Burnt Out to Lit Up

1Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire: Recognizing the Signs of Burnout

“I never want to hear the word ‘burnout’ again!” shouted a C-suite executive.

We were having yet another return to office discussion in mid-2021, when we hoped the pandemic was finally over. Little did we know then that we still had many cycles ahead of us.

In my role as the global chief people officer, I was in the process of sharing internal and external employee data with the executive leadership team, highlighting the profound mental and physical strain the global pandemic inflicted on our workforce.

Additionally, we were trying to get our heads around the challenges of the Great Resignation, a phenomenon of massive employee resignations across every department and global office. These hurdles had managers struggling to fill vacancies and motivate employees, including themselves, as they barely hung by a thread.

I was frustrated and responded, “You can call it whatever you want, but that doesn’t change the reality that our employees, especially our managers, are feeling unsafe, exhausted, and disconnected. Ignoring it won’t solve the issue.”

While that might not have been my finest hour, I wasn’t wrong.

Breaking Down Burnout: Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire

Have you ever fought the urge to sneak out of a meeting momentarily, find a quiet corner, and unleash a silent scream into the void?

Have you ever found yourself drowning in a sea of employee complaints, desperately trying to stifle the urge to tell ...