When Burnout Becomes a Wake-Up Call: A Conversation with Krissy Vanity

Krystle "Krissy Vanity" Redding is a workplace culture consultant, burnout management and prevention specialist, coach, author, and speaker who helps organizations and working professionals create healthier, more sustainable ways to work and live.

Her passion for burnout prevention comes from lived experience. As a single mother of nine, Krissy spent years working long hours while managing a household, virtual schooling, and serious health challenges of her own. Like many professionals, she learned the hard way what happens when stress goes ignored and people are expected to push through without support.

That season changed everything. After a major health wake-up call, Krissy began studying burnout, workplace stress, and human behavior. She earned multiple coaching certifications, including CBT-based coaching, and shifted her focus to helping people and organizations address burnout before it becomes a crisis.

Today, Krissy works with businesses, leaders, and teams to improve workplace culture, strengthen communication, and reduce burnout at every level. Her work blends practical strategy with a human-first approach, helping organizations protect productivity without sacrificing well-being.

Krissy is also an author and speaker who uses storytelling, real-life insight, and research-based tools to spark meaningful change. She believes burnout is not a personal failure, but a systems issue, and that when workplaces care for people properly, everyone wins.

Through consulting, coaching, writing, and speaking, Krissy helps people move from constant pressure to clarity, balance, and long-term success.

I met Krissy Vanity at the Author AllStars Dinner back in December, an event that brought together a diverse group of talented writers, publishers, and literary enthusiats. It was a night filled with inspiring conversations, networking opportunities, and a shared passion for storytelling. I immediately wanted to learn more about Krissy's story. After a brief conversation, she agreed to participate in an interview.

Tonya - Your passion for burnout prevention is rooted in lived experience. Can you share a defining moment from your own journey that made you realize something had to change—and how that moment shaped the work you do today?

Krissy - There wasn’t one dramatic breaking point, it was more like a slow realization that I was surviving everything but myself. I was recently divorced and working as an essential worker during the pandemic, managing virtual schooling for eight children while caring for a toddler, and dealing with a medical issue that kept getting worse because I didn’t have time to listen to my body. I kept telling myself, “Just get through today.” Over and over again.

After surgery, when I was finally forced to slow down, I realized how normalized my exhaustion had become. I wasn’t just tired, I was operating inside systems that required constant sacrifice without sustainability. That moment didn’t just change how I lived; it changed how I see work, caregiving, leadership, and expectations. It’s why my work now focuses on prevention, not recovery. I don’t want people to wait until their body or life forces them to stop.

Tonya - You often say that burnout isn’t a personal failure, but a systems issue. What does that mean in everyday terms, and what are some signs a workplace system is quietly fueling burnout?

Krissy - In everyday terms, it means this: if multiple people are exhausted, disengaged, or struggling in the same environment, it’s not a coincidence, it’s a pattern. Burnout doesn’t happen because people suddenly become weak or lazy. It happens when expectations, communication, and structures are misaligned with reality.

Some quieter signs include unclear roles, constant urgency without prioritization, poor communication, leaders who reward over-functioning, and workplaces where rest is talked about but not truly respected. When people feel like they can never “do enough,” that’s not a motivation problem, that’s a systems problem.

Tonya - As a single mother of nine who navigated work, health challenges, and caregiving, how did you learn to redefine success, and how does that perspective influence how you coach others?

Krissy - I had to redefine success because the version I was chasing was unsustainable. Success used to mean pushing through, doing it all, and proving I could handle everything without help. But that definition nearly cost me my health and my peace.

Now, success looks like alignment. It looks like sustainability. It looks like being present without being depleted. That perspective deeply influences how I coach others. I don’t measure success by productivity alone, I look at whether someone’s life actually works for them. I help people question the standards they’ve inherited and decide what success means now, in this season, with their real limitations and responsibilities.

Tonya - When someone feels stuck in constant pressure and survival mode, what is one small but powerful shift they can make to begin moving toward clarity and balance?

Krissy - Stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking, “What is this environment requiring of me?” That shift alone changes everything. It moves the focus from self-blame to awareness.

Clarity begins when you can name what’s draining you instead of just enduring it. You don’t have to fix everything at once. You just have to see clearly. Once you can name the pattern, you’re no longer stuck, you’re informed.

Tonya - If leaders truly want to create healthier, more sustainable workplaces, what is the first mindset or behavior they must be willing to change?

Krissy - They have to stop confusing burnout with resilience gaps. The first mindset shift is recognizing that people don’t burn out because they lack grit, they burn out because systems quietly demand too much for too long.

Leaders must be willing to listen without defensiveness and evaluate how their structures, expectations, and communication impact the people doing the work. Sustainable workplaces aren’t built on pushing harder; they’re built on designing smarter. That requires humility, curiosity, and a willingness to change the system not just the people inside it.

Want to connect with Krissy?

Follow Krystle “Krissy Vanity” Redding for more insights on burnout prevention, workplace culture, and sustainable success. You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/krissy.redding.77, Instagram and TikTok @krissyvanity, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystleredding20. Learn more about her work at https://krissyvanity.online or reach out directly at krissyvanity2020@gmail.com.