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Tag: burnout

  • Engagement Scores Miss the Mark. How To Measure Thrivability and Prevent Burnout

    Engagement Scores Miss the Mark. How To Measure Thrivability and Prevent Burnout

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    Christy Suerth, MS, SPHR, CPC, CHC

    In boardrooms and executive team meetings, the conversation is shifting. Engagement scores miss the mark.

    I’ve seen it firsthand. I worked with a CEO who wasn’t interested in another “engagement survey.” He wanted to know something deeper: How are our people really doing?

    Just yesterday, a colleague told me his CEO asked about “thrivability.” Not retention. Not engagement. But whether employees were truly able to thrive in the culture.

    This tells me something: leaders are starting to realize that thrivability is becoming a core business metric. It’s one they can’t afford to ignore.

    Why Thrivability Matters in Preventing Burnout

    Many organizations talk about well-being. And while well-being matters, it often stops at programs or perks: meditation apps, gym memberships, wellness stipends. Well-being can mean employees are “okay.”

    Thrivability goes further. It asks: are people energized, purposeful, and contributing in ways that drive performance?

    • Retention isn’t enough. Keeping burned-out employees on the payroll costs more than turnover. Thrivability ensures people are energized, not just hanging on.
    • Innovation and agility require energy. Thriving employees contribute ideas, solve problems, and see possibilities others miss.
    • It signals cultural health. When thrivability is high, you’ll see resilience, adaptability, and trust across the organization.

    Thrivability isn’t just surviving. It’s flourishing. And that difference is what drives business outcomes.

    How to Put Thrivability into Practice

    If you’re wondering how to measure and apply this inside your organization, start small:

    1. Ask different questions. Move beyond “Are you engaged?” to “What restores your energy at work?” or “Do you feel your work matters?”
    2. Track energy as a metric. Pulse surveys at the end of the week can reveal whether teams are consistently depleted or restored.
    3. Leverage validated tools. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Areas of Worklife (AWL) Survey are gold standards for understanding where employees are at risk of burnout—and where thriving is most possible. Unlike engagement surveys, they identify the root causes of depletion.
    4. Link to business outcomes. Compare thrivability scores with retention, innovation metrics (patents, ideas submitted), or even customer satisfaction.
    5. Pilot with leaders. Ask managers to track team thrivability and discuss results in staff meetings—make it visible and actionable.
    6. Embed in scorecards. Thrivability deserves a spot next to revenue, margin, and customer experience. What gets measured gets managed. For more ideas, read my article about how one company used KPIs to prevent burnout.

    The Executive Imperative: Measure What Matters

    Forward-thinking CEOs are already asking their teams about thrivability.

    Because companies don’t burn out. People do. And when your people thrive, your business thrives.

    Question for Leaders:
    If you could add one thrivability measure to your scorecard tomorrow, what would it be?

    (And if you’re curious about how tools like the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Areas of Work Life Survey reveal these answers, send me a note. I’m always happy to share how organizations are using it.)

    Thrivability is quickly becoming a leading indicator of organizational performance. I believe in the next five years, boards will begin expecting it reported alongside earnings and customer growth.

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    Learn more about the cost of burnout by reading Burnout Doesn’t Send You an Invoice but It’s Already Draining Your Bottom Line

  • Your Team is Burned Out! Nine Ways to Recognize It

    Your Team is Burned Out! Nine Ways to Recognize It

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    Christy Suerth, MS, SPHR, CPC, CHC

    As a leader in several world-class global organizations, I quickly learned that managing people well is immensely challenging.

    I remember one technical implementation project where we were under tremendous pressure to deliver results with limited resources. I had to balance performance with the wellbeing of my team.

    At one point, a team member, with dark circles under their eyes, told me: “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

    It was a wake-up call. I realized that while pushing for results was necessary, recognizing and addressing burnout was just as critical. That moment shaped how I lead to this day.

    Burnout Isn’t a Weakness; It’s a Workplace Risk

    Burnout isn’t your team member’s personal flaw. It’s a workplace risk that:

    • Spreads through teams like wildfire
    • Erodes trust and engagement
    • Harms your department’s results
    • Damages your reputation as a leader

    The Costs of Ignoring Burnout

    • Productivity loss: Exhausted employees make more mistakes, recover slower, and need more oversight.
    • Turnover risk: Burnout is a top predictor of attrition. Replacement costs run 1.5–2x an employee’s salary. And in the meantime, the workload piles up.
    • Engagement decline: Burned-out teams don’t innovate. They do the minimum to survive, and you may never hear their million-dollar idea.
    • Reputation damage: A culture of overwork repels top talent. When word spreads, your best candidate my decline, forcing you to settle for a B or C player.

