She’s known and loved for her iconic roles from The Blind Side to Miss Congeniality to Oceans 8, so when Sandra Bullock announced that she was taking a break from acting following the release of The Lost City, many fans were shocked.

Throughout her career, the Oscar-winning actress has starred in more than 50 films and, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Bullock made an honest admission about the impact such constant work has had on her.

“I’m so burnt out. I’m so tired, and I’m not capable of making healthy, smart decisions and I know it,” she shared. 

Describing how she has relied on work as a “crutch”, she admitted: “Work has always been steady for me, and I’ve been so lucky. I saw it possibly was becoming my crutch. It was like opening up a fridge all the time and looking for something that was never in the fridge. I said to myself, ‘Stop looking for it here because it doesn’t exist here. You already have it; establish it, find it and be OK not having work to validate you.’”

And she’s not alone. According to data from FlexJobs, 75% of workers have experienced burnout, with 40% saying they’ve experienced burnout specifically during the pandemic. 

Research by Advanced suggests that over 85% of UK employees work extra hours and that women in particular find themselves amid a “hidden overtime epidemic,” as well as a wider cost of living crisis. 

Teaching us all a valuable lesson in implementing and maintaining boundaries, Bullock said that she doesn’t know how long her break from acting will last. “I don’t want to be beholden to anyone’s schedule other than my own,” she shared.

Good advice, indeed. 

Images: Getty