Four in ten South African businesswomen are burnt out. Juggling work, households, and leadership without enough support is taking its toll. The hustle culture promise is wearing thin.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
You need to know this: burnout has become commonplace among South African businesswomen. A recent estimate from the South African Depression and Anxiety Group puts the figure at one in three employees experiencing burnout, which is a third of the working population.
Deloitte found that 40% of South African women reported burnout in the past year, and more than half said their stress levels have gone up. Among younger women, aged 18 to 25, the number climbs even higher, around 56%.
The mental toll is particularly severe for those who regularly work beyond their agreed-upon hours. Only one in four rate their mental health as good, compared to one in two who stick to their contracted time. That gap is significant, and it’s not getting smaller.
What’s Fueling This Fire?
Burnout doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The pace of work might be high, but it’s everything around the job that pushes the load over the edge. For many South African businesswomen, stress builds in the background before it spills over.
The environment is doing some of the damage:
- The cost of living keeps climbing, while wages often stay put.
- Disruptions to transport, power, and water affect working hours and energy.
- Around 10% of women say they’ve been harassed while commuting.
- Micro-aggressions are common: 43% have dealt with them at work.
- Many are underpaid for their role or working more than one job to stay afloat.
This shows that it’s not always the workload; sometimes, it’s everything else.
Glimmers of Hope
You’ve seen how burnout strains ambition. Now, let’s explore what eases it, and what could realistically help.
Fair pay and financial well-being support
Underpaid work drains more than your wallet. Worry builds when your salary doesn’t cover basics or match the effort. Where businesses review pay gaps, offer transparent salary bands, or give access to budgeting tools, the mental load changes. Financial support should be the ground level of sustainable work, not merely a perk.
Listening, flexibility, and mental health support
Toxic work environments are not always apparent; they wear people down over time. Being able to raise concerns without backlash, working flexible hours, or having clear leave policies changes how someone gets through the week.
Mental health days are essential. Employers who create open, supportive working environments don’t remove stress, but they stop it from piling up in silence.
The ambition isn’t going anywhere
In 2025, a huge majority of South African women are still aiming higher. Over 80% say they’re focused on growth, even with all the weight on their shoulders. That should tell you something: while the drive hasn’t disappeared, what’s missing is the support to keep that drive from burning out before it turns into something lasting.
Having the right medical aid for mental support
In South Africa, some medical aid plans now include structured mental‑health support.
- Discovery Health offers a Mental Health Care Programme: short-term GP and therapy consultations, antidepressant cover, and digital cognitive behavioural therapy tools are included, with additional protection under Prescribed Minimum Benefits.
- Bonitas, Medihelp, and others provide therapy sessions, medication benefits, and mental‑well‑being programmes on various plans.
Choosing a medical aid that includes therapy or counselling can lift cost burdens and make seeking help easier, because you don’t have to wait until everything collapses. There’s no glory in burnout. Working longer hours for less, under pressure to prove yourself, isn’t sustainable. If ambition is still alive, it needs proper support.
Employers, government, and business leaders have a choice: protect your workforce, or watch it completely crumble. Overall, if you want high performance, start with fair conditions.
READ ALSO: BURNOUT – A SYNDROME OF MODERN SOCIETY, written by a Clinical Psychologist
