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Bex Spiller is the founder of The Anti-Burnout Club and creator of the Right to Recover campaign — joins Ela to talk burnout, workplace culture, and why recovery should be a right, not a luxury.
We coveredBex's Burnout Story
Bex built a marketing agency from her bedroom at 21, then hit a wall physically and mentally while studying for an MBA in addition to long working hours. A GP eventually named what she'd been feeling: burnout — a word she'd never heard before. That crisis, plus losing her father to stress-related heart disease, led her to start a small blog in 2020 that grew into The Anti-Burnout Club, now used by tens of thousands.
We discussed where "Push Yourself" Beliefs Come From
Bex traces her own drive back to childhood — poverty, losing her mum young, and feeling she had to prove herself. We discussed how hustle culture, school attendance awards, and even old Protestant beliefs about idleness being sinful have taught us that rest equals laziness — when most "laziness" is really overwhelm or unaddressed struggle.
We explained why Individual Wellness Fixes Aren't Enough
Yoga and meditation apps, whilst certainly great resources, put the burden of recovery on the individual and ignore root causes (e.g. understaffing and poor management in organisations, overcommitment and complex life circumstance in private lives). Bex now focuses on organisations — training managers to have honest conversations about stress, rather than offering wellness perks as a substitute for real change.
Bex explained the Right to Recover Campaign
Employees take 9–11 official sick days a year on average, but "presenteeism" (working while unwell) costs roughly 44 lost productive days per person annually! Bex argues that giving people genuine time to recover is both more humane and better for business — and discusses how mistrust and guilt make it harder for people to ask for rest.
We talked about the physical toll of burnout
Chronic stress has real physiological effects — weakened immunity, stress-related heart disease, allostatic load. Bex reflects on a funeral where a woman's career barely came up compared to how she lived and loved. The takeaway: systemic change is needed, but individuals can start by knowing their own capacity, having honest conversations, and treating recovery as normal, not a failure.
About Bex Spiller
Bex Spiller is an award-winning burnout speaker, author and changemaker. She’s the founder of The Anti-Burnout Club and heads up the Right to Recover campaign, which aims to reduce the number of people working when unwell.
Connect with Bex: The Anti Burnout Club (free app available)
https://bexspeaks.com/
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