‘The fatigue is not only real, it is absolutely legitimate’: why are so many of us so tired right now?

Every year we run this race, and every year we get to the finish line – the last couple of months of the year – ready to collapse, only to face the prospect of preparing for festive events and family gatherings, entertaining children and preparing ourselves for whatever fresh disaster hell our superheated global climate is readying for us.

It’s exhausting. But this year feels especially hard.

How often do conversations with family, friends and colleagues at the moment include at least one person commenting how tired they’re feeling? The news cycle keeps delivering horrors, shocks and moral affronts that drain our reserves. At the same time, we try to plough on with “normal” life: a calendar rammed with end-of-year events, office parties, school presentations, catch-ups with friends we haven’t seen for ages because we’ve been too busy; all the while many of us try to squeeze in a few more days of paid work because the dollar doesn’t stretch that far these days and we need all the money we can get.

In workplaces, homes, shops and schools, there’s a sense that much of Australia is running on empty; emotionally, physically and financially.

When it comes to reasons for anxiety and exhaustion, the cost-of-living crisis is high on the list. Rising prices for food and housing are never far from the headlines but wages aren’t keeping up.

At the same time, Australians have a problem with overworking. “We are a long-working-hours culture compared to other equivalent OECD countries,” says Dr Lisa Heap, senior researcher at the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute. More than one in eight Australians work long hours, according to the latest figures. We also spend less time on leisure and personal care than the OECD average. “People who are in full-time employment [are] doing more hours than they’re paid for, and certainly more hours than they want to be doing.”