Addressing Employee Burnout Concerns

Stress is part of life — and certainly part of work. But cumulative stress, the kind that builds up day after day and leads to burnout, is not inevitable. It's preventable —when we combine our own daily resilience practices with environments that support us. And that starts with both individual actions and leadership decisions. At Thrive Global, one of the ways we support this is through the Entry Interview. Almost all companies conduct an exit interview when an employee leaves — quizzing the employee about their experience, what worked, what didn't work. But what if managers understood these factors when it could make the biggest impact: on the employee's first day instead of their last? That's the idea behind the Entry Interview. Basically, it's a conversation between a new hire and their manager on day one that starts by asking what's important to them outside of work. For parents, it might be taking a child to school. For others, it might be logging off at a certain time one night a week for a physical therapy session or for a fitness class. It's about acknowledging that we take our whole selves to work, and that nobody should have to choose between being successful at their job and being fulfilled in other parts of their lives. When we know what matters to someone in their personal life, our regular check-ins become deeper and we're more likely to know how they're faring at work and in life as their needs and priorities evolve over time. It's not just good practice. It's a data-backed leadership strategy. According to Gallup, employees who strongly agree that their employer cares about their overall well-being are: ➡️ 3x more likely to be engaged at work ➡️ 71% less likely to report experiencing a lot of burnout ➡️ 5x more likely to strongly advocate for their workplace ➡️ 5x more likely to trust their leadership ➡️ 36% more likely to be thriving in their lives overall Preventing burnout isn't just about what our workplace provides — it's also about the small, intentional choices we make to prioritize recovery, set boundaries, and build connections. It doesn't require massive overhauls. #StressAwarenessMonth

Stop trying to solve burnout with meditation apps. #Burnout at work is on the rise, and next year isn't likely to bring relief -- in fact the opposite. Under pressure to "do more with less," fears about #genAI and #RTO commands, it's not a surprise. Sharon Parker and Caroline Knight in MIT Sloan Management Review have put together a great framework for addressing a pressing issue that doesn't get glib about apps or just say "lighten their load." They also root it in a case for change: "58% percent of 18-to-34-year-olds said that their daily level of stress is overwhelming. Disengaged, stressed-out employees do not perform at their best." The SMART framework: 🔸 Stimulating work: Am I solving real problems that matter? Is there variety? 🔸 Mastery: Am I learning new skills, getting feedback and is it clear how my work contributes to broader goals? 🔸 Autonomy: Are the lines clear for what decisions I can make, and do I have flexibility to do work where and when I'm at my best? 🔸 Relational work: Am I engaged with a team, connected and feel a sense of belonging and support? 🔸 Tolerable demands: Is the work realistically scoped, so that I'm not in continual overload? Are there peaks and valleys? Their framework sounds easy, but anyone who's managed large teams knows how hard it is and how much design goes into making it happen. What I found historically with teams that helped were: ☀️ Frequent check-ins on how someone's feeling about the work, not just the status of the work: are you learning? Is it reasonable? Are you having fun? ☀️ Rotations of dreck and joy: routine work and doing the same type of project over again isn't fun; ensuring people get rotations in and out of "drudge" work. ☀️ Balancing autonomy and collaboration: Getting clear up front about shared goals, roles and levels of decision authority across the team. No swarm ball. ☀️ Taking breaks. Make sure people can step away from work, build and support boundaries and rest periods. Peak performance isn't "hustle culture." What works for you to relieve burnout? #Leadership #Management #Engagement #Productivity #culture

