance, and you think it exists.
Sometimes I ask people about work-life balance and they think it’s unattainable, it doesn’t exist. Tell me more when it comes to your thoughts on work-life balance.
Katherine: For, in my personal life, it has also been challenging to navigate. That’s why I think, that’s part of why I believe I’m a subject matter expert, because I’ve navigated this space as well.
Being a single mother, being a full-time entrepreneur, being someone that guides people through this process has its own load in itself. So I do believe work-life balance exists, reason being is because time management is very much something that can be honed in on, [00:20:00] and prioritization. I think those are two big things that allow the opportunity for work-life balance.
Because there are days that I have to cut my day short ’cause my daughter has ballet. There are days that I work later because there’s stuff that just needs to get done. So it’s also navigating what needs to get done and also knowing what the cost of that may be in that given time. So for example, if I have to work late, I may not be able to do the best of bedtime routines, however, she still goes to b- she still goes to bed, we still go to school the next day.
It’s fine. So that’s what, going back to what I think it really is time management and prioritization.
Porschia: Great. So you’ve mentioned your coaching program already, and then also time management and that prioritization. Are there any other tools or systems that you would recommend [00:21:00] people use for job burnout?
Katherine: I would say acknowledging not everything has to get done in the same day, and knowing what are your peak performing hours. I’m more productive in the morning, so in the evening I’ll do my administrative work. If I know I only have two hours in my peak productivity points in the day, I’m going to prioritize what needs to get done and make sure it’s in that timeframe.
Everything else still needs to get done, but it can be placed in another part of the day where it doesn’t feel as cumbersome, and then that, again it allows you to manage the potential for burnout
Porschia: Love it. Love it. So let’s say someone’s been, again, listening to this episode, they are taking notes, they are super student Catherine.
They say, “You know what? I’m gonna take everything that Catherine said, and I’m gonna apply this to my burnout situation.” [00:22:00] How long do you think it would take for an executive or a professional to implement some of these tips that you’ve mentioned and begin seeing results with their burnout?
Katherine: Honestly, so there’s five modules, five weeks.
After the first module, a lot of people feel empowered to make these changes. Reason being, if you’re in burnout, in a sense, you’re desperate, and you’re given tools to equip you to manage this space. I’m telling you, it’s very astonishing. People hit the ground running after the first module, and they see the benefit of it.
So that’s nice to see people do it in practice and in, in real time, in real life, as they say. It- you can see the benefit of it. But again, the first step, and it’s … it can be hard for people to really sit with themselves and say, “You know what? I am operating a few steps over my capacity, and this is no longer healthy for me”
Porschia: Yeah.
From your [00:23:00] experience, what do you think are some of the most common misconceptions that people have about burnout at work?
Katherine: I would say one of the misconceptions that’s actually pretty common is if you’re not over-performing, you’re not performing. If you’re not surpassing what the benchmark is, then you’re just not a c- contributing member to the team.
So that’s a common misconception, that burnout is something that’s bad. Some people are like it’s just the status quo. It’s just how things are going to be.” That’s what I would say would be the main misconception.
Porschia: So w- another thing that I love about your work, Kathryn, is that you also work with individuals and then you work with organizations, companies directly.
So from the kind of organizational perspective, how do you think that companies can address burnout [00:24:00] in their organizations?
Katherine: Part of it is building workplace resilience. So if you’re equipped to manage these situations on an individual level, yes, that’s very effective, but also as a leadership team and as a co- as a group in creating that cohesive result to end burnout, that’s another approach that’s helpful, is being able to, okay, how are we gonna, how are we gonna increase workplace resilience?
How are we going to give information on what burnout is, how to get ahead of it, and stuff like that? I think another layer, especially nowadays, is be, trai- the trainings that I do on walking people through how do you navigate if somebody’s having a mental health crisis in the workplace? What do you do?
Who do you call? What resources can you provide? And then from there, a lot of times there are instances when people do need, are prompted to take time [00:25:00] off. What I also do is psychological evaluations to assess if people are well and safe to come back to work. The thing is, we don’t want it to get to that.
We do not want it to get to that, so getting ahead of burnout, being able to navigate and achieve, as best you can, work/life balance, that’s what can help. I would say navigate any mental health challenges that may arise.
Porschia: Yes. Yes, and that is paramount. One thing that, a question that kind of popped up, because I see this, and I’m sure you probably talk about this in your training and have some thoughts on it, but when it comes to mental health crises, some people think that’s not my job,” and, “That’s not my problem,” how do you… I guess I should say, what do you think is a good first step, for a company when it comes to [00:26:00] understanding how to navigate a mental health crisis if someone is having that at work?
