The Burnout Equation

Watch how unsustainable pace compounds over time

Your Work Pattern

45
Part-time (30) Crunch (80)
60%
Work weekends Full disconnect
70%
Exhausted (5h) Well-rested (8h)
50%
Always available Strong boundaries
60%
Pointless grind Purpose-driven

Quick Presets:

Your Energy Over Time

Current Energy 100%
Week-by-week (52 weeks)
Sustainable for
∞ weeks
Net weekly drain
-0%
Output quality
100%
Health risk
Low

The Burnout Math

Weekly Energy Cost

Base work drain: -40%
Overtime penalty: -5%
Meaning buffer: +6%
Total drain: -39%

Weekend Recovery

Rest recovery: +30%
Sleep bonus: +14%
Support bonus: +5%
Total recovery: +49%

Net Weekly Change

+10%
Energy building over time

What the Research Shows

📊

After 50 hours/week, productivity per hour drops sharply. At 60+ hours, you produce less total work than at 40 hours.

🔋

Recovery is non-linear. One day off after burnout doesn't restore a week of overwork. It takes 3-4x longer to recover than to deplete.

💡

Meaning is protective. Engaged, purposeful work depletes energy slower than meaningless grind at the same hours.

😴

Sleep is compound interest. Each hour of sleep debt accumulates. You can't "catch up" on weekends.

🎯

Burnout is invisible until it isn't. You feel fine right up until you don't. By then, recovery takes months.

⚡

Sustainable pace wins. Teams that maintain 40-hour weeks outperform crunch teams over any period longer than 3 weeks.

Your Situation

Adjust the sliders above to see how different work patterns affect your energy over time.

Based on research from "Dying for a Paycheck" (Pfeffer), "Rest" (Pang), and Maslach Burnout Inventory studies