'I packed in my £110K law job with burnout to move back home to Sheffield and live with mum and dad'
‘We need money but we don't need anywhere near what we think we do’
Sheffield graduate Kristi Boyes has told how she packed in her high powered £110,000 job in law to move back home to her parents, after severe burnout.
Kristi, aged 30, loved law when she took it at A-level because she could’t get into a business course, and completed her degree at the University of Sheffield in 2018, before finding a training contract, and starting her career.
But when she later moved to London on a client secondment she started to get burnout and found herself feeling anxious all the time after 12 hour days.
Now she has resigned from the job, moved home and has now become a yoga teacher and business owner.
Her hours look very different now, sometimes working shorter days and on weekends. She's swapped working late nights for early rise yoga classes, but says no two days look the same.
Kristi, from Sheffield, said: "I honestly was just crying all the time, I was obviously not telling anyone because I felt like why am I crying, I've got so much good stuff in my life.
"I had the house, the dog, the friends and family, and the job, and I was just getting frustrated at myself at not being grateful.
"I'd not really taken much time off in that first year, and I think it affected my mental health a lot."
Kristi moved to London in May 2023, but found herself working from her flat for two months because of office renovations.
She was working 12-hour days and didn't know her team well, leaving her increasingly unhappy.
Mental Health UK's 2026 survey found younger workers more likely to experience stress due to issues such as money worries, isolation, and fears around redundancy and job security.
It found one in five workers took time off due to poor mental health caused by stress.
After the office renovations Kristi extended her time in London in hopes she would have a better experience.
The stress and burnout filled Kristi with tension and gave her digestive problems.
She said: "I just kept ignoring the gut feeling, I could not comprehend leaving law.
"I'd find myself Googling random jobs in the middle of the day, but I just could not do it."
Posting about her mental health on LinkedIn and TikTok during this time sparked conversations with senior lawyers who shared their own struggles, giving her the idea for her future business.
In summer 2024, the death of her grandfather and an especially busy period at work prompted Kristi to question what was important to her.
She began journaling her working hours and how she was feeling, while also having therapy.
Kristi handed in her notice and left her career in law in January 2025.
She said: "I was scared of making the wrong decision and throwing my life away, at one point it was literally my dream.
"You almost feel like a bit of a failure, I had been working since I was 14, 15. I worked through uni. I never took a gap year.
"To then be in a position where I'm not earning money, and I've not got a bit of a purpose, it was hard. But I was so excited about what was next, that it was okay."
Kristi moved home and was unemployed for five months - she spent some time in Bali doing a yoga teaching course to "do something for herself".
She found it "fascinating" and listening to her body made a difference to mental and physical health issues.
She learnt all of the stress and build up from work left her not breathing deep enough.
After returning home, Kristi began teaching yoga and gradually built up her confidence while working minimum wage in a family shop to earn extra money.
Krristi then launched her Stress Less Club in January 2026.
She said: "We run events to help people stress less, using yoga as a tool to release tension in the body and calm the mind.
"So many people are struggling with their mental health so we create that safe space for people to come do something good for their body, prioritise their mental health, and connect with others.
"In May, for Mental Health Awareness Month, I went back to my old company to do an event, with the Stress Less Club, which was just crazy.
"In 2022, when I was working at my old law firm, a mindfulness coach came to speak to us when I was quite burnt out and just so stressed. She introduced me to mindfulness and yoga.
"Now four years later, I'm back doing a talk about stress. That's just so full circle, isn't it?"
Her income is inconsistent at the moment and she continues to live in her family home as she builds up her business.
She said: "We need money but we don't need anywhere near what we think we do.
"It depends on what you value. I used to value material things more but stepping away and going to Bali really shifted my perspective."
If Kristi needs to go back into law part-time or freelance, having a healthier mindset will help, she said: "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it".
Kristi said: "I do not think I've thrown it away. I think 20 year old me was naïve, and had different values.
"She hadn't lived enough life yet to figure out what she actually wanted.
"Now I want to help people. And I really want to work on what I'm passionate about. And that just wasn't law - it is yoga and helping people stress less."