Burnout Prevention For Working Women: Align With Core Values

Do you ever feel exhausted, stressed, or like you’re constantly juggling too many responsibilities, both at work and at home? Burnout isn’t just about doing too much; it can also happen when we do too little of what truly matters to us. For working women, this often means neglecting the activities and priorities that align with our core values.

Living a life misaligned with your values is more common than you think. Looking back at my own experience, I realised that my burnout didn’t happen overnight. It was a slow accumulation of small choices that drifted away from what really mattered to me, until suddenly I found myself asking, “How did I get here?

What Are Core Values and Why They Matter for Burnout Prevention

Core values are principles that guide your behavior and help you identify what is most important in your life. Examples include kindness, integrity, family, ambition, or creativity. There are no right or wrong answers, your core values are unique to you.

If we are doing something that aligns with our core values, we are much more likely to feel engaged, that energy that makes you get involved, committed and produce work effectively. On the flip side, if you wake in the night with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach, it may be because one of your core values has been challenged.

The Path to Burnout For Working Women

Some researchers suggest that alignment with our core values may be the main factor involved in the increase in burn out in our society today.

The problem is that most of us are just living our life, rushing from one thing to another, completely oblivious to whether our actions are aligned with our core values or not. If you don't know what your core values are then its more likely you will violate them, where as if you spend time understanding them, you are much more likely to notice when something is out of alignment.

In Freudenberger and North's 12 stage model of Burnout, Stage 5 is called “Revision of values”.

The theory is that when you come up against something that challenges your core values you have a choice. You can either:

• Make a change and re align yourself, or

• Choose to ignore the discomfort and make a small tweak to one of your core values to make that feeling disappear.

Most people unconsciously choose the second option, which gradually erodes their alignment and accelerates burnout. This is how all those small seemingly insignificant decisions resulted in me one day waking up going “how did I get here?”.

By knowing and honouring your core values, you're much less likely to fall into this trap. This makes knowing your core values a critical burnout prevention tool for working women.

How to Identify Your Core Values

Identifying your core values takes reflection. Try these steps:

Reflect on peak moments

Think about times in your life when you felt proud, fulfilled, or deeply satisfied. What was happening in those moments? Which qualities or principles were being honored? For example, you might notice that helping others, creativity, or honesty played a key role.

Consider your frustrations

Your biggest frustrations or moments of discomfort can also reveal your values. Often, when something irritates or upsets you, it conflicts with a core belief. For instance, feeling upset by unfair treatment may indicate that fairness or justice is important to you

Imagine yourself on your deathbed

This may sound dramatic, but imagining yourself on your deathbed can also help identify your core values. What will matter to you most?

Make a values list

Start with a broad list of potential values, things like integrity, growth, family, adventure, empathy, or autonomy. You can find a full list on websites such as here. Circle the ones that resonate most and try to narrow it down to 5–7 key values that feel essential to who you are.

Revisit regularly

Values can evolve over time. Reassess them periodically to ensure your actions and priorities still match your core beliefs.

Putting Core Values into Practice: Burnout Prevention For Working Women

Once you know what your core values are you can use them to help inform your decision making and prevent burnout. For example when thinking about managing your microstressors budget, which tasks and activities align most and which should be removed?

Anti-Burnout Mindset for Working Women

Re-aligning to your core values isn't a one time task, you need to treat it as essential maintenance. By making conscious choices that reflect your principles, you:

• Reduce the risk of burnout

• Increase engagement at work and home

• Protect your mental and emotional wellbeing

For working women balancing careers, families, and personal goals, this Anti-Burnout Mindset is especially critical. It allows you to navigate stress while staying true to what matters most.

If you want to learn more check out other posts in the Anti-Burnout Blog and my Ultimate Anti-Burnout Recovery Plan for Working Women.

Find out more at balancingbluebells.co.uk.

Mairi Joyce

2 April 2025