After the Flood: How Recognizing I Had Burnout Saved My Life

In a compelling reflection on burnout, Jennifer Gaskin, CCI’s editorial director, draws from her harrowing personal experience during the 2008 Indiana floods to shed light on the emotional toll of high-pressure careers—especially in compliance. On the day her town flooded, Gaskin continued working, prioritizing her job over personal safety and family, a decision that, in retrospect, symbolized how deeply entrenched she was in a work-centric mindset. This behaviour, she later realized, exemplified how burnout can silently overtake individuals in demanding professions, masking emotional and physical stress as dedication.

Central to Gaskin’s exploration is the insight provided by Jennifer Moss, whose research and commentary offer a vital framework for understanding the deeper roots of professional exhaustion. Jennifer emphasizes that burnout is not simply a personal failure to manage stress, but a systemic issue often exacerbated by workplace culture. She notes that compliance professionals are particularly vulnerable due to personality traits such as perfectionism and high conscientiousness—traits that make them strive to “be the last check mark,” as Jennifer puts it. These individuals feel immense pressure to perform flawlessly, making them prone to chronic stress and burnout.

Jennifer argues that traditional self-care advice like meditation or time management is insufficient. “It’s an ecosystem problem to solve,” she states, insisting that organizational structures and cultures must change to truly combat burnout. Her perspective reframes the issue from a personal shortcoming to a collective challenge, calling on employers to create environments where employees can thrive without sacrificing their health.

Throughout the piece, Gaskin illustrates the lasting effects of burnout—panic attacks, insomnia, and anxiety that lingered for years—even after leaving her high-stress job. Yet she also highlights the slow path to recovery, learning to heed physical and emotional warning signs, and recognizing that well-being requires not just individual awareness, but also institutional accountability. Jennifer’s contributions give this narrative a broader relevance, turning one woman’s story into a call for systemic change in how burnout is understood and addressed in the compliance field and beyond.