Paying the passion tax
The problem of burnout within the publishing industry by Amy Floyd
Amy Floyd completed her Publishing MA at the University of Exeter, and has been working as a Rights Assistant at Oxford University Press ever since. She loves that no day working in Rights is the same!
Amy shares the findings of her MA on the issue of burnout in the industry and what we can do to help combat the issue, based on the results of our 2024 and 2025 surveys.
Whilst studying for an MA in Publishing at the University of Exeter, I became more and more overwhelmed by comments from those working within the industry already who suggested that a career in publishing was all-consuming. From books I read, to talks from professionals, it became clear to me that a successful career in publishing had to be motivated by passion, rather than a great work-life balance, or an impressive salary. After reading The FLIP’s 2024 Workforce Survey, and seeing that 97% of respondents admitted to having experienced burnout, I realised that burnout was a prevalent problem within the industry, and so I decided to dig deeper into the issue, and write my MA dissertation on the topic. I wanted to find out what accepted factors of working culture negatively impacted personal wellbeing, and try to understand how these factors operated specifically within the world of publishing. Since completing my MA, I have been working as a Rights Assistant at Oxford University Press. My new firsthand experience has emphasised the reality of my research to me; burnout is a huge challenge to those early on in their publishing careers. We all know how hard people have to fight to secure that first role, and the struggle doesn’t end when you start work. I often feel self-doubt creep in, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity through my research to prepare myself for the existence of these feelings.
“It is crucial to remember that burnout is not a failure on the part of an individual, but rather a marker of a failed system of working.”
I interviewed 4 participants about their personal experiences surrounding working cultures and the problem of burnout within the publishing industry, and read hundreds of articles and books about burnout in the creative industries in general.
The first thing that became clear to me within my research was that although publishing is a creative industry that values imaginative and intellectual production, it also inevitably sits within a capitalist business model. By measuring success by profit, instead of more abstract measures of creativity, employees may feel that their emotional investment is diminished or overlooked. People may feel unmotivated if they feel that their passion isn’t recognised or engaged with by their workplace, and this can lead to symptoms associated with burnout, such as emotional exhaustion, and a feeling of cynicism towards work.
This does seem to be a problem specifically affecting those working within the creative industries as, on the whole, creatives feel an increased overlap between their sense of self and their job roles, due to the fact that their creativity is a part of their personhood. For this reason, the experience of burnout actually becomes damaging to the self, as those suffering may feel as though they have failed themselves or not lived up to certain important aspects of their identity. It is crucial to remember that burnout is not a failure on the part of an individual, but rather a marker of a failed system of working.
“One thing to remember is that everyone holds individual responsibility for fostering a positive working culture as an employee; it is really easy to slip into the belief that because everyone else is doing something, you should too.”
Something that was discussed in each interview was the change in publishing work culture brought about by the pandemic. Hybrid working has raised the issue of boundaries – what is too much, and what is not enough? There is a sense that currently, working cultures within publishing operate in terms of extremes. Some people are far too ready to use boundaries as an excuse not to seize opportunities and push themselves to their full potential, for example, by not embracing in-person opportunities at work. On the other hand, a lack of established boundaries can lead to an unhealthy obsession with work and a lesser sense of differentiation between work and personal life. It is seen as quite acceptable to work from home despite being unwell, in situations where in the past nobody would be expecting you to come into the office. Unfortunately, presence doesn’t equal productivity, and working whilst sick can actually lead to a hindrance of productivity within a team (this is called presenteeism). Sometimes it is more important to take responsibility for your wellness and understand that a day of no work which enables you to spend time recovering and getting back to full productivity is so much more valuable than working at a reduced capacity and causing yourself further problems down the line.
One thing to remember is that everyone holds individual responsibility for fostering a positive working culture as an employee; it is really easy to slip into the belief that because everyone else is doing something, you should too. But that is not the case. Accepting a problem by seeing it as an inevitability reduces the visibility for what it really is: a problem. This acceptance can only be challenged by open and transparent discussion, and this can only happen in working environments where every colleague is willing to listen to and value the views of others. Burnout thrives on extremes as it reinforces the idea that ‘there is no other way’. This is in fact not the case, and it is crucial to remind one another of this if we are to promote healthy working cultures.
“We are treated as people, not machines, and it is an environment where I would feel very safe in voicing any concerns or struggles that I had.”
My research illuminated one specific problem that contributes towards burnout, and this is a lack of diversity within the industry. A lack of diversity enforces an insularity upon those within publishing who belong to under-represented groups, and this can lead to a feeling of isolation in their experiences. If employees don’t feel heard, supported, and represented, it is more likely that they will become isolated and disillusioned with work, which are two of the core symptoms of burnout.
So what can we do to make a change? The hugely valuable takeaway that I found from my participant responses was the importance of uplifting your peers and leaning on one another for support. Managers need to embrace and believe in the mindset that nurturing passion is important in the workplace; if you encourage what got people to work in the first place, you will end up with more motivated workers.
I am so pleased that my manager has formed a team that is one that checks in and takes an interest in one another individually. We are treated as people, not machines, and it is an environment where I would feel very safe in voicing any concerns or struggles that I had. For this, I am grateful, but I know that this is not the working environment that everyone experiences.
It may seem like an overwhelming challenge to make a change to current industry practices, but if 96% of respondents to The FLIP’s most recent 2025 Workforce Survey (a reduction of only 1% from the time that I carried out my original research) have admitted to experiencing burnout, we can move forward with a sense of solidarity. People in publishing aren’t burnt out because they’re bad at what they do – burnout is the talent within the industry being exploited by current practice. In order to ensure that people are at the forefront of publishing, we need to dedicate ourselves to facing the problem of burnout. It’s time to start reimbursing the passion tax.
