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Tag: CHRO

  • Stop Asking Burned Out Thoroughbred Leaders to Win the Race

    Stop Asking Burned Out Thoroughbred Leaders to Win the Race

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    Christy Suerth, MS, SPHR, CPC, CHC

    Last week, I was chatting with my neighbor, a former jockey who spent years racing some of the best horses in the country.

    He told me about a horse he once ran too hard. The animal had enormous heart and talent, and even when injured, it tried to push through. But one race changed everything. The horse finished (barely) and was never the same again.

    “Once a thoroughbred breaks,” he said quietly, “he won’t ever run the same again.”

    That line stayed with me. Because I see it play out in workplaces every day. We ask burned out leaders to do more and more.

    The Thoroughbred Leader

    High-performing employees, your thoroughbreds, are the ones who give extra, stay late, and care deeply. They don’t need constant motivation because excellence is already in their blood, in their DNA.

    But when they start to falter, showing signs of exhaustion, cynicism, or self-doubt, leaders often respond with: “We need to get engagement up.” They double down on focus groups, action planning, motivation, goal setting, or pep talks, asking these same employees to “dig deeper” or “recommit.”

    It’s the workplace equivalent of urging an injured racehorse to run faster.

    Burnout Is an Injury, not a Motivation Problem

    Gallup reports that nearly 30% of the workforce is burned out and burnout affects top performers more often.

    Some quick math: In a 500-person company, 15 thoroughbreds (your top talent), working at 75% capacity, costs the company over $560,000 per year.

    When someone is physically, mentally, or emotionally depleted, no amount of focus groups and action planning to improve engagement will restore their performance. Burnout erodes capacity from the inside out and, unless it’s addressed, those employees don’t just leave the company; they lose part of themselves in the process.

    Companies Are Not Thinking About the Cost of Burned Out Leaders

    Most organizations rely on engagement surveys to understand employee well-being. Engagement data tell you how committed people feel, not how depleted they are. Ironically, your team can be 100% committed yet burned out to their core.

    That’s why I use the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) in my work. These tools reveal why people are struggling, pinpointing root causes like workload, control, recognition, fairness, values alignment, and community.

    When leaders have that data, they can finally fix what’s broken instead of pushing people harder.

    A Better Question: Are my Leaders Healthy Enough to Win the Race?

    Before asking for more engagement, productivity, or discretionary effort, pause and ask: “Are my top performers healthy enough to run?” Because if they’re burned out, they don’t need a pep talk, they need recovery and systemic changes in their work environment.

    Protect your thoroughbreds, and you protect your performance. Ignore their injuries, and you risk losing both.

    What do you think?

    Have you ever seen a “thoroughbred” employee pushed too hard? How did it impact them and the team?

    Interested in learning more about burnout assessment tools? Contact us.

    The Burnout Imperative is a weekly newsletter for CHROs and business leaders. Follow it here on LinkedIn.

    #BurnoutPrevention #EmployeeEngagement #LeadershipDevelopment #OrganizationalHealth #HRStrategy #CorporateCulture #instituteforburnoutrecovery

  • 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.