On Christmas Day in 2014, instead of enjoying a festive lunch with her daughters and family, Kelly Walker CA was in the emergency ward of a hospital experiencing a burnout episode that set her heart pounding and, in effect, changed her life.

“My heart just started thumping full-blown, like ‘boom, boom, boom, boom’,” she says. “I didn’t realise it was an adrenaline rush at the time, I didn’t know what was going on. My heart did that for a full week.”

Walker says the underlying cause was a perfect storm of stressors. She and her husband had moved to a new city, both with demanding jobs – she had a senior finance role and his work involved travel – and two children with no family support.

Walker’s health deteriorated to the point where her body’s adrenal glands, which handle stress responses, were overwhelmed. So, she took 18 months off and returned to her home state of Tasmania to focus on her wellbeing.

One in two workers face burnout

Walker believes professional burnout is on the rise, almost at epidemic levels, and mental health group Beyond Blue agrees. It surveyed 1000 people in Australia in 2025 and found that as many as one in two workers face burnout, with young people and parents most at risk.

Half the people surveyed had experienced burnout in the past 12 months, with those aged 18–29 years experiencing the highest rates.

For employers, the survey is particularly relevant. The main factors contributing to burnout include:

• Inappropriate workload (49%)
• Lack of management support (32%)
• Inflexible working conditions (21%).

Insight leads to change

Walker, who describes herself as a high achiever with perfectionist tendencies, has since endured two other episodes of burnout, with the last sparking an insight.

“After the third episode in 2023, I knew I had to look internally and change myself,” she says. “So, I took a few months off to reassess my life and how I was operating, and what needed to change.”

She’s now drawing on her experiences to help others. Based in Hobart, Walker started Prospera Consulting and now works with individuals, organisations and business leaders to prevent and manage burnout.

Have a chat

Walker says if you want to avoid or need to manage burnout, it can be the little things that can make a difference. A quiet conversation can be a good place to start.

“You might have a conversation openly with your leader or someone that you can trust within the workplace,” she says.

But that leader or manager needs to realise something. “They need to ask the person how they can best support them,” says Walker. “Because what we don’t want is for them to just take all that person’s work off them and then they feel demotivated.”

Define the end of your workday

If you’re working from home, developing a ‘switch off’ routine can help you signal your workday is over.

“Historically, it was your commute home, where you might listen to a podcast or put some music on, or you were on the train or in the car,” she says.

“Now, you might shut the computer down and put it in the bag. Likewise, can you change your clothes like you used to change from your work clothes into your home clothes. Or maybe you can do an artificial commute by walking around the block.”

Try switching off, literally

Even changing the settings on your phone can help.

“I encourage people to take their work emails off their phone if they can and get rid of some of those notifications,” she says.

“If we’ve got the work things pinging all the time at home, how do we switch our brains off?”

A new definition of success

Walker says the key to recovering from burnout is not to blame yourself. Focusing on regaining your health is important, but so is identifying the stressors in your life and changing them where you can.

“You need to look at how we empower ourselves to change what’s in our control,” she says.

One thing Walker did was redefine her idea of success. “In the past, it was always the next job and how good the resume looks,” she says.

“Now, success to me is measured around doing fun and enjoyable work that I’m passionate about.”

She has a simple message for those at risk of burnout and businesses wanting to avoid it in their employees. “Burnout is not a sign of weakness. It’s a signal that something needs to change.”

CA ANZ Wellbeing provides resources and information to support mental health and wellbeing for our members, to help them thrive in their accounting career. Visit our website to find out more.

To listen to a previous story, ‘Here's what happens to the brain when you experience burnout’, visit Acuity on air (Run time: 7.22 mins).