Running On Empty
In a meritocratic society, where a disproportionate value is placed on personal achievement, it's hard to separate identity from work. Who are we beyond our professions? Running On Empty is a phenomenology of burnout, and it collects varied narratives that detail the lived experiences of burnout.
Articles in Series
Running On Empty
Running On Empty: The Junior Lawyer
“You can actually go to court, and change a person’s life.” A once fresh-faced junior lawyer joined Singapore’s judicial system with big dreams of helping people, but ended up helpless in her own mental breakdown. The crushing demands of being a lawyer are widely known, but what pushed
Running On Empty
Can The Four-Day Workweek Really Work? Candlenut Says ‘Yes’
This article is part of our series on burnout and work culture, Running on Empty. Stay tuned for the next video episode coming later this month. Images by Zachary Tang save where otherwise stated. It was October 2016, and Malcolm Lee was meant to be having the time of his life. His restaurant, Candl
Running On Empty
The Fix for Burnout: Knowing When to Ditch What’s No Longer Working
This article is part of our new series on burnout, Running on Empty. Watch the third video in the series here. The latest episode in our series Running on Empty documents the plight of Matt Oon: a start-up founder with a bad case of burnout. To be frank, the future doesn’t look
Running On Empty
Fixing Burnout Starts With Fixing Organisational Failures, Not Employees
This article is part of our new series on burnout, Running on Empty. Watch the second video in the series here. Images by Liang Jin Tey/RICE file photos. Earlier this month, one of my colleagues wrote an op-ed arguing that the cure for burnout is to lower one’s expectations. He made a lot of good
Running On Empty
Running On Empty: Why We’re Talking About Burnout in 2021
All images by Rice Media unless otherwise stated. Last year, life as we knew it was unmoored in the swell of the new normal. The shift to work-from-home was smooth for some and disruptive to others, but nonetheless, it was a major departure from what we were used to. Some things
Running On Empty
The Cure for Work Burnout Is Lower Expectations
All photography used in this article was taken from the trailer of RICE’s upcoming video series WORKISM. All images were shot by Feline Lim and Zachary Tang for RICE Media. A few years ago, a Singaporean friend of mine, Patricia, quit her job in finance and moved to the Taiwanese c