Katherine: I think step one is conveying that you care. You care more than your number, and y- you have to take time off and that may cost us.
No, more so I see you and I’m here for you, and this is what that can look like for you. Making sure that you acknowledge each person’s situation is different. Mental health challenges is not a one-size-fits-all, especially because there’s different reasons and causes and stressors that may lead to one.
So I think that’s the, the first thing is, “Hey, I see you. I’m here for you. What can I do to support you?” Not in a super open-ended way, but in the like, “This is what I can do for you. I can get you connected with a therapist through your EAP program. I can provide you the national crisis [00:27:00] hotline number. We can get somebody to train us on how to better support you within this space and in this time.”
So those are things that can be done
Porschia: Great. So tell us more about your business.
Katherine: So Spero Psychological Services, now Spero in Latin means hope. Specifically, while I breathe, I hope, and that’s something that I have centered my business on every day when I’m like, “Goodness, am I gonna be able to make this go to the level that I know my business can go to?”
Yes, I can, ’cause while I breathe, I hope. I can do this. In the same way I adopt that mentality, I’m able to inspire others to do the same. Yes, initially on the therapy side, and now through my organizational consulting leadership development type of side as well. So Spero was founded with the [00:28:00] idea and the passion of it always seems impossible until it’s done.
That’s a mantra of mine, I wanna say, since gradu- since graduate school when I was studying for my comprehensive oral exam and I’m like, “Oh my goodness,” ’cause if we did not pass that, we could not graduate. I remember “Oh my, how am I gonna do this? I’m never gonna be a therapist,” having those self-defeating and negative thoughts as well.
And I was like, “Okay, I can do this. It may not seem like it in the moment, but I know I can.”
Porschia: That is great. That is great. We will be providing a link to your website and social channels in our show notes so people can find you online. But what is the best way for someone to get in touch with you?
Katherine: I would say get on our website.
I have all the links available there. It is S-P-E-R-O Psych, P-S-Y-C-H.org. And as you mentioned, they’re going to be in the notes as well. It’s a one-stop shop for any information that you may need on the [00:29:00] services that I provide.
Porschia: Love it. Another question I want to ask you since you have this therapy background, what is your definition of career success?
Katherine: Ooh, that’s a good one. I would say career success is attaining something that you did not think was attainable, in a realistic way of course. I never, when I tell you I never thought I was gonna be a full-time entrepreneur, and here we are. I also didn’t think I could be successful and make it profitable either, and here we are.
So I think success is defining, okay, what is it that I wanna do, and let me acknowledge and know and move with that I can do it. And I guess also, two of, two things that stand out with success and how I define it are some things that I repeat to myself when the going gets tough, as they say, “Scared money doesn’t make any money,” and, “Do it scared anyway.”
Because here’s the thing, [00:30:00] I am a perfectionist. I remember, my marketing director can attest to this, it took me a long time to launch my website, to do the revamp. I’m like, “Man, it has to be perfect. It needs to properly depict the populations that I serve and everything.” So it was getting in the way of me actually launching it.
So then I have … I really started rem- like reminding myself, “Okay, do it scared anyway.” And I can have all these initiatives, all these trainings, and if no one knows about it, how am I gonna, how am I gonna m- be, make it profitable? So doing it scared anyway, both of those, having that in the back of my mind has been helpful.
Porschia: I love that. I love that. So I wanna ask you our final question that we ask all of our guests. How do you think executives or professionals can get a positive edge in their career?
Katherine: I would say, I know we’ve talked a lot about it, and I would still stand on getting ahead [00:31:00] of burnout. That will give you the edge you need to continue succeeding in your given role, in your given field.
Because again, high achievers, top performers, it’s very common. So how can you … If you, if there’s a pool, let’s say, of three people, one person has identified they need to get ahead of burnout, however they don’t feel ready to do so, one person is beyond their few steps after their capacity, and that’s just where they’re living, while the third person is navigating burnout the best they can while acknowledging it’s a growth area for them, watch that third person be more successful.
Porschia: Love it. Love it. Catherine, you have shared a lot of wisdom with us today, and I’m sure our listeners can use it to be more confident in their careers. We appreciate you being with us.
Katherine: Thank you so much. Thank you. It was my pleasure. [00:32:00]
