Finance is undoubtedly a stressful industry. So how to succeed in a financial sector career without burning out? That was the topic of a Delano Live discussion on Tuesday evening.

Widespread telecommuting in the financial sector since March 2020 has led to an uptick in burnout cases, panellists told the Delano Live audience. Part of that is due to social isolation and difficulty setting boundaries. Part of that is also due to more awareness of burnout itself.

Speaking on the panel were Sophia Karlsson, a former fund industry executive who is now a , and Nele Segers, HR business partner and L&D lead Luxembourg at IQ-EQ, a major fund and corporate services provider.

The panellists highlighted that stress is not the same thing as burnout, and that stress does not necessarily cause burnout. Some stress is good, because it is motivating. But some stress is bad, because it leads to disengagement. Burnouts sometimes happen when people put too much pressure on themselves to outperform, and sometimes happen when micromanagers overburden staff, for example.

If someone feels at risk of a burnout or is experiencing a burnout, Karlsson and Segers said it was vital for them to be honest with themselves about the situation and about the workload they can handle. If an employee speaks to a manager about burnout, the manager should realise the issue has been going on for a while. If an employee goes to HR, essentially “it’s too late”, stated Segers.

“Delano Live: How to move up without burning out?” was organised by the , sponsored by ING and Enovos, and took place at Knokke Out in the Rives de Clausen.