Constant Time Crunch Leading to Burnout
Do you ever feel like you’re always racing the clock? As a cleaning business owner, I meet hardworking women attorneys who feel they have too much to do and not enough time. They wake up early, rush through the day’s tasks, and still go to bed with unfinished work on their mind. This constant time crunch isn’t just frustrating – it can also lead to something more serious: burnout.
Why Being Short on Time Causes Burnout
When you’re always busy and stressed, your mind and body never get a chance to fully rest. Burnout is what happens after a long time of unrelieved stress at work. The World Health Organization defines burnout as a problem that comes from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” leading to exhaustion, cynicism (feeling negative or distant about your job), and worse performance at work. In simple terms, burnout means you’re completely drained,, and you feel less effective or accomplished than before. Picking such an intense field, you were ready for the challenge to the point you may fall in love with the fatigue because it means you’re crushing it. But could too much burnout actually lead to less productivity?
Being in a constant time crunch is a major cause of burnout. Think about it: if every day “there is too much to do, not enough time to do it, and not enough help to get it done,” you eventually hit a wall. Attorneys often work very long hours. In fact, lawyers worked about 50 hours per week on average according to the 2024 Attorney well-being report by Bloomberg Law. Many even work during their days off – in one survey, over three-quarters of attorneys said they did work on at least half of their days off. No wonder so many feel exhausted! Overall, lawyers reported feeling burned out nearly half of the time. Burnout isn’t just being tired for a day; it’s a chronic fatigue that a single good night’s sleep can’t fix.
Why Female Attorneys Feel the Crunch More
All lawyers have stressful jobs, but female attorneys often face extra challenges. Studies show that women in law report higher stress and burnout levels than men. For example, a recent survey found that female attorneys felt burned out 53% of the time, compared to 41% for male attorneys. In another study from the National Library of Medicine, 67% of women lawyers reported “high” stress levels, versus 49% of men. This means women lawyers are more likely to feel overwhelmed.
Why the difference? One reason is that women tend to have more responsibilities outside of work, like household duties, pets, partners, or childcare. If you’re a female attorney and also a mom or primary caregiver, you’re essentially working two jobs – your legal career and your home life. The time crunch gets even tighter. In the Bloomberg Law survey, attorneys who had children under 18 at home experienced burnout 50% of the time, compared to 46% for those without kids. What if a coin flip determined your day’s productivity? Family obligations can play a big role – women lawyers with a high work-family conflict were 4.5 times more likely to seriously think about leaving the profession due to stress. That’s huge! It shows how feeling stretched too thin can push talented women to consider stepping away from careers they worked hard for.
Another factor is self-care. When you’re busy, often the first thing you drop is taking care of yourself. On average, lawyers spend only a few hours a week on exercise, hobbies, or relaxation. And female lawyers spend even less time on self-care (about 6.4 hours per week) than male lawyers (around 7.7 hours). Think about that – there are 168 hours in a week, and women lawyers are spending under 7 hours of it on themselves. Running on empty like this is a perfect recipe for burnout.. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and if you never refill your energy, burnout is almost certain.