Let’s face it - current headlines spell a recipe for employee stress. Raging inflation, recession worries, international strife, social justice issues, and overall uncertainty pile onto already full work plates. As business leaders, keeping teams motivated despite swirling fears matters more than ever. Here are 5 strategies I lean into to curb burnout and boost morale during turbulent times: 1. Overcommunicate Context and Vision: Proactively address concerns through radical transparency and big picture framing. Our SOP is to hold quarterly all hands and monthly meetings grouped by level cohort and ramp up fireside chats and written memos when there are big changes happening. 2. Enable Flexibility and Choice: Where Possible Empower work-life balance and self-care priorities based on individuals’ needs. This includes our remote work policy and implementing employee engagement tools like Lattice to track feedback loops. 3. Spotlight Impact Through Community Stories: Connect employees to end customers and purpose beyond daily tasks. We leveled up on this over the past 2 years. We provide paid volunteer days to our employees and our People Operations team actively connects our employees with opportunities in their region or remotely to get involved monthly. Recently we added highlighting the social impact by our employees into our internal communications plan. 4. Incentivize Cross-Collaboration: Reduce silos by rewarding team-wide contributions outside core roles. We’ve increased cross team retreats and trainings to spark fresh connections as our employee base grows. 5. Celebrate the Humanity: Profile your employee’s talents beyond work through content spotlight segments. We can’t control the market we operate in, but as leaders we can make an impact on how we foster better collaboration to tackle the headwinds. Keeping spirits and productivity intact requires acknowledging modern anxieties directly while sustaining focus on goals ahead. Reminding your teams why the work matters and that they are valued beyond output unlocks loyalty despite swirling worries. What tactics succeeded at boosting team morale and preventing burnout spikes within your company amidst current volatility?

The phrase "crashing out" is rapidly gaining traction, describing a breaking point where employees, overwhelmed and exhausted, impulsively disengage—sometimes even quitting without a backup plan. This trend reflects a deeper crisis of mental fatigue, burnout, and a collective inability to cope with prolonged stress and intense workplace pressures. It’s a symptom that goes beyond simple job dissatisfaction, stemming from a fundamental disconnect between individual needs and organizational support. Research highlights several core reasons behind this phenomenon: employees' quest for progress isn't being met; they feel a loss of control, a misalignment with company values, or simply need to take a critical next step in their lives. Coupled with inadequate communication, poor performance management, and a lack of psychological safety, these factors create environments where stress turns into systemic overload, leading individuals to hit a wall. For HR leaders, this is a critical call to action. To stem the tide of "crashing out" and foster a resilient workforce, consider these essential responses: Prioritize Individual Progress: Understand each employee's unique career quest and provide pathways for skill development, challenge, and advancement. Enhance Communication & Transparency: Establish clear, consistent communication channels, ensuring employees feel informed, heard, and supported. Vague benefit details or unclear performance metrics are no longer acceptable. Revamp Performance Management: Move beyond annual reviews to continuous, supportive feedback that clarifies expectations and helps employees align their work with their goals. Cultivate Psychological Safety: Create an environment where employees feel safe to express vulnerability, set boundaries, and admit when they are not okay, without fear of repercussions. Normalize Rest & Well-being: Actively promote work-life balance and model healthy boundaries. Invest in mental health resources and peer support systems to build a more resilient workforce. Empower Managers: Equip leaders with the tools and training to have ongoing, empathetic conversations about well-being and progress, truly knowing their teams' needs. Addressing "crashing out" isn't just about retention; it's about building a sustainable, human-centric workplace where employees can thrive. https://lnkd.in/eYRGhZ3g #HR #EmployeeWellbeing #Burnout #WorkplaceCulture #HumanResources #FutureOfWork #EmployeeEngagement

