Former Olympian Becky Adlington says it was like ‘going into a hole’ when reaching burnout as a young swimmer.
News
Becky Adlington speaks out on burnout
Speaking at a conference, she said: “In sport you’re already stressed and tired anyway, if you’re not pushing your body to the limit every day then you’re not really doing the work. But as I got older, I’d recognise the signs – we used to call it ‘going into a hole’.
“It’s that feeling of constantly being overwhelmed and pressured.”
An ambassador for the Not A Red Card campaign – which sets out to show it’s not bad to talk about mental health in the workplace – Becky said there are still tough barriers to opening up.
![Becky Adlington is an ambassador for the Not A Red Card campaign run by Legal & General](/media/jhlfdai2/becky-adlington-small.jpg?width=500&height=325)
“We can all recognise the signs when we’re feeling immense stress. Mentally and emotionally, I’ll get to the point where I don’t want someone to talk to me, I want to be by myself. It’s too much of a challenge to even have a conversation with somebody.”
Becky was keynote speaker at the Employee Wellbeing Congress 2020, held virtually over Wednesdays in September. She was invited to discuss burnout and to share her tips for employers and individuals to tackle it.
She recommends home workers set boundaries, such as not reading or sending work emails after 6pm.
She also stressed how important it is for staff to have a supportive network they can turn to in difficulty or to inspire and motivate them.
“One thing that was really important to me as a swimmer in the athlete world was having a support team around me. That’s really important in business as well – we’ve got to have supportive relationships and you’ve got to be asking people how they are but also, knowing who you can turn to.”
Becky Adlington was speaking at the Employee Wellbeing Congress: www.employeewellbeingcongress.co.uk
NEWS
![ULEZ iStock/Alena Kravchenko](/media/e2rjnled/ulez-image-istock-1158467582.jpg)
ULEZ expansion helped improve air quality in London, says City Hall report
By Kerry Reals on 26 July 2024
Expanding London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) last August contributed to “dramatically lower” pollutant emissions across the UK capital in 2023, according to a report from City Hall.
![Liz Kendall](/media/mnbfarxh/liz-kendall.jpg)
UK Govt to take targeted, local approach to reducing economic inactivity and supporting people back into work
By Kerry Reals on 24 July 2024
The UK’s new Labour Government has unveiled plans to tackle economic inactivity by working with local mayors to design work, health and skills plans that are specifically targeted at helping local people enter or re-enter the workforce.
![Offshore Rig iStock Arild Lilleboe](/media/1tgpg24e/offshore-rig-image-istock-1266114411.jpg)
HSE urges offshore oil and gas firms to focus more on safety risks from human error
By Kerry Reals on 23 July 2024
Offshore oil and gas companies are being urged to focus more closely on the potential for human error to cause major accidents, after an inspection of a platform operated by Apache in the North Sea found failings in plans to prevent fires and explosions.