METM26 presentation

Too easy to work with: when flexibility turns into exhaustion

Martina Abagnale, Arnhem, Netherlands

Many language professionals pride themselves on being adaptable, responsive, and easy to work with. However, the very traits that help us build strong client relationships can quietly turn into exhaustion, frustration, and a lingering sense that we are never doing enough. When does ‘listening’ become overextending? When does flexibility make you go over your limits? And how do we recognize that tipping point before something breaks?

In this session, I draw on my personal experience building and marketing a software service after many years working as a freelance language professional. Approaching a product with a service-provider mindset seemed natural, but the transition exposed blind spots around boundaries, feedback, and professional self-worth, and forced me to rethink what it means to serve clients well.

Rather than offering universal truths, this talk uses lived experience as a starting point for reflection. At the end of the presentation, I will provide prompts that invite participants to examine their assumptions about responsiveness, customization, and value, and to consider how their professional voice shows up in everyday decisions. How can we express informed opinions, offer guidance, and even challenge client requests rather than defaulting to compliance?

This session is aimed at language professionals at any career stage who feel caught between wanting to do right by their clients and wanting to do right by themselves. It will be particularly relevant for those navigating periods of growth, change, or new professional roles, or anyone sensing that something in their current way of working no longer feels quite sustainable.

About the presenter

Martina Abagnale is an Italian translator specialized in finance. Active since 2019, she has also worked as a trainer, industry speaker, and event organizer, sharing her passion and knowledge about finance, translation, and anything in between. In 2025 she co-founded Lemon Twist, a business-management software for freelance language professionals.