Workplace trauma is real, and it doesn't get enough attention. The loss of a job can shatter someone's identity, but also their financial well-being, and relationships with partners, family, and friends. Bullying or harassment from bosses and colleagues can cause the same kind of loss of confidence, withdrawal, and anxiety that bullying or emotional abuse can cause in any other part of our lives. Workplace practices that shut down employee voice or promote practices that lead to burnout could leave people unsure of what a "healthy" workplace looks like. And there's a decent chance that you're working with people who have experienced some form of trauma in the workplace. How might this play out? -Maybe they check in every day while on PTO because they were reprimanded if they took a real vacation in a previous workplace. -Maybe they are always the last to leave because it was a badge of honor at their old office. -Maybe they are quiet in meetings and never offer feedback because they were lectured every time they expressed their opinions. -Maybe they check and recheck their work and take far longer than you'd expect to complete a task because they were ridiculed every time they made an error. -Maybe they ask about the stability of the company every other week because they were told everything was great, and then laid off a few days later. I'm not enough of an expert to say what can be done, but I'd imagine some of the things you might consider: 1. Build relationships and trust on a personal level in the workplace to help people feel more comfortable letting you know how they are feeling. 2. Be transparent about the culture, and expectation in the workplace. Communicating norms that may seem like "common knowledge" could help those who are anxious about making errors. 3. Model the behaviors you want to see so team members see how people operate. Managers should be taking PTO and maintaining boundaries in the workplace to normalize that for their teams. Managers should model pushing back or giving upwards feedback so their teams feel comfortable doing the same. 4. Offer lots of praise and reinforce the behaviors you want to see so people trust that the norms set out are actually what's valued in the work place. And be patient! Your team member may not realize the trauma they carry from a previous work place until they experience something different. It may be 3 months in when you tell them for the 8th time that it's OK to give you feedback when they disagree that they finally take a chance and give you direct feedback. That may be frustrating for you as a manager, but for someone who was written up for insubordination every time they disagreed and threatened with termination, it may be a huge risk to disagree in the workplace. So be patient with your folks and recognize that all of these previous experiences combined with a tough job market could just mean they need a bit more support to show up as the best version of themselves.

Create Environments Where Your Teams Can Thrive How to Address Burnout as a Leader: It's our responsibility to spot burnout early and take action. Here’s a cheat sheet to help you lead with empathy and prevent burnout: 1. Foster Open Communication (Talk It Out): ↳ Create a safe space for discussing stress and workload. ↳ Focus one-on-ones on well-being, not just performance. 2. Promote Work-Life Balance (Boundaries Matter): ↳ Encourage disconnecting after hours and taking vacations. ↳ Lead by example! Log off at a reasonable hour. 4. Recognize and Reward (Appreciation Counts): ↳ Acknowledge efforts and celebrate small wins regularly. ↳ Hold weekly shout-outs to boost morale. 6. Provide Stress Management Resources (Tools & Support): ↳ Offer wellness programs and mental health resources. ↳ Share resources during meetings or in a Slack channel. 8. Encourage Professional Growth (Invest in Development): ↳ Provide learning and development opportunities. ↳ Invest time and budget in workshops or courses. ___ 👉 Pro Tip: Pin this cheat sheet at your desk or share it with your team to keep burnout prevention top of mind. 🔄 Join the Conversation: What strategies have you found effective in preventing burnout within your team? 👋 Follow me, Hetali Mehta, for more leadership insights.

High-pressure, fast-paced work environments are like hot sauce on the brain—they keep everything on fire. While leaders might thrive on this continual state of excitement and ambition, expecting all employees to sustain this intensity is unrealistic. Such an environment can lead to: → Burnout → Disillusionment → High turnover But what if you’re on a mission to change the world or accomplish big things? How can you cultivate a culture of innovation that also supports a sustainable workforce? ⦿ Flexible Schedules: Foster innovation with flexible hours and remote work options, as demonstrated by Google. ⦿ Clear Boundaries: Limit after-hours work and communication to avoid burnout, a strategy championed by 37signals. ⦿ Promote Well-being: Invest in wellness programs and mental health resources, like those offered by Asana. ⦿ Create Innovation Labs: Set up dedicated spaces or times for experimentation and creativity, like 3M's famous 15% rule. ⦿ Encourage Regular Breaks: Implement mandatory downtime, similar to Slack's "no meetings" Fridays, to boost creativity and reduce fatigue. ⦿ Mentorship Programs: Pair employees with mentors to nurture growth and support, following the model used by Pixar Animation Studios to encourage creative collaboration. wearemotto.com

