Is work the secret to fighting burnout?

It’s no secret: employees are feeling burnt out at work. In 2021 alone, severe burnout has led to more than 19 million U.S. employees voluntarily quitting their jobs, and the number keeps rising. While some companies are able to keep up with the evolving needs of their employees, others continue to fall short. In turn, employees are resigning and taking on new jobs with employers who are more human-centered and prioritize safety and security, relationships, culture, and purpose at work.

Though every workplace is different, there are strategies that most companies can implement to curb burnout while the future of work continues to unfold.

Commit to the human-centered employee experience

According to a recent McKinsey Employee Experience survey, the “employee experience” is becoming a key determinant of whether an employee will leave or stay with an organization. People who reported having a positive employee experience were eight times more likely to want to stay at a company than those who had a negative experience.

The first step to reimagining the employee experience is listening to the people within your organization through things like occupant surveys so you can highlight any areas of improvement and put a plan in place. Understanding the developing requests from staff will set leaders up to provide actionable solutions to make a difference in their employees’ professional and personal lives.

Keep people safe; adopt new organizational models

While the future of in-person work may still be unclear for now, workers are putting human connection at the top of their list of employee experience priorities. People want to see company leaders who support staff—virtually and in-person—by addressing health, well-being and safety concerns as proof that their organization is human-centered. Creating space for a culture of health to thrive is a step toward forging better connections between staff while keeping their safety front and center.

Adopting new protocols centered on health and well-being is crucial to ensuring employees have the space and resources to foster relationships at work. The International WELL Building Institute’s (IWBI) WELL Health-Safety Rating was developed by experts to offer a plan for organizations that want to use science-backed strategies to ensure their building environments focus on the health, well-being and safety of all occupants. Companies that embrace WELL’s methods of creating people-first places also gain access to tools to help curb employee burnout, such as health service resources, which outline actionable suggestions to foster a positive employee experience.

Connect with your staff

Everyone wants to feel valued within a company. Making the time to connect with your employees and staff and creating spaces where professional relationships can grow—safely—will strengthen the trust, collaboration and social dynamics of your team.

When your building is a people-first place, everyone wins—most notably your employees. But it’s not just about making positive changes in the background, you must communicate your organization’s efforts so everyone is assured their health and well-being is just as valued as their work.

Wondering how your business can discover more ways to beat burnout and invest in a healthier future? Explore the WELL Health-Safety Rating.