It was a pleasant surprise to hear from a longtime peer, friend, and service provider in the ESOP community recently.
In a situation I’m sure many can relate to, we had not had the chance to catch up in quite some time, and we inevitably got to talking about work and the trends we see in the workplaces and work lives of the employee-owners we’ve been engaging with over the past year. I shared how rejuvenating it was to see all my NCEO coworkers at our first work retreat after 18 months apart. This observation segued into a topic of discussion that later stood out to me.
My friend shared with me that a handful of clients had been getting good reception to and positive feedback from employee-owners on a range of changes. The surprise came when several of the same companies said they were also getting a significant amount of feedback about burnout and work fatigue, especially as these feelings related to isolation, “always-on” mindsets, or time management and workload issues.
Gallup published research in 2020 indicating that 76% of full-time employees reported experiencing burnout at least “sometimes” while on the job. The trend has continued in 2021. Gallup reports that work-related burnout was becoming such a pervasive issue in workplaces globally that in 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it “an occupational phenomenon” in its global standard for diagnostic health information, the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases.
The WHO defines this occupational phenomenon as follows: “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.”
The costs are clear when it comes to mental health, individual well-being, and organizational performance. According to the WHO, burned-out employees are 63% more likely to call in sick and 2.6 times as likely to be actively looking for their next job. What happens to the burned-out employees who stick around? They experience 13% less confidence in their own performance. Desire for growth and development is diminished. Gallup’s research found that the energy and mental focus of a burned-out employee are actually oriented toward a “daily survival” mode as opposed to being directed toward goals or future development.
There is plenty of research and experience to pull from to identify some of the core causes of burnout and ensure it doesn’t spiral out of control. Gallup suggests that managers and leaders focus their efforts on the most common causes:
Company leadership and project managers can take steps toward improving trust and assuring fair treatment by aligning company goals and performance initiatives with the unique needs of individuals, teams, or entire departments. When companies give work teams the autonomy to manage their own workloads, time pressures, and systems for team member support and communication, those closest to the work are the ones making the important decisions about how to do the best work for clients.
For instance, ESOP companies like Ayers Saint Gross took recent strides toward establishing a flexible and hybrid work policy. They have been transparent and clear with employees about their goals for remote work, but senior management is not going to be forcing the hands of work teams when it comes to how they manage their goals, schedules, deadlines, or regular all-team meetings. In fact, company controller Cari White says that the company’s work teams know both what resources they need and what works best for them in their day-to-day operations. At most, the company has laid out the basic parameters and expectations for remote work at the start of 2022, but the real decision-making power on how groups will manage and meet lies entirely with the teams themselves.
This type of group-level autonomy encourages healthy teamwork and ensemble building, where colleagues are taking care of one another and ensuring each other’s success. Teams can focus more clearly on doing better work once they have established mutual expectations and priorities with leadership and the organization. Ben Wigert, PhD, the director of Research and Strategy, Workplace Management at Gallup, suggests that managers do what is possible to prevent unnecessary stress by eliminating the barriers employees name in their feedback and input. This means teams and managers should prioritize meaningful input from colleagues in the same way they value effort.
The final action managers and organizations should take is the most important: Work harder than ever to make sure people feel valued for their efforts and supported through their challenges. Asking a team’s or employees’ honest opinion shows that you value their experience and technical knowledge. Give them recognition and encouragement to continue doing bigger, better, and more fulfilling work. One of my favorite improv rules is to “always take care of your partner” and focus on cooperation and mutual support. When the individuals on your team believe that helping each other elevates the whole team and organization, they can focus more on their growth, development, and goals. People can and should feel cared for and fully encouraged to play to their strengths, knowing that their team and leadership fully support them.