Yoga, meditation, pizza parties, and smoothie bars often get a bad rap—or become easy scapegoats—for ineffective wellness strategies. But these activities can support well-being when used alongside deeper organizational efforts. Real change only happens when organizations tackle the core drivers of burnout and embed well-being into their core values and culture. This includes: • Fair workloads and staffing levels to prevent chronic overwork • Clear roles and expectations to reduce confusion and stress • Psychological safety so employees feel comfortable speaking up • Supportive leadership that models healthy boundaries • Flexible schedules and work options where possible • Opportunities for career growth, learning, and personal development • Effective communication and alignment to reduce unnecessary stress • Access to mental health resources and peer support networks Sustainable and holistic well-being isn’t served by isolated activities or “wellness programs.” It requires building a culture of joy, purpose, and connection where people feel valued and empowered to thrive in their work and life. Have you seen organizational cultures that get this balance right? #JustOneHeart #Wellness #Leadership #Culture

Do you feel unmotivated to take action of any kind? Do you no longer find joy in hobbies or spending time with loved ones? These could be symptoms of burnout, indicating you may be overworking and feeling mentally and physically drained. According to research by Deloitte: 77% of professionals experience burnout in their current jobs. As alarming as this statistic is, the real issue lies in the fact that many of us don't even recognize the signs until it's far too late. Throughout my career, I can recall several instances where in hindsight I experienced burnout. While from the outside I was succeeding in my career, on the inside I was struggling with my mindset, feelings and relationships. I was fortunate to have a strong support network (both professional and personal) that supported me through these struggles. This personal experience made me realize the importance of normalizing speaking about this topic and educating myself and others on prevention and management strategies. To get some practical insights and tips on this topic, I reached out to my friend Dora Vanourek. Dora is a Burnout Coach for Tech Professionals, a LinkedIn Top Voice on Resiliency, and a Senior Consulting Services leader at IBM. Here are 5 invaluable tips she shared on preventing and managing burnout: 1. Recognize Early Signs of Burnout: Burnout does not happen overnight - instead, it slowly creeps in. Watch out for early signs such as exhaustion, emotional overwhelm, disrupted sleep, changes in eating habits, disconnect from social life, reduced motivation and self-care, physical ailments, and reduced performance. 2. Understand and Address Root Causes: Long hours might seem to cause burnout, but they're often just a symptom of deeper issues. Common root causes include feeling undervalued, working in a toxic team environment, lack of autonomy in how you work, perceived unfairness, and a mismatch between job requirements and your values. Addressing these core issues is essential. 3. Engage in Activities: Find an activity that energizes you and helps you disconnect from your work. Aim for at least 15 minutes on most days. Anything you enjoy will be beneficial: walk, exercise, creative hobbies, dancing to favorite songs, gardening, meditation, etc. 4. Incorporate Meaningful Tasks in Your Work: All jobs have less enjoyable tasks. Research shows that you are less likely to burn out if at least 20% of your work is meaningful. An example is mentoring or coaching someone, developing new ideas or developing a training course for others. Everyone finds meaning in different tasks - reflect and find yours. 5. Ask for help: You are never alone. Reach out to a friend or professional. Your company might have employee assistance programs, or point you to available help in your country. Looking for additional insights on the topic? Follow Dora here on LinkedIn. She posts daily on the topics of  burnout, careers, mindset, coaching, and leadership.

59% of contact center agents are at risk of burnout. 😓 My research shows empowerment is the top factor to help agents become more resilient. Empowerment isn't just letting agents do whatever they want. It means enabling agents to provide great service. That consists of three things: 1. Resources: the tools and supplies to do the job. 2. Processes: best practices to follow. 3. Authority: permission to do the right thing. Example: A hospital needed to order a heart stent for a scheduled surgery, but the manufacturer was out of stock. Fortunately, the manufacturer's customer service agent was empowered to help. She had access to various inventory tools, including a list of products each customer had on hand (resources). The agent followed a procedure to check alternative inventory sources to locate the needed stent at a competing hospital in the same town (processes). She contacted the hospital and arranged to have the stent transferred in time for the patient's surgery (authority). It took a lot of effort, but the agent felt great. She knew she had made a real difference in someone's life. ⛔️ Now, imagine if that agent wasn't empowered: 1. No resources to find the stent. 2. No processes to locate products in an emergency. 3. No authority to transfer the stent from one customer to another. It's frustrating when you can't make a difference. Bottom line: Avoid burnout. Empower your agents. ✳️ Get the full burnout study here --> https://bit.ly/4iUYMT5