When “Just Work” Isn’t Just Work

You don’t have to hate your job to feel its impact on your mind. It can look like the quiet dread that builds on Sunday nights. The constant hum of tension you carry home. The low grade-exhaustion that even a long weekend doesn’t fix.

In counselling sessions, I often hear clients say, “I didn’t realize how much my job was affecting me until I stopped.”

We tend to separate “mental health” and “career”, but they are deeply intertwined. According to Statistics Canada (2023), almost one in three working Canadians report high or very high levels of work stress. The Canadian Mental Health Association notes that workplace stress has become the leading cause of short-term disability.

Our work is not separate from who we are — it’s an extension of it. Understanding that connection is the first step toward meaningful, sustainable wellbeing.

The Psychology of Work and Identity

Work is more than a paycheque. It’s one of the main ways we express identity, competence, and contribution. Psychologist Erik Erikson described adulthood as the stage of “generativity,” where we seek purpose through productive work and care for others.

When that sense of purpose erodes, when your role feels disconnected from your values or strengths, it can shake more than motivation. It affects self-esteem, confidence, even how you relate to others outside of work.

Research in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology consistently links strong professional identity and role clarity with lower rates of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Conversely, unclear or conflicting job roles predict higher emotional exhaustion.

Career wellbeing isn’t simply about satisfaction. It’s about psychological alignment between who you are and what you do.

When Work Hurts: The Toll of Misalignment

A misaligned or unhealthy work environment can take a serious toll on mental health.

Emotional Exhaustion: Chronic overextension without recovery leads to the hallmark signs of burnout — irritability, detachment, loss of empathy.
Cognitive Dissonance: Acting against your own values (“I’m helping a company I don’t believe in”) creates sustained inner tension.
Moral Injury: In helping professions, ethical strain or value clashes can mirror trauma responses.

The APA (2022) found that over 60 percent of employees reported work-related mental health symptoms, and nearly half considered leaving their job for wellbeing reasons. Canadian data from CAMH show similar patterns. Workers experiencing burnout are 3.4 times more likely to meet criteria for clinical depression.

These are not individual weaknesses. They’re systemic signals that something deeper is out of alignment.

The Link Between Career Fulfillment and Mental Health Recovery

The good news: the relationship runs both ways. When people find or redesign work that fits their strengths and values, their mental health measurably improves.

Studies in positive psychology show that autonomy, competence, and relatedness — key factors of self-determination theory — strongly predict lower anxiety and higher life satisfaction at work.

From a counselling perspective, recovery often begins not with a new job, but with reconnecting to meaning: What energizes me? What impact do I want to make? What environments let me thrive?

As one client reflected after realigning his career:

“When I started doing work that actually reflected who I am, I felt like I could finally exhale."

What an Integrated Approach Looks Like

At Connect Therapy and Career, I take an integrated therapy and career counselling approach because human beings are not compartmentalized.

Therapy creates space for reflection, processing stress, exploring identity, untangling self-doubt. Career counselling translates those insights into action, clarifying direction, mapping strengths, designing next steps.

That integration helps clients move from insight to implementation with less overwhelm.

If your work life is affecting your mental health, or your mental health is affecting your work, it may be time for a conversation that bridges both.

Practical Steps to Start Reclaiming Career Wellbeing

Before making major changes, begin with reflection:

1) Notice your body’s cues. When do you feel tension, heaviness, or dread?

2) List what energizes you. What tasks or environments help you feel most yourself?

3) Assess alignment. Which of your top values are honoured, or ignored, at work?

4) Consider support. A neutral space with a therapist-career counsellor can reveal blind spots and possibilities you might not see alone.

Signs your work may be affecting your mental health:

Frequent irritability or emotional flatness
Difficulty unwinding on days off
Loss of motivation or sense of meaning
Increased anxiety on Sunday nights
Feeling “stuck” despite apparent success

If several resonate, you may be in what psychologists call a career incongruence phase, a powerful but painful invitation to re-evaluate direction.

Closing Reflection

Your career isn’t separate from your mental health. It’s an expression of it. When those two align, you don’t just perform better. You live better.

If you’re ready to explore how your work and wellbeing can coexist sustainably, let’s start that conversation.

Book a Free Consultation