“I loved the job, even though it had always been a demanding one,” says Uzzell, 51, who lives in Norwich. “But, like many people, in lockdown, I started working even longer hours, and just had no time to decompress. I’d always been fit – in October 2020, I ran two marathons back to back – but by February 2021 I couldn’t even walk the dog. I began to get incredible chest pains, my heart started racing, and my sleep became more erratic. I was terrified because I had lost my dad when he was just four years older than I am now. 

“After months of ECGs and hospital appointments, it was clear there was something wrong, but there was no physical reason for it. In my heart of hearts, I knew it was because everything was getting on top of me, after years and years of this pressure, something had to give. I decided it was going to be my job – what’s the point of having an amazing pension scheme if you’re not well enough to enjoy it?”

Uzzell handed in her notice in September, left the company in December, and has since established her own business as a wealth coach (mymoneymovement.co.uk). “I’ve been gone almost a month and, funnily enough, so have the chest pains and the heart palpitations,” she says.

Her story is far from unique. One of the demographics most keen to kick off the shackles of the workplace appears to be the over-50s. Back in September, Tony Wilson, director of the Institute for Employment Studies, estimated that there were around a million fewer workers than before the pandemic and that approximately 50 per cent of those were over 50.

According to clinical psychologist Michaela Thomas this is no coincidence. “People talk about midlife crisis, but I think it’s more helpful to think of it as midlife clarity,” she says. “You get to a point where you reflect on what matters, on what’s meaningful, and there’s less pressure to live up to other people’s expectations.”

She also points out that once you get to an age where you no longer have young children and may have paid off most of your mortgage, you have the opportunity to take more risks with work. And, with retirement age shooting up – not to mention the fact that we’re living longer, and continuing to keep our brains active and engaged has been shown to help keep us both mentally and physically fit – you can see the appeal in shifting into a job that will make you happier and less prone to exhaustion.

Heading into middle age can also make you less resilient and more susceptible to the symptoms of burnout. These can manifest differently in different people. For Uzzell, it was chest pains and heart palpitations but, says Dr Samantha Madhosingh, a psychologist who now works as an executive coach, one of the most common she sees is poor sleep habits. “When people are answering emails or trying to work until late, their brain is racing with tasks and that often results in insomnia. Diet often suffers too, and from a mental health point of view, it’s common to see signs of depression, anxiety and attempts to self-medicate with alcohol.”

Thomas also says that forgetting things, being irritable, lacking motivation, feeling resentful, rushed and busy are also red flags that can indicate you’re heading for burnout.

But it’s worth remembering that burnout isn’t always about the office you find yourself in; it can be about the pressure that you put on yourself as well, which means that even switching to a different role – or working for yourself – won’t protect you from it entirely, and that can be down to something that’s been dubbed the winner’s curse.

“Burnout can come about if you work in an environment that has a culture of staying late, being available out of working hours, and where it’s not acceptable to complain when you reach capacity,” says Thomas. “But it can also be self-inflicted.”

And, when you’re used to being a high achiever, that’s where the winner’s curse comes in – that sense that you’re only as good as your last deal, and that every time you succeed, you push the bar higher for yourself. This is certainly something Uzzell recognises.

“You spend your time fighting to get somewhere and the last thing you want to do when you’ve pushed through barriers, smashed glass ceilings and made sacrifices to get to where you want to be, is to give it all back,” she says.