The Work That Is Yours

Not every demand is a duty.

This is important, because people burn out when they cannot tell the difference between what is theirs to carry and what they have simply become accustomed to absorbing.

Aflac’s 2024 WorkForces Report found that workplace burnout had reached a tipping point, with 66% of millennials facing moderate-to-high burnout. Heavy workloads and long hours were among the major stressors.

But the answer cannot be: abandon responsibility.

Duty matters. Work matters. Colleagues matter. Clients matter. Paychecks matter. The job we agreed to do does, in fact, need doing.

When I studied the life of Mahatma Gandhi in college, I encountered the Bhagavad Gita through his eyes. Arjuna does not want the battle in front of him. He wants to put down his bow. The teaching that stayed with me was not passive obedience. It was the harder thing: discern what is yours to do, then do it without being ruled by comfort, applause, or guaranteed success.

In a workplace, that means asking:

What did I actually agree to do?

Who is relying on me?

What am I avoiding because it is boring, repetitive, or difficult?

What am I carrying because no one else has been made to carry it?

Duty gives structure. False duty creates exhaustion.

The mature thing is not to say yes to everything. Nor is it to treat every expectation as an insult.

The mature thing is to know what is yours.

Then do that well.

Emily Hunt-Adiletta OBE is a bestselling author and keynote speaker.
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