Your Employees Are Burning Out. Here’s How You Can Help
Everywhere you turn, people are tired and depleted. A majority — 59% — of American workers experience burnout and nearly two-thirds of employees have high levels of stress with extreme fatigue. According to Gallup data, the increase of anger, stress, worry and sadness has been increasing for more than a decade. It's a crisis that affects personal lives, businesses and communities, and now, some CHROs and executives are recognizing this issue and calling for action.
The energy effect is the single largest indicator for business and leadership success. Prioritizing mental well-being has a proven return on investment. With initiatives like the human energy pledge making building personal energy management skills more accessible and available, can you really afford to ignore it? Here’s how the human energy crisis may be affecting your organization and what you can do to tackle it.
Why Are We in an Employee Energy Crisis?
People are struggling to manage their time and attention while also dealing with stressful thoughts and pressures that drain their mental, emotional and physical energy. Even though some organizations offer remote or hybrid work options to provide flexibility, this can add new challenges for employees. According to Robert Garcia, Vice President of ICF Coaching in Organizations, “with no ‘normal’ working hours, and workspaces meshing with personal space and time, employees are navigating newfound challenges on top of their already present obstacles in work and life.”
Even though we are moving forward in the wake of COVID-19, the world’s economic, social, and political uncertainties bring continuous increased stress. Many of us are still “reeling” from the height of the pandemic, said Kim Curley, Vice President of Workforce Readiness at NTT DATA. On top of everything else going on, “carrying that emotional load takes a tremendous amount of energy… Our empathy muscles are in overdrive. Our limbic systems are taxed. We wonder about the seemingly random nature of it all, and it’s exhausting.”
To compound this issue, many organizations are asking employees to do more with fewer resources even though they are already starting each day in an energy deficit. Aaron Rubens, Co-Founder and CEO of Kudoboard, cautions that while “business leaders are understandably focused on maintaining the financial health of their organizations,” that focus “cannot come at the cost of employee satisfaction, support and the energy or health of employees.”
While everyone knows purpose is important, there is often a “lack of connection between the individual employee and the overall organization,” according to Rubens. A lack of acknowledgement can also contribute to that sense of alienation, as “an employee who is constantly asked to do more, yet not appreciated for the work they’ve already accomplished, will eventually reach burnout.”
What Is the Impact of the Human Energy Crisis?
Employees, leaders and organizations feel the effects of this human energy crisis. “I find myself stuck in the ‘1000 yard stare’ more often than I’d like,” Curley said of her own experience, “and I can see my teams and myself struggle with things that used to come so easily. I also see more conflict, shorter fuses, and people hunkering down in defensive postures (metaphorically, of course).”
Our volatile and uncertain world creates a vicious cycle of added stress in employee’s personal lives. That stress naturally bleeds into the workplace, and can reduce engagement, productivity, talent attraction and retention. David Cohen, CEO of Love Rose, noted it can also reduce innovation, which “can ultimately lead to decreased competitiveness in the marketplace.”
The impact stress has on employees’ mental health also affects their physical health, with issues such as “headaches, high blood pressure, muscle tension, and poor immunity,” added Rubens, all of which also have business implications in healthcare costs, absenteeism and presenteeism.
Employee energy levels also bleed into customer experience. “When we’re not at our best, we’re not giving the best, and our clients will typically feel the effects of that,” Curley noted.
What Can You Do to Energize Your Employees?
Inspiring and empowering employees to bring their best selves to work requires a multi-pronged approach that focuses on the employee as a human, beyond their title and role. “We’ve lost the humanity at work,” Crystal Boysen, Head of People at Vimeo, warned, and while driving efficiency and productivity is needed, “connecting with employees at a human level is more important than ever.”;
Build Connections
Connections are a fundamental human need. Loneliness and isolation can impact how engaged employees feel as well as their well-being. Ryan Culkin, Chief Counseling Officer at Thriveworks, said they offer an internal social platform where employees can connect on a personal level by “sharing and celebrating special moments from their lives,” recognizing the crucial role this plays in alleviating depression, anxiety and stress.
Having a sense of purpose and understanding how your daily contributions contribute to meaningful outcomes is a strong source of positive energy that can fuel motivation, engagement, and even make mundane tasks or challenging moments easier to tackle. Once you understand your organization's purpose, desired impact and values, focus on ensuring that each employee feels connected to them. Curley urges leaders to “think about the cultural markers you want in your organization and whether your organization supports those values and cultural norms.”
Learning Opportunities
“Ensuring employees can connect to their work and colleagues, including outside of work related things, can help them leave the day feeling energized versus drained,” Boysen said. And while meaningful acknowledgement can energize people, many fail to stop to feel their achievements before rushing on to the next task. So instead, she recommends, “stop, pause, and recognize the great work done by setting intentional time to do retrospectives and renewal celebrations.”
Develop Managers and Leaders
To succeed during the human energy crisis, it is crucial to hire and develop authentic, empathetic and caring leaders to help your workplace thrive. Traditional management and leadership training may not be effective, given the change in workforce dynamics in just the past few years. It is now essential to equip managers and leaders with the skills they need to handle their own energy, manage employees from multiple generations and effectively communicate with those who are stressed, burned out, anxious or depressed.
“Having a manager who is adept at recognizing the signs can make all the difference,” said Culkin. “Companies can offer training programs specific to employee well-being, how to recognize and appropriately address any issues.” Skills such as demonstrating empathy, active listening and role modeling healthy behaviors, can help employees feel safe and cared for, as well as give them permission to care for themselves. As Boysen noted, she needs to be the best version of herself and take care of herself to be her best for work and for her team.
Focus on Whole Human Well-Being
You will also need to focus on all aspects of well-being. At Wajax, they take a holistic approach, including focusing on physical health, mental health, and financial health through benefits and programs, said Iggy Domagalski, CEO & President of Wajax.
Supporting mental and emotional health requires a safe and honest environment. It also requires psychological safety. Thriveworks holds monthly “Safe Spaces” with additional sessions when events occur that may have extra impact to employee mental well-being. These gatherings allow clinicians “to voice their thoughts, feelings, questions and opinions free of judgment,” said Culkin.
The impact is not spread evenly across industries, Jess Elmquist, Chief Human Resources Officer at Phenom, observed, noting that sectors with high numbers of customer-facing employees, such as retail, education, and hospitality, are seeing “higher than average turnover rates, with “people leaving roles based on stress and pressure.” Therefore, it is critical for your strategy to consider hourly workers who may suffer from a lack of access to the tools, communications and support granted to the rest of the workforce.
Organizations that focus on meeting employee needs are seeing the benefits. Flexibility, recognition programs and development opportunities at Love Rose have led to increases in employee engagement, job satisfaction and overall energy levels, “which in turn has positively impacted our business,” said Cohen.
If you are not already taking the necessary steps to understand the root causes behind your organization’s human energy crisis, or creating your short and long term strategies to tackle it, you can start by acknowledging the issue and making a commitment to nurture your employees’ energy. After all, there’s no time like the present to start restoring your employees’ energy and building an energized organization that is fully equipped to face the future, whatever it may look like.
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About the Author
Sarah Deane is the CEO and founder of MEvolution. As an expert in human energy and capacity, and an innovator working at the intersection of behavioral and cognitive science and AI, Sarah is focused on helping people and organizations relinquish their blockers, restore their energy, reclaim their mental capacity, and redefine their potential.
Connect with Sarah Deane:
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