Top 5 Hidden Burnout Behaviours in Working Women

Written By Mairi Joyce

Burnout doesn’t always arrive with flashing warning signs. For many working women, it creeps in quietly, disguised as commitment, perfectionism, or relentless busyness. You keep ticking the boxes, meeting deadlines, and juggling multiple roles and on the outside, you look like you’ve got it all together. But beneath the surface, certain behaviours can quietly drain your energy, chip away at focus, and push you toward burnout without you even noticing.

In this post, we’re uncovering the top 5 hidden behaviours that drive burnout in working women and sharing how to spot them before they take a serious toll.

Behaviour 1: People-Pleasing

People pleasing is the tendency to prioritise others’ needs over your own, often at the expense of your energy, focus, and goals.

At work, this might look like taking on extra tasks to avoid disappointing colleagues, agreeing to projects you don’t have time for, or constantly checking that everyone is happy with your work.

This behaviour often stems from a fear of rejection or disapproval. Do you find yourself saying yes to requests even when your schedule is already full because you worry about letting someone down or being judged?

The challenge is that constantly saying yes leaves little time for your priorities or recovery. Chronic people-pleasers often neglect self-care, which increases stress, frustration, and resentment. Over time, when expectations can’t be met, feelings of inadequacy build, quietly increasing your risk of burnout.

Behaviour 2: Overworking/Busyness as Identity

Overworking happens when being busy becomes part of who you are. At work, this might look like stacking your calendar with tasks, staying late regularly, or volunteering for extra projects, not just because you can, but because you feel you should. Your self-worth becomes entwined with how much you do, rather than what you actually achieve.

This behaviour often develops alongside people-pleasing: you push yourself to meet expectations and prove your value. But when your identity is tied to busyness, it’s easy to overlook limits, skip recovery, and constantly chase the next task. Over time, this increases stress, reduces focus, and quietly nudges you toward burnout.

For many working women, this spills into home life too, taking on extra responsibilities, constantly planning, or feeling guilty for downtime. When your value feels tied to output, rest can feel impossible or indulgent.

Behaviour 3: Relying on Adrenaline

Relying on adrenaline happens when stress, pressure, or urgency become the main drivers of your productivity. Instead of working from focus and intention, you operate in a constant “high alert” mode, letting short bursts of energy push you through tasks and deadlines.

This behaviour often pairs with overworking or busyness as identity. When being busy defines your self-worth, adrenaline becomes the fuel that keeps the cycle going. You feel alive and effective under pressure, so you chase the next urgent task, even at the expense of your energy and wellbeing.

The problem is that adrenaline is meant for short-term bursts, not constant use. Over time, your nervous system becomes overstimulated, leading to fatigue, irritability, disrupted sleep, and increased risk of burnout. What initially feels like “getting stuff done” quietly erodes your resilience.

Behaviour 4: Multitasking and Lack of Focus

Multitasking often feels like a badge of honour, but it quietly undermines your productivity and energy. Constantly switching between tasks fragments your attention, increases mistakes, and leaves you mentally drained.

For many working women, multitasking shows up as juggling emails while on calls, managing work alongside childcare, or trying to complete several projects at once.

On the surface, it looks like efficiency, but underneath, it keeps your nervous system in a heightened state and prevents deep, restorative focus.

Behaviour 5: Neglecting Self-Care

Neglecting self-care is often the hidden cost of ambition and responsibility. Skipping meals, sacrificing sleep, ignoring exercise, or pushing aside downtime may seem like temporary sacrifices, but over time, they erode physical and mental resilience.

For working women, self-care neglect can manifest as working through lunch, missing workouts, over-committing socially, cancelling plans at the last minute or constantly putting others’ needs first.

This pattern depletes your energy, increases stress, and makes it harder to recover from daily pressures.

How to Spot Your Own Hidden Burnout Behaviours

Hidden burnout behaviours can creep in quietly, often disguised as ambition, commitment, or “just coping.” The first step to reclaiming your energy is recognising the patterns before they escalate. Here’s how you can start:

1. Notice recurring stress patterns: Pay attention to situations that consistently leave you drained, irritable, or anxious. Do certain tasks, meetings, or interactions always feel exhausting, even when you’re performing well? These are red flags.

2. Track where your energy goes: Keep a simple log for a week. Note how you spend your time, what tasks demand the most focus, and when you feel depleted. You may spot patterns like excessive multitasking, constant task-switching, or saying yes to every request.

3. Reflect on your motivations: Ask yourself: Are you doing this because you truly want to, or because you feel obliged, fear judgement, or want to prove something? People-pleasing, overworking, and adrenaline reliance often hide behind a sense of duty or the need to feel capable.

4. Check your boundaries: Notice where you consistently compromise your own needs. Are you skipping breaks, sacrificing sleep, or putting work before rest? Ignoring these signals is a strong indicator of hidden burnout behaviours.

5. Listen to your body and mind: Burnout shows up physically and emotionally, fatigue, headaches, irritability, low motivation, or a sense of emptiness. These signals are often dismissed as “normal stress,” but they can be your nervous system asking for attention.

6. Seek external perspective: Sometimes we’re too close to our own patterns to see them clearly. Ask a trusted friend, colleague, or mentor if they notice you overextending, multitasking excessively, or neglecting self-care. External observations can reveal blind spots.

Next Steps: Taking Action Before Burnout Escalates

Reflecting on my own experience, people-pleasing, overworking. relying on adrenaline, multitasking and neglecting self care all played a part in my burnout. If I had recognised these behaviours sooner, I could have avoided progressing through the stages of burnout.

Once you recognise these patterns, small, intentional adjustments can make a big difference. Protecting blocks of focus time, setting clear boundaries on what you can realistically take on, and building micro-breaks into your day all help reset your nervous system. Reclaiming control over your energy allows you to perform at your best without relying on constant busyness.

Even incremental changes compound over time. By identifying and shifting these hidden burnout behaviours, you can maintain productivity, stay engaged, and preserve your wellbeing, so that work feels sustainable rather than draining.

Want practical tips to build resilience and prevent burnout? Explore the Balancing Bluebells Anti-Burnout Blog and sign up to my newsletter for ongoing support.

Mairi x