    Read more about the hidden costs of burnout.

    Nine Early Warning Signs of Burnout

    1. Withdrawal – Once-engaged employees pull back in meetings or socially.
    2. Irritability – Small setbacks spark frustration or cynicism.
    3. Declining performance – Not from lack of skill, but lack of energy and focus.
    4. Disengagement – They show up physically, but their spark is gone.
    5. Absenteeism – They take more sick days or PTO than usual. (Gallup: burned-out employees are 63% more likely to take a sick day.)
    6. Griping – Complaints and negativity about leadership become common.
    7. Physical signs – Tired eyes, low energy, weight gain / loss, and visible exhaustion.
    8. Loss of confidence – Once-bold employees shy away from high-visibility projects.
    9. Negativity – They see roadblocks instead of opportunities.

    What Leaders Can Do

    • Put your own mask on first: You can’t support others if you’re running on empty. Seek support from your manager, mentor, coach, or EAP.
    • Name it out loud: Talking about burnout destigmatizes it and opens space for honesty.
    • Model healthy behavior: Take time off, set boundaries, and don’t send late-night emails unless truly urgent.
    • Clarify workload: Burnout thrives in overload and ambiguity. Revisit priorities, redistribute tasks, and remove unnecessary steps.
    • Invest in recovery: Encourage breaks, PTO, flexible schedules, and use of wellness benefits. (The APA highlights recovery as a driver of wellbeing and performance.)
    • Recognize contributions: Recognition is free but often overlooked. Thank people for what they do and who they are.
    • Address root causes: Burnout isn’t fixed with yoga classes. It’s fixed when leaders address workload, control, fairness, community, recognition, and values alignment.

    Your Move as a Leader in 2025

    Burnout isn’t just a human problem. It’s a leadership imperative with business consequences.

    The sooner you recognize and address it, the stronger, more resilient, and more innovative your team will be.

    I gave you nine ways to spot burnout early.

    In your experience, what’s a tenth sign you’ve noticed – on your team, or even in yourself?

    Let’s build a conversation that helps every leader get better at this.

  • How One Company Used KPIs to Reduce & Prevent Burnout

    How One Company Used KPIs to Reduce & Prevent Burnout

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    Christy Suerth, MS, SPHR, CPC, CHC

    Most organizations track employee engagement. Fewer ask: What’s driving disengagement in the first place? Spoiler alert: It is burnou

    If you’re a senior leader or HR executive, you’ve seen engagement scores that fluctuate without clear cause. You’ve launched initiatives, celebrated wins, and burnout still creeps in. That’s because engagement surveys often measure outcomes, not root causes.

    At one company, a mid-sized software company with 500 employees, HR leaders faced this exact dilemma. Engagement scores were decent, but turnover was rising, and exit interviews kept pointing to burnout. So, they tried something different.

    The Six Areas That Changed Everything

    This company adopted Maslach’s Six Areas of Worklife, a research-backed framework that identifies six key dimensions shaping the employee experience:

    1. Workload – Is the volume of work sustainable?
    2. Control – Do employees have autonomy?
    3. Reward – Are contributions recognized?
    4. Community – Is there trust and support?
    5. Fairness – Are decisions equitable?
    6. Values – Do personal and organizational values align?

    These areas were measured using a short quarterly survey and tracked in a leadership dashboard.

    From Theory to Action: The KPI Dashboard

    The HR team built a dashboard that translated each area into a leadership KPI. Here’s a snapshot:

    AreaKPI ExampleLeadership Action
    WorkloadAvg. weekly hours per teamRebalanced project timelines
    Control% employees with decision authorityDelegated sprint planning to teams
    RewardRecognition frequencyLaunched peer-to-peer kudos platform
    CommunityTeam trust scoreIntroduced monthly “team health” check-ins
    FairnessPolicy equity perceptionAudited promotion criteria
    ValuesValues alignment indexConnected work to company mission in town halls

    Within two quarters, they saw a 22% drop in voluntary turnover and a 30% increase in internal mobility. Engagement scores rose, but more importantly, leaders knew why.

