Former Walmart and IKEA Executive Says "You Cannot Meditate Your Way Out of Burnout"

In “Breaking Burnout,” Nabeela Elsayed argues burnout stems from the definition of success we inherited

TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nabeela Elsayed spent more than two decades rising from barista to the C-suite, serving as chief human resources officer and chief operating officer at Walmart Canada and as chief human resources officer at IKEA U.S. Her new book, “Breaking Burnout: How High Achievers Break the Success Myths Driving Exhaustion, Overwork, and Burnout” (Post Hill Press), argues that resilience workshops and better boundaries treat only the symptoms of burnout, not its causes.

The pressure is widespread. Just 34% of employees worldwide are thriving, while 65% are struggling or suffering, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report. Gallup also found that workers in the U.S. and Canada report more stress than workers anywhere else in the world. The World Health Organization classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon in 2019, defining it as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.

“Breaking Burnout” examines what happens when an entire generation of leaders, employees, parents and caregivers transitions from healthy ambition to exhaustion, and how to stop it through three tools:

• The Burnout Loop: Ways to identify the right moment to interrupt the “loop” – the pattern by which high performers go from striving to identity fusion, over-functioning and, eventually, depletion.
• The Seven Success Myths: A breakdown of inherited beliefs such as “the grind is the price of success,” “rest is weakness” and “your worth is your output” that Elsayed calls the silent operating system of professional life.
• The Re-Imagine Success Roadmap: A system for building sustainable success rooted in clarity and meaning.
  

Together, the tools help employees at all levels re-imagine, redefine and renegotiate their relationship with work, self-worth and achievement.

“When you care deeply about your work, you don’t become immune to exhaustion. You become more vulnerable to it,” said Nabeela Elsayed. “Work can be meaningful, but when it becomes your primary source of meaning, it turns into a demand you can never fully satisfy. ‘Breaking Burnout’ offers a roadmap to success and well-being.”

The book has drawn praise from Thrive Global founder and CEO Arianna Huffington, who calls it “a timely, deeply human guide to succeeding without burning out”; bestselling author Chester Elton, who says it shows burnout is “a natural response to how we’ve defined success”; and organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, who writes that it “challenges you to rethink what success was supposed to mean in the first place.”

“Breaking Burnout” has been named one of Fast Company’s top 10 business books to read this fall, one of The Next Big Idea Club’s October 2026 must-read books and one of BookPal’s fall favorite business titles for 2026. The book ranks No. 1 on Amazon’s hot new releases and bestsellers in work-life balance.

Take the free burnout assessment and order “Breaking Burnout” wherever books are sold.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nabeela Elsayed spent more than 20 years in leadership. She started at Starbucks earning $6.50 an hour and rose to chief human resources officer of IKEA U.S., then chief human resources officer and chief operating officer of Walmart Canada, leading 100,000 employees and managing more than 400 stores. Now an author and executive coach, she is a leading voice on preventing burnout and building sustainable leadership. She has been named to the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches, the Top 50 Best Executives and the Top 100 HR Professionals lists. She serves on the boards of the Miracle Foundation, the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism and the National Council of Canadian Muslims. She is also the co-founder of Rippl, a global online well-being conference.

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MEDIA CONTACT

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“Breaking Burnout: How High Achievers Break the Success Myths Driving Exhaustion, Overwork, and Burnout”

“Breaking Burnout: How High Achievers Break the Success Myths Driving Exhaustion, Overwork, and Burnout” (Post Hill Press) by Nabeela Elsayed, a former Walmart Canada chief operating officer, offers high achievers and leaders three tools to break the cycle of burnout and redefine success.

Nabeela Elsayed Head Shot

Nabeela Elsayed, former chief operating officer of Walmart Canada and chief human resources officer of IKEA U.S., is the author of “Breaking Burnout: How High Achievers Break the Success Myths Driving Exhaustion, Overwork, and Burnout."