Masking is the new burnout, and it’s coming for your top talent (and you!)

13 May

Burnout has become a work-chat buzzword in recent years, with people using the term to refer to everything from poor mental health days to extended periods of near nervous-breakdown. It’s become a kind of catch-all word that means something different to everyone - but everyone has personal experience of it.

In the same way that workplaces have seen the shift over recent years in employee surveys from requests of more support for mental health, to more support for neurodivergent conditions, highlighting the underlying reason for the presentation of mental health issues, so we are now getting a better understanding the the pre cusror of burnout is masking.

Neurodivergent masking is the conscious or unconscious suppression or hiding of certain behaviors, emotions, or traits to fit in with social expectations or appear neurotypical.

And it’s a HUGE problem in the workplace.

Rigid structures and systems that call for the same approach across the team don’t allow for minds that operate differently, and if you think that what you currently have is working then you might be surprised to hear that according to a 2024 survey amongst women in tech, managers reported that 3% of their team are neurodivergent, while in an anonymous survey 53% reported they had a neurodivergent condition.

And you might be surprised to see that numbered almost mirrored as we go up the ladder with 55% of business owners, 45% of C Suite execs and 32% of senior management self identifying as neurodivergent. (CYPHER)

Key Points:

"Masking" — adapting or suppressing natural thinking styles to fit traditional work models — is widespread among neurodivergent founders, creatives, and leaders.
The hidden cost: energy depletion, decision fatigue, emotional exhaustion, innovation loss.
The more brilliant and divergent the brain, the higher the cost of masking inside a rigid system.
Businesses and founders need to design workflows, team structures, and leadership styles that eliminate the need for masking.