Burnout or Quietly Quit?

The global consulting firm Deloitte recently published a study on burnout. It's a sobering reminder of the challenges that many of us are facing in today's fast-paced and demanding work environment. The pandemic completely changed entire industries. Many are back in the office full-time; some are doing a hybrid schedule; and others may never go back to the cubicle. This adds complexity to workplace culture and how leaders lead their teams.

The survey found 77% of full-time US employees have experienced burnout at their current job, and over half have faced it multiple times. While companies may be offering well-being programs to address stress in the workplace. 70% of professionals feel their employers are not doing enough to prevent or alleviate burnout. I live in Canada and I'll bet the numbers are similar here. 

Workplace Culture

But it's not just about the programs. The survey also found workplace culture plays a big role in preventing burnout. The top driver of burnout cited was lack of support or recognition from leadership, and a quarter of respondents said they never or rarely take all their vacation days. I can relate! 

The survey also found 84% of millennials have experienced burnout at their current job, with nearly half saying they've left a job because they felt burned out. It's a concerning trend, and it highlights the importance of addressing burnout in the workplace. Quiet quitting has crept into our vernacular since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Preventing Burnout

It's not just about offering well-being programs or a supportive workplace culture. It's about creating a holistic approach that recognizes and values the well-being of employees. Here's a thought; if you're a leader, ask them how they are doing rather than always focusing conversations on output and results of their work.

It's a critical issue, and it's time for companies to step up and create a work environment that promotes well-being and prevents burnout. The workday is no longer punching in at 8:30am, taking the standard one-hour lunch break, and punching out at 5pm. We aren't robots; we are humans, and there's a lot going on that may not be related to our work but certainly affects it. AI may be dominating the zeitgeist but it’s my hope we don’t forget the human connection. 

A good place to start is with an honest conversation.

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Remote Leaders

I've been reading about this and thinking about this for years. I have been fortunate to work with amazing collaborative insightful and giving leaders; I have also had some bosses. I think there is a definitive list somewhere but the way I view leadership is from the inside. Each of us has a different interpretation of what they need in their leader or how they want to lead.

In a time when we have 3-4 generations in a workplace, the one size fits all model won't work. Sales managers yelling at reps to make more calls, Marketing directors steadfast on their design over others, CEO's accountable to shareholders without focus on their employees to make those financial successes a reality.

Read The Room

And that room can be as granular as every single person in the organization. For some, they need a coach akin to the defensive coordinator who yells at their guys for missing the tackle. For others, they require a more personable calm approach.

The key to being a great leader, in my opinion, is twofold. First, you don't decide you're the leader; your team or company does. Second, your only focus is your team or company. Customers will show up if you create a culture of collaboration, respect, and strong internal customer service. Since most are working remotely, this makes the challenge of leadership even more important to master.

A great leader never has to remind people they are the leader.
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Unlimited Access

One hundred years ago, there weren't all these ways to stay in touch yet business was built, careers thrived, and relationships flourished. Media penetration has created the ability for us to connect with someone on the other side of the planet we may not have previously known. The explosion of social tools and electronic collaborative spaces have shrunk the earth to allow us to find like-minded people with the push of a thumb.

We are all publishes, media makers, opinion sharers, and data miners.

As we create the appearance of a more connected world, we may be slowly losing the connection to ourselves and soon to each other. Snippets of half conversations, misspelled texts between meetings, skimmed over details of an upcoming project, all in the quest to do more and more and more.

More for less, more meetings, more email, more information, more activity. More everything. The week is the same length it was 200 years ago yet we are inundated with data constantly. This doesn’t mean it’s useful or valuable but it’s more to sift through. And while we try and do more, we may be losing our human connections.

Less might be a good strategy.
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What Makes a Great Leader?

I've been reading about this and thinking about this for years. I have been fortunate to work with amazing collaborative insightful and giving leaders; I have also had some bosses. I think there is a definitive list somewhere but the way I view leadership is from the inside. Each of us has a different interpretation of what they need in their leader or how they want to lead.