    Cost-Benefit: Why It Pays Off

    Cost:

    • Survey setup (internal or via external platforms)
    • Time investment for leaders to review and act on results

    Benefits:

    • Early detection of burnout before performance dips
    • Reduced attrition – Burnout is a leading cause of exit
    • Improved engagement through targeted action
    • Leadership accountability via measurable KPIs
    • Culture transformation – From reactive to proactive

    In summary, they stopped guessing and started diagnosing.

    Why Not Just Use Engagement Surveys?

    Engagement surveys are valuable, but they’re lagging indicators. They tell you what employees feel, not why.

    For example:

    • Engagement score drops → You ask: “What happened?”
    • The Areas of Work Life Survey results show workload and fairness issues → You know exactly what to fix

    Think of Maslach’s framework as the diagnostic tool, and engagement scores as the vital signs. You need both, but only one tells you where to operate.

    Final Thought

    Burnout hits your bottom line. If you’re serious about building a resilient, high-performing culture, it’s time to evolve your metrics. Maslach’s Six Areas of Worklife offer a practical, evidence-based way to turn leadership into a measurable force for good.

    Don’t just measure engagement. Engineer it.

    Sign up for my weekly newsletter.

  • Burnout Doesn’t Send You an Invoice but It’s Already Draining Your Bottom Line

    Burnout Doesn’t Send You an Invoice but It’s Already Draining Your Bottom Line

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    Christy Suerth, MS, SPHR, CPC, CHC

    The 5 Hidden Costs of Ignoring Burnout (and Why It’s Hitting Your P&L)

    Most leaders don’t see burnout until it’s too late. It’s only when a key team member resigns, performance drops, engagement surveys decline, or healthcare costs quietly balloon we ask questions.

    But here’s the truth: Burnout isn’t just a human problem; it’s a business problem. And ignoring it is expensive.

    Here are five hidden costs I see HR leaders and executives miss most often. These are costs that show up directly on your P&L.

    1. Lost Productivity and Presenteeism

    An employee may still be at their desk but mentally checked out. This “presenteeism” costs companies 10x more than absenteeism.

    Example: If a $100K employee is functioning at 60%, you’re losing $40K per year on just one person. Multiply that across a team, and the impact is staggering.

    2. Turnover and Replacement Costs

    When burned-out employees leave, the financial hit is steep.

    • Replacing a mid-level employee: 1.5–2x salary
    • Replacing a leader: up to 400% of salary

    Example: If a $150K leader walks out due to burnout, your organization could be absorbing a $600K loss between recruitment, training, lost opportunity and lost knowledge.

    3. Declining Engagement and Innovation

    Burnout crushes creativity. Teams stop asking, “What’s possible?” and instead focus only on survival.

    Example: That’s the million-dollar idea that never gets voiced in the meeting or the process improvement that could have saved your company six figures annually.

    4. Employer Brand Damage

    Glassdoor reviews. LinkedIn posts. Whisper networks. A reputation for burnout spreads quickl

    Example: If your culture is seen as “toxic,” top talent won’t even apply, forcing you into higher recruiting spend or settling for less-than-ideal hires.

    5. Rising Healthcare and Disability Claims

    Burnout shows up in medical bills. Stress-related illnesses drive up premiums and long-term disability costs.

    Example: A 2023 Gallup study estimated that employee burnout costs U.S. companies $322 billion annually in healthcare and turnover costs alone.

    The Solution

    To effectively combat burnout and enhance employee engagement and well-being, leaders can take several proactive steps. Implementing an organizational Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) can help identify the specific areas where burnout is manifesting. Additionally, leveraging AWL Survey (Areas of Work Life) can provide input for scalable solutions. It helps leaders understand where to target efforts; e.g., workload, autonomy, recognition, community, fairness, and/or values.

    The Bottom Line

    When leaders ignore burnout, they’re not avoiding a problem, they’re quietly signing off on an expensive invisible invoice.

    The companies that thrive in the next decade won’t be the ones with the flashiest perks or the longest hours. They’ll be the ones that recognize burnout as the signal it is, and respond with the same urgency and precision they bring to every other business risk.

    Because when you solve burnout, you don’t just protect your people. You protect your business.

  • Free eBook – You Can Recover from Burnout Too!

    Free eBook – You Can Recover from Burnout Too!

