Popular NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern resigns due to burnout—and who can blame her?

We are fed the narrative that moms can do it all — and we probably can, and we sure do a whole lot. But should we? New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern As she stated in her recent news conference, she is now the face of setting healthy limits.

“The decision was my own,” Ardern said. “Leading a country is the most privileged job anyone could ever have, but also the most challenging. You cannot and should not do the job unless you have a full tank, plus a bit in reserve for those unplanned and unexpected challenges.”

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It makes total sense why she doesn’t have enough energy left, and wants to have that reserve. She was the first woman in thirty years to achieve this feat. give birth While leading a country, her daughter Neve Te Aoha was born in 2018. Six weeks of maternity leave was taken from her role as New Zealand’s leader. Since then, she navigated two 2019 mosque attacks that killed 51 people, worked to reform gun laws, closed borders in response to the pandemic, navigated national lockdowns, and even took a pay cut to mitigate the pandemic’s impact. She even cancelled her own wedding when Covid cases rose in the second term.

“I no longer have enough in the tank to do the job justice,” she added.

At 37, she was one of the youngest world leaders, and helped the world see that politicians are people too, who have both feelings and bandwidths that must be honored, as she’s honoring her own limits.

“We give all that we can for as long as we can, and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time,” she said.

Ardern will be removing herself from being the role model for healthy self-preservation before she experiences what 2/3 of working parents endure, according to a July 2022 study — working parent burnout. Study results showed that parents who are exhausted at work have problems with parenting and work, as well as increased symptoms of mental illness. They also feel less capable of succeeding in any one area.

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The study found that parents who are exhausted, and therefore have less energy, than the average parent, may not be able to provide calm parenting. In their exhausted state, they were more likely to spank, insult, or scream at their children.

Many people all over the world expressed their surprise and sadness to see Ardern leave office after all she’s accomplished.

We all will find her closing words to be impactful:

“I hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader—one who knows when it’s time to go.”