Burnout might seem like a word that’s everywhere lately, but that’s only because it’s a crisis that millions of women are grappling with daily. The juggle of work, parenting, and life in amid keeping mentally and physically well, often feels like a tightrope walk—precarious and prone to collapse.
Women are finding it increasingly challenging to find time to take care of their basic needs let alone manage a quick break that doesn’t involve answering emails or folding laundry. And in a world where more of us are working from home, this is becoming even more pronounced. Just last week, a study highlighted the “digital double burden” that women contend with; not only managing their careers remotely, but also the greater extent of the digital domestic load.
As a mum of two kids under four who co manages a business, a team, and A LOT of domestic labour and admin (which has exponentially increased since working from home), the slow creep of burnout is something I’m attuned to.
Recent research from ASICS echoes much of my lived experience. Their global study shows that our mental state starts to decline after just two hours of continuous desk-based work, with stress levels rising sharply after four hours. This probably sounds familiar to anyone working from home or in the office. The routine of sitting down at the desk, plugging into the workday, and realising, four or five hours later, that you haven’t even stood up to stretch or grab a drink of water. If we’re lucky, we remember to check our phone for a message or look up from the screen, only to realise our minds are already frazzled from non-stop focus.
The most alarming part of the study is how quickly things can spiral. According to the data, after four hours of uninterrupted desk time, stress levels shoot up by 18 percent. Worse still, if you’re sitting at a desk for up to 10 hours a day—something many working mothers, like me, can relate to—your mental wellbeing plummets. The data revealed that sedentary individuals reported a significantly lower “State of Mind” score of 45/100 compared to those who were able to move around more (63/100).
When you add the responsibilities of caregiving to the mix, the boundaries between work and life blur even more. I find it hard to leave my desk during the day because work doesn’t stop just because my kids need attention. When you work from home, the temptation to squeeze in household chores, such as laundry or tidying up, takes priority over things like going for a walk or doing some quick exercise. However, the research also underscored for me how important this is, with just 15 minutes of movement shown to help reverse the mental toll of sitting too long—improving State of Mind scores by 22.5 percent.
The crux of it? We need to prioritise movement for our mental health. It’s not just about productivity or ticking off a wellness box; it’s about recognising that the very thing we’re glued to—our desks—is slowly eroding our wellbeing.
ASIC’s “Desk Break” experiment, overseen by Dr. Brendon Stubbs from King’s College London, revealed that when workers took just 15 minutes of movement, their stress levels dropped by 14.7 percent, their focus improved by 28.6 percent and their productivity jumped by 33.2 percent.
I know this firsthand, having tried to force quick breaks into my routine. On the rare days when I do get up from my desk for a short walk or to stretch for even 10 minutes, I notice the shift. I come back feeling clearer, more focused, and better equipped to tackle the rest of the day. But the battle is in the habit-building.
It’s easy to feel like self-care is just another item on an already overloaded to-do list. As much as I want to take that 15-minute walk or do some light exercise, the demands of work and home often feel too pressing. Yet the research proves something I already know deep down: taking the time to move around isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.
But for this to work on a larger scale, we need a systemic shift in how we view work, particularly for women. Companies must prioritise real, meaningful wellness initiatives, not just symbolic perks. The call from ASICS for workers to propose “Desk Breaks” during their working day should be heeded by employers everywhere.
For me, the solution starts with building small, achievable habits. Whether that’s scheduling a 15-minute break on my phone or swapping a quick laundry cycle for a quick walk outside—anything that gets me moving is a win. I know I need to model this behaviour for my children too, showing them that it’s important to step away from the screen and take care of our bodies and minds.
Burnout doesn’t have to be a foregone conclusion. But for many of us, it feels inevitable unless we make intentional changes to protect our mental health.