4 Ways to Heal Burnout
What’s Burnout?
According to a recent Indeed survey, over half of all American workers are burned out and most say burnout is getting worse. Burnout is so common that it’s officially recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). When stress related to work causes resentment, discouragement, and exhaustion, burnout damages productivity, impacts quality, and even drives The Great Resignation.
Of course, most organizations don’t set out to create a burnout culture. Leaders are also human, and are experiencing stressors similar to their burned-out team members. At every level, people encounter consistent workplace concerns while navigating new territory, such as:
Return-to-office routines
Workload prioritization
Uncertainty about the future
Pandemic health and safety
Fast changing environments
Work versus home-team balance
Demanding timelines
Real, perceived and unconscious biases
As our personal and professional lives intersect more, especially because of increased hybrid and virtual work, our lived and work experiences blend together without clear boundaries. This overlap can enhance creativity and performance in good times—or speed up burnout in times of stress.
Our Approach: 4Human
At The Axela Group, we empower self-awareness for identifying chronic emotional, mental, and bodily stress to individuals and teams by asking them to recognize symptoms and consider new ways to cope (or ask for help!) when the signs of burnout loom. But in general, asking stressed employees to solve burnout often ignores an important player in the root causes of burnout: Insufficient workplace support.
This can take many forms, from a simple gap in burnout awareness, to low accountability for fostering healthy workspaces and even organizational cultures that intentionally de-emphasize professional growth and personal wellness.
That’s why The Axela Group developed an innovative, human-centered inventory called 4Human (4H) to bolster workplace well-being. While 4H can be adapted for many applications, it’s especially well-suited to help you find, address, and heal burnout. It is a whole-person approach that encompasses the head, hands, heart, and health of your people and your business.
4Human: Head
Great ideas are the foundation of innovation, great businesses, and employee creativity. The 4H Head philosophy supports individual mental health as well as organizational strategic goals and visions.
4Human: Hands
Working hands accomplish our goals. We also should use our hands to lift each other up. 4H Hands promotes mentorship, process agility, and technology improvement. These are the personal and technological tools we use to make work more efficient, connected, and growth minded.
4Human: Heart
Heart is the intersection of purpose and passion. The 4H Heart approach cultivates employee engagement and corporate social responsibility. No matter how you generate impact, 4H Heart celebrates authenticity to help you connect with your employees, stakeholders, and clients.
4Human: Health
A healthy workplace is a productive workplace. The 4H Health approach sees mental, emotional, and physical health as the foundations of a vital business. In addition, 4H Health inventories personal and organizational career goals to help everyone grow.
4H and Burnout
They are endless ways to use 4H principals to reduce or prevent burnout. In fact, we’re confident the 4H approach works because we use it ourselves! Here are our current favorite ways to beat burnout with 4H:
HEAD: “I love using meeting spaces that allow my colleagues to brainstorm, not just report. Creative spaces like coffee shops and collaborative tools like Mural help me ensure that all my team’s voices are heard.”
– Alexa Beavers, Founder
HANDS: “I encourage all of our clients and colleagues to explore mentorship opportunities. Learning from each other helps us all grow and connect as professionals and as people. Even laidback team building events can bring us together.”
– Craig Beavers, Founder
HEART: “I believe that good humans build good businesses. I always suggest that leaders find small ways to reward employees who explore their humanity outside of work. Volunteering, reconnecting with family, and picking up new hobbies all contribute to who we are as professionals.”
– Kelsey Arico, Lead Consultant
HEALTH: “I try to take a whole-person approach to health, including mental, spiritual, and emotional health. One of the best and easiest ways to promote total wellness is to encourage everyone to use all of their paid leave.”
– Olivia Flanagan, Organizational Development Analyst
At The Axela Group, we use 4H to connect with our Affiliated Experts and clients. It also complements our special self-awareness SCAN to evaluate and promote growth throughout organizational and DEIB initiatives.