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    Christy Suerth, MS, SPHR, CPC, CHC

    I thought burnout was for other people until…

    After nearly 15 years of climbing the corporate ladder, I landed what should have been a dream job – an exciting leadership role with a global manufacturing giant.

    It was fast paced. High stakes. International.

    • On paper? Impressive.
    • In reality? Relentless.

    I was a co-leader on a major technical rollout while helping launch a cost-saving regional operating model. That meant nonstop travel, often overseas for weeks at a time, and no margin for rest. I liked the work. I was good at it. But slowly, it began to cost me everything else.

    • Sleep? Fragmented.
    • Nutrition and exercise? Gone.
    • Happiness? Replaced by the gnawing pressure to keep up.

    My inner dialogue was punishing:

    “Your boss expects perfection. Don’t let anything drop.”

    And the better I performed, the higher the bar was raised. No finish line. Just more. More. More.

    And at home? I was trying to be superhuman there too – wife, mom, daughter to a mother battling Stage 3 cancer, neighbor, volunteer. I wasn’t just showing up – I was striving to excel. But under the surface, I was running on fumes.

    Until my body said: “Enough.”

    Almost overnight, I couldn’t bend my elbow. My feet swelled so badly I couldn’t wear shoes, much less walk.

    After months of testing, I was diagnosed with a “permanent” autoimmune disease. The treatment? Weekly injections – just to reduce the inflammation so I could function… and yes, keep working.

    That was my wake-up call. Burnout wasn’t just a buzzword – it had taken up residence in my body.

    And strangely, I’m now grateful for it. Because the pain forced me to face what I had been too proud (or too scared) to admit: I was breaking. And I had to change.

    That reckoning became the beginning of something better.

    This is the story behind my new eBook: Your Personal Guide to Burnout and Recovery.

    I wrote it for people like me – high-achievers who don’t know how to stop until they’re forced to.

    The guide walks you through what burnout really is and how to recover. It includes reflection activities and a template for your own recovery plan.

    If you would like your own copy, just fill out the Contact Us Form and we’ll send it right over.

  • Which Industries Are Burning Us Out the Fastest?

    Which Industries Are Burning Us Out the Fastest?

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    Christy Suerth, MS, SPHR, CPC, CHC

    Ever wonder if your industry is quietly burning people out?

    Burnout doesn’t always announce itself with a crash. Sometimes it’s a slow leak of motivation, energy, and purpose. Lately, I’ve been asking: Which industries are most at risk?

    The answer surprised me. And it might surprise you too, especially if you’re in a field where long hours or emotional labor are “just part of the job.”

    Industries Facing the Most Burnout

    Healthcare
    Nearly half of healthcare professionals report burnout, especially caregivers. Women in these roles experience even higher stress.

    Education & Social Services
    Teachers, counselors, and social workers often carry deep emotional burdens. Burnout rates hover in the mid-40% range.

    Project Management & Consulting
    One survey showed project managers facing some of the highest burnout rates – around 50%.

    Tech & IT
    Despite flexibility, burnout in tech is rising. Constant upskilling and blurred boundaries contribute to 47% reporting burnout.

    Retail, Hospitality & Manufacturing
    Burnout here is tied to physical exhaustion and emotional strain. Rates climb above 75% in some reports.

    Finance, Insurance & Telecom
    Surprisingly high burnout (up to 80%) in some surveys—driven by relentless expectations and limited recovery time.

    My sources include Deloitte, Quantum Workplace, AMA, and LinkedIn.

    Why It Hits Women Harder

    Women report burnout more often than men – up to 55%. Not because they’re less resilient, but because they carry more unseen labor: caregiving, emotional support, and the pressure to constantly prove themselves.

    What To Do with This Insight

    If your industry is listed (or even if it’s not) pause and check in.

    • Are weekends still restorative?
    • Are you getting things done, but quietly fading inside?

    Burnout isn’t personal failure. It’s often a signal that something systemic needs to change.

    ✨ Call to Action

    If this resonates:

    • Share it with a colleague.
    • Start a conversation about sustainable success.
    • Reflect on what boundaries or recovery might look like for you.
    • Contact me if you want to talk.

    You don’t have to live in burnout.

    Let’s create workplaces that support our energy, not just our output.

    Learn more about the role of middle managers and resolving burnout by reading Middle Managers: The Missing Link in Burnout Recovery