Shane McFeely Lead Researcher Quantum Workplace

Burnout isn't disengagement, but it’s a stepping stone along the path. Engaged employees who experience burnout can quickly lose their energy and motivation. They lose their connection to their work, team, and organization. Their feeling of loyalty could start to change. Increasing demands and lack of resources can transform even the most engaged high-performers into disengaged retention risks. 

Recognition is also a huge part of the conversation. When employees deal with a heavier workload and feel like they’re doing more than their fair share without the recognition, it can transform into burnout. 

That's why it’s important to foster an engaging and supportive culture that recognizes employees. Your culture can help you solve for burnout before it’s too late.   

To get ahead – and stay ahead – of employee burnout, leaders need to be strategic, empathetic, and proactive. Three keys to create a thriving, low-burnout culture include: 

• Continuous listening 
• Regular prioritization 
• Supportive policies  
• Realistic, aligned goals 
• Adequate staffing 
• Reasonable workloads 

Step up your frequency of employee listening with pulse surveys and 1-on-1 conversations between managers and employees. Keep the most important organization and team goals aligned and visible to help employees prioritize their own workloads. And regularly evaluate compensation and benefits to make sure you’re meeting employee needs and making them feel valued for their contributions.  

In the video below, I discuss what research tells us about burnout. 

Check out our list of resources on the right that’ll help you tackle burnout. 

Greg Harris CEO Quantum Workplace

Employee engagement is stuck in a rinse-and-repeat cycle of asking, analyzing, and then asking more questions. We want a perfect understanding, and we take too long to activate on change. 

We can’t operate this way. We need more agility and adaptability with rich, targeted insights that help us decide confidently, move swiftly, and drive results. 

Action should be our default mode. Insights shouldn’t slow us down. They should propel us forward. 

One of the biggest complaints about employee surveys is that employees are experiencing survey fatigue. I challenge that notion. It’s not survey fatigue. It’s a ‘lack of action’ fatigue. Employees are tired of giving feedback and seeing no change, no movement, and no action. To make action our default mode, organizations need to: 

• Be Brave. The fear of uncertainty can be paralyzing. Remember, the goal should be progress over perfection. 
• Make it Human. It’s easy to get caught up in the data. But we can’t forget the humans behind it. When you look at data through a human lens, it becomes easier to see where action is needed. 
• Empower Everyone to Play Their Part. HR cannot and should not carry the weight of action planning alone. Everyone in the organization should be actively involved in understanding and acting on survey results. 
• Do the Next Right Thing. Continuous improvement is a cornerstone of successful organizations. This works best when we focus not on everything we can do, but on the next best thing we can do. 

My challenge to you is to identify ONE THING you can do this year to act on employee listening insights.  

Check out our list of resources on the right that’ll help you act on survey results. 

Shane McFeely Lead Researcher Quantum Workplace

Employee engagement isn’t built on employee appreciation luncheons or holiday gatherings. Free food, a certificate, and a ping pong table in the break room don’t solve engagement issues. 

Those activities and efforts aren’t going to make employees stay and they’re not going to drive performance.  

Why? They don’t address the root cause of disengagement. They are superficial answers to a deeper problem. 

Your engagement investments should retain top talent and create high-performing teams.  

Leaders should: 

• Build confidence in decisions. Identify the metrics that truly matter. 
• Empower and align teams. Employees want to see how their work contributes to the success of the organization.  
• Take targeted action. Enact focused, well-timed measures based on employee feedback so you have quick, effective impact. 
• Empower managers to be coaches. Fuel them with knowledge so they can lead engagement efforts for their teams. 

Creating an engaged workforce positions your organization as a leading employer and enables employees to deliver their best work. 

Check out our list of resources on the right that’ll help you prioritize engagement.