In a time when we have 3-4 generations in a workplace, the one size fits all model won't work. Sales managers yelling at reps to make more calls, Marketing directors steadfast on their design over others, CEO's accountable to shareholders without focus on their employees to make those financial successes a reality.

Read The Room

And that room can be as granular as every single person in the organization. For some, they need a coach akin to the defensive coordinator who yells at their guys for missing the tackle. For others, they require a more personable calm approach.

The key to being a great leader, in my opinion, is twofold. First, you don't decide you're the leader; your team or company does. Second, your only focus is your team or company. Customers will show up if you create a culture of collaboration, respect, and strong internal customer service.

A great leader never has to remind people they are the leader.
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A Connected World Less Connected

Anytime you walk into a business, it can be an interesting look into human behavior. There are people in meetings, typing on laptops, discussing a new project in the hall, drinking coffee, and maybe even having a laugh or two. It’s a peek into a subsection of society we call work. They say we spent a third of our lives in this space. It appears it's rapidly becoming more. We may not be "at work" but we seem to be spending a larger amount of time working, thinking about work, worrying about work, discussing work.

Our workspace is expanding physically as technology spreads it into homes and airports and has created an almost 24/7 culture where we are checking messages on smartphones at all hours to ensure we don’t miss anything. Instant responses are commonplace and our ability to always stay connected has become the topic of debate.

Need it Now

One hundred years ago, there weren't all these ways to stay in touch yet business was built, careers thrived, and relationships flourished. Media penetration has created the ability for us to connect with someone on the other side of the planet we may not have previously known. The explosion of social tools and electronic collaborative spaces have shrunk the earth to allow us to find like-minded people with the push of a thumb.

168 hours

As we create the appearance of a more connected world, we may be slowly losing the connection to ourselves and soon to each other. Snippets of half conversations, misspelled texts between meetings, skimmed over details of an upcoming project, all in the quest to do more and more and more.

More for less, more meetings, more email, more information, more activity. More everything. The week is the same length it was 200 years ago yet we are inundated with data constantly. This doesn’t mean it’s useful or valuable but it’s more to sift through. And while we try and do more, we may be losing our human connections.

In our quest to collaborate, we may be losing the plot.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

keystothepage

Bonding and Business

NFL playoff season is upon us and millions of us will be coaching from our armchairs or favorite establishment as we cheer on our favorite uniform and life’s focus turns to pigskin, but a lot more than football is going on.

Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist and professor at Stanford University, shares data and a humorous look at guys and how we communicate and interact. His insight sheds light onto more serious topics such as; culture, leadership, and collaboration.

Go Packers!


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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

TED | Philip Zimbardo

The Dreaded C-Word

The responses are interesting when I ask about company culture. Often it's a visceral response. Sometimes it induces a look of bewilderment. Occasionally a dismissive laugh. Who has time for culture? What does culture have to do with work? We need revenue not all that touchy feely stuff.

Culture is a tricky topic. Many have trouble defining, creating, and maintaining it in the work space where deadlines are endless and revenue stress is constant.

The Greyhound Effect

When leaders are more focused on the bottom line than their people, collaborative culture is often replaced by a competition where the prize can never been caught like in a greyhound race. It’s telling how many executives I speak with earmark the importance of people yet often remain the catalysts for a carrots and sticks management style.

My passion is to help leaders and organizations put culture and collaboration at the forefront of their efforts. I'm currently collaborating on a process with a colleague which will help business owners, executives, teams, or companies of any size. It merges culture with measured results. More on that soon.

Berber Carpet and Exposed Brick

A relaxed dress code and premium coffee in the lunch room doesn't create good culture. Open collaboration, fair leadership, and clear direction are a good start.

Make your business an inviting place to work and people will like working there. Open lines of true communication and you will tap into your most valuable resource. If we curate a collaborative atmosphere with people as our focus, business will thrive.

If we focus solely on money, talent retention will remain 
a mystery and revenue will suffer.

Kneale Mann

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