Imagine an organization that consistently delivers exceptional results, maintains high employee retention, and fosters a culture of growth and passion. This may seem beyond reach in a world where over 80% of employees are at risk of burning out. But I’d like to suggest a strategy that can help your organization avoid burnout while keeping employees energized, engaged, and thriving. It’s all about embracing essentialism as a guiding principle.
What is Essentialism?
Essentialism is a powerful tool enabling leaders to guide their teams to success, even when burnout has reached epidemic levels. Within the context of work, essentialism involves two key responsibilities:
- Identify and focus on the most critical tasks and projects.
- Align these priorities with your organization’s mission and values, while delegating or eliminating less essential duties.
This approach can help any organization avoid burnout. But first, decision-makers must communicate proactively and encourage time away. By openly prioritizing wellbeing and consistently modeling these behaviors, you can create an environment where team members feel supported, valued, and empowered to perform at their best.
Is Burnout Really an Epidemic?
Burnout has become much more widespread in recent years, and it is taking a serious toll on workforce health, wellbeing, and productivity. Research says 57% of U.S. workers are experiencing at least moderate levels of burnout, compared with 52% during the Covid pandemic in 2021.
What’s more, 89% of employees who are experiencing high levels of burnout are plagued by anxiety, depression and sleep troubles. Still, many organizations don’t prioritize employee wellbeing in their work design. In fact, less than half of employers consider wellbeing when structuring work. This leaves a significant portion of the workforce vulnerable to decreased job satisfaction, reduced productivity, and increased turnover rates.
Addressing workplace burnout is crucial for maintaining a healthy, engaged, high-performing team. But the signs of burnout aren’t always easy to spot. For instance, people may feel mentally drained or lose focus. They’re likely to feel dissatisfied with the value of their work or become more impatient with others. In addition, they may feel sick more often or rely on unhealthy habits to numb their feelings.
When left unchecked, these symptoms can become debilitating. However, leaders who recognize and combat these warning signs before they take root can avoid burnout and cultivate a more positive, supportive and successful work environment for all.
To Avoid Burnout, Focus on Core Responsibilities
An effective way to combat burnout with essentialism is to design a prioritization framework that emphasizes core duties. This approach categorizes tasks based on urgency and importance, helping teams focus on high-impact activities while delegating or postponing less critical ones.
The goal of a prioritization framework is to foster a sense of accomplishment and prevent tasks from accumulating. This reduces the risk of burnout among team members. When teams actively identify daily “wins” and “blockers,” they can more easily recognize achievements and address obstacles. This makes it easier to maintain momentum and productivity.
You can adapt essentialism techniques like this to organizations in different industries such as technology, healthcare, or education. Simply identify the most critical tasks and projects that align with your company’s unique mission and values, and develop priorities, accordingly.
How Our Team Applies Essentialism
As leader of the CX team at Banzai, I have directly experienced the impact of essentialism on individual accomplishments as well as team outcomes. By prioritizing critical tasks, we not only improved financial metrics and employee retention but also fostered creativity, innovation, and overall job satisfaction.
For example in 2023, when my team shifted its approach to focus on essential duties, Banzai’s net revenue retention (NRR) increased by an impressive 14%, while maintaining a high employee retention rate. And over the past five years, nine team members advanced in their careers, while only one team member left for an opportunity elsewhere.
As this example indicates, implementing an essentialist work model supports individual growth and development as well as team performance. Prioritizing essential tasks and removing unnecessary distractions helps everyone hone their skills, take on new challenges, and progress within the organization.
Put Employees at the Center of Workplace Culture
As an employee’s most direct, immediate example of company culture, managers are critical to building a positive employee experience. When leaders take the time to understand what their employees actually do — their struggles, challenges, workload and responsibilities — organizations see multiple benefits, such as:
- 36% increase in employees who feel supported by their direct leader.
- 35% increase in the feeling that their leader acknowledges their work.
- 29% increase in engagement.
5 Ways to Put Essentialism to Work for Your Team
Unfortunately, only 54% of employees report feeling understood by leadership. As a leader, you can turn this around and set the tone for a supportive environment in multiple ways. Here are 5 tactics that help:
1. Initiate Daily Check-ins via Slack or Other Platforms
These brief, frequent interactions help you gauge the team’s attitude, identify individual struggles, proactively address issues, and recognize successes. It also helps you develop a sense of connection and support within the group, even in remote or hybrid work settings.
2. Conduct Weekly One-on-One Meetings
This provides in-depth opportunities to gauge team members’ stress levels and help them prioritize tasks. These meetings should be a safe space for individuals to share their concerns and challenges. By actively listening and providing guidance, you can help team members navigate difficult situations and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
3. Promote Cross-Functional Advocacy
This ensures that team members can perform their essential job functions without being overburdened by external demands. It may require setting clear boundaries, negotiating deadlines, or redistributing workloads to maintain a manageable stress level.
4. Encourage Time Away From Work
Openly recognizing the value of time off and actively encouraging team members to take breaks when needed is important for promoting employee wellbeing. You can accomplish this in multiple ways, depending on your team’s needs. For instance, you may recommend an occasional long weekend, plan team vacations in advance, or ask everyone to set a goal of taking at least one week off each quarter.
5. Create a Psychologically Safe Environment
Employees need to feel comfortable speaking up and sharing their concerns. This requires a sense of psychological safety. You can foster this by actively listening to team members, acknowledging their input, and addressing their concerns without judgment or retribution.
A Final Note on Essentialism and Burnout
According to the APA 2023 Work in America Survey, 92% of workers say it is important to work for an organization that values their emotional and psychological wellbeing. Leaders can help foster this kind of environment by recognizing their team’s overall wellbeing and take active steps to avoid burnout.
Essentialism helps make this possible. By embracing this strategy as a fundamental business practice, you can steadily guide your team to success, even while helping everyone maintain their passion, energy, and drive to achieve exceptional outcomes.
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