Organizations Look for Creative Solutions for Employee Engagement and Burnout

By Heather Nezich, courtesy of SBAM-approved partner, ASE

Nearly 60% of organizations have increased their efforts to boost employee engagement since early 2020. However, a new report from ATD, Employee Engagement and Burnout: Maintaining Morale in Changing Times, shows that there continues to be room to improve engagement and ease employee burnout.

Nearly 75% of talent development professionals indicated that employee engagement is important to their organization. Strategies that organizations use to maintain or boost employee engagement include formal training or development opportunities (71%), employee recognition programs (65%), or social activities (59%).

Although organizations are increasing efforts to boost employee engagement, 55% of respondents reported that employees in their organizations were burned out. According to the survey, the top three reasons for burnout are lack of control over projects and workload (89%), poor communication from leaders and managers (86%), and a lack of role clarity (76%).

Though many employees continue to feel burned out, organizations are trying to prevent it. Many organizations promote wellness initiatives, with 80% encouraging employees to take time off or use paid time off (PTO).

Other key findings include:

• Key indicators of employee engagement include recommending the organization to others as a good place to work (66%), speaking positively about the organization (63%), and high scores on engagement-related survey questions (61%).
• 40% of respondents said employee engagement is integral to their success strategy.
• 90% of respondents measured engagement at their organization.

Recommendations in the report’s action plan include:

• Using multiple measures to assess employee engagement
• Offering a variety of initiatives to boost or maintain employee engagement
• Developing managers and leaders to coach and engage employees

Source: ATD