People often treat high achievement as proof that someone is thriving. For many entrepreneurs, executives and other high-performing professionals, however, an impressive resume can conceal a very different reality.
Dr. Angelica Perez-Litwin has spent more than 20 years working with high achievers, including entrepreneurs, executives, physicians and attorneys. Through that work, she noticed a pattern among clients who described themselves as “burned out.” Yet, they were still performing at a high level and accomplishing their goals, but internally, they were struggling.
That observation became the foundation for Perez-Litwin’s book, The Great Unraveling: The Silent Crisis of High Achievers and the Path to Career Harmony. During the latest episode of Business Trends Today, she explains why traditional definitions of burnout may not fully capture what some high performers experience and how business leaders can recognize the warning signs.
When success masks distress
For over five decades, workplace research has defined burnout as a state of chronic exhaustion, reduced professional efficacy, and detachment from one’s job. While burnout manifests as depletion and disengagement, career distress presents very differently in top performers.
Dr. Perez-Litwin notes that high achievers struggling with career distress continue performing at peak levels externally. They hit quarterly targets, manage complex projects, and maintain executive composure, even as internal psychological and physical strain builds beneath the surface.
"So in a nutshell, career distress response is really a psychological and a physiological response among high achievers when their identity is fused with achievement and success." — Dr. Angelica Perez-Litwin
When professional performance becomes intertwined with self-worth, high achievers tend to struggle to disconnect. She notes that they stay constantly activated, checking emails late at night, feeling guilty during downtime, and gradually withdrawing from personal relationships.
Recognizing warning signs
Because high performers rarely complain and consistently deliver results, leaders often overlook the early warning signs of career distress. Dr. Perez-Litwin asserts that managers frequently reward behaviors that signal deep internal anxiety rather than sustainable success.
Key indicators that a top achiever may be experiencing career distress include:
- Inability to disconnect: Consistently responding to messages late at night or working through vacation time without setting boundaries.
- Personalizing workplace feedback: Treating neutral critique or minor operational setbacks as existential threats to their competence.
- Unexplained physical symptoms: Experiencing chronic stress-related health issues, such as anxiety, insomnia, or gastrointestinal distress, despite clear medical evaluations.
Career harmony
According to Dr. Perez-Litwin, addressing career distress requires intentional leadership efforts to model balanced behavior and decouple personal identity from professional outcomes. When executives answer emails at midnight or praise non-stop availability, they signal that overwork is necessary for advancement.
To foster long-term career harmony, leaders should create environments where feedback is constructive, failure is viewed as a learning opportunity, and employees are valued beyond their immediate outputs. Realigning workplace culture helps organizations protect their talent, prevent burnout, and sustain long-term performance.
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