Between being engaged and feeling vital, and feeling burnt-out, there’s a lot that can be done. But too much stress continues to beset high achievers and that affects many organisations.
One of the factors that commonly tips workers into burnout is a sense of unfairness.
Where workers feel that decisions are unfair e.g. there is favouritism or cheating, they were more likely to be burned out a year later. Those workers who experience improvement in workplace fairness become more engaged.
We don’t need any more reasons to focus on building fairness and inclusion, but here’s a good one anyway.
If we want an engaged not burnt-out workforce, for people to feel alive and vital, leaders should ensure they listen to the things that workers believe signal fairness:
- Acknowledge achievements, fairly
- Set realistic work standards and prioritise clear communication about expectations
- Give workers the resources they need
- Allow a reasonable degree of autonomy
- Foster civility and positive, supportive relationships
- Keep people up to date on what’s going on
These are simple actions that reduce the prevalence of stress and burnout, which means increasing commitment and retention.
Read more about conquering burnout in this article.
