Meghan French Dunbar is an entrepreneur, business journalist, and women’s leadership expert. She is the founder of Conscious Company magazine, the World-Changing Women’s Summit, the Conscious Company Leaders Forum, TideTurn Labs, and Stakeholder Business.
What’s the big idea?
Stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion have long been normalized qualities of working life, but they are not necessary—nor are they acceptable. People are increasingly refusing to sacrifice their well-being for the sake of their job, and workplaces are realizing that happy, healthy employees are better for business. Optimal performance and sustainable success (as an individual or company) are a result of prioritizing well-being.
Below, Meghan shares five key insights from her new book, This Isn’t Working: How Working Women Can Overcome Stress, Guilt, and Overload to Find True Success. Listen to the audio version—read by Meghan herself—below, or in the Next Big Idea App.
1. “Business as usual” is harming us.
Nearly every working adult is overwhelmed, busy, exhausted, or stressed. Overwork and overload have become the norm. Most of the nearly four billion people in the global workforce today experience some form of physical or mental health challenge due to the way we work.
And while we’ve normalized stress and burnout, that doesn’t make these issues harmless. Chronic stress is linked to conditions like cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, sleep disorders, weakened immune systems, and autoimmune conditions. It’s fair to say, the way we’re working is literally killing people.
“Overwork and overload have become the norm.”
We often treat these issues like personal problems—fixable with better time management, meditation apps, or the occasional day off. But the real issue isn’t our coping skills. It’s the system itself. People are suffering because of the way we’ve decided to work. Until we change the way we do business, these issues will only get worse. People aren’t burning out because they’re weak. They’re burning out because the system is broken.
2. There is a better way to work.
The workforce is changing. New generations are increasingly unwilling to sacrifice their well-being for a paycheck. Old playbook workplaces that prioritize profit over people will soon be a thing of the past. Research already shows that toxic workplaces are the number one predictor of employee turnover.
Companies that have built exceptional workplace cultures are the answer, and as a result, these companies are thriving. One such company is Torani Syrups. For over 30 years, CEO Melanie Dulbecco has rejected hustle culture and built a company rooted in autonomy, collaboration, and building opportunities for everyone on their team. The results speak volumes:
- A 90 percent retention rate.
- Turnover under seven percent.
- Employee tenure 40 percent above the national average.
- Zero layoffs in the company’s 100-year history.
- Over 20 percent annual growth for three decades in a row.
Thriving workplaces aren’t just good for people. They’re good for business.
3. The success myth might be making you miserable.
Many high achievers have followed the traditional success playbook: chasing titles, hitting targets, and overproducing. Research shows this version of success, rooted in extrinsic motivation, is unsustainable and unfulfilling.
Interviews with hundreds of thriving leaders (the ones who are both successful professionally and deeply content) revealed that they all define success differently than the norm. They focus on intrinsic motivators—such as having purpose, engaging in continual learning, and optimizing their quality of life—rather than tying their self-worth to extrinsic factors like status or salary.
True flourishing comes when we stop chasing external validation and start defining success based on our intrinsic motivations.
4. Every day actions matter.
We often underestimate the emotional ecosystem of work, but research shows the quality of our relationships with coworkers is just as important to our mental health as those with friends and family. In fact, 70 percent of employees say their manager has as much of an impact on their mental health as their spouse does.
“Every day, you have micro-agency to build a better workplace.”
Regardless of your title, you have an impact on the people you work with, for better or for worse. This dynamic is a powerful responsibility and a profound opportunity. Every day, you have micro-agency to build a better workplace. Lead with presence and authenticity. Set healthy boundaries. Speak your truth with clarity and grace.
You model to others how they should treat you and how they should treat each other, so be intentional every day about how you show up.
5. All systems will break eventually—including yours.
Overwork. Hustle. Self-sacrifice. Never taking time off. These behaviors might bring short-term results or make you feel successful, but they always come at a cost. All systems have limits, including yours.
You can either ignore your limits, sacrifice yourself, and disregard your well-being until you eventually break down and are forced to change, or you can prioritize your well-being along the way and optimize your leadership, sustaining it over the long term. The latter is a much healthier, happier, and more effective approach. Start now: boundaries, rest, and accept help. The best way to optimize performance and leadership is by prioritizing your well-being.
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