Burnout Nation: Can We Fix Work?

Burnout is arguably the biggest issue companies are facing in 2022.

After two years of grinding through a pandemic, workers feel completely exhausted.?

In a recent survey of 1,500 workers, only 2% rated their well-being as “Excellent.” Meanwhile, the majority of workers feel that their mental health is shot.

Even companies with world-class cultures aren’t sure what to do. When managers try to help their teams lower their stress levels, it’s often met with frustration. Being encouraged to "go do yoga" or "use our meditation app" feels like an obligatory task, rather than leisure activities they get to do.?

With the entire workforce at risk, how can we make things better??

Can we fix our broken work, or are we all doomed to burnout?

The Dark Origins of Burnout Culture?

In 2013, Harvard Business Review published an article called “Plantations Practiced Modern Management .”

According to the author, historians uncovered a clear link between today’s corporate management practices and successful plantations.?

In other words: We’ve unwittingly learned how to treat workers from American slavers.

To be clear: I am NOT saying that corporations are plantations, or employees are slaves.?

Nor am I saying that companies are at fault for this epidemic of burnout. Obviously the pandemic put us all in a bind that we were wholly unprepared for.

However, I do believe that the DNA of corporate management contains the residue of the most dehumanizing industry in history.

We unknowingly inherited the belief that, in order to maximize profits and productivity, our workers must be viewed through the lens of a spreadsheet. They are numbers who need to be monitored, manipulated, and forced into being more productive.

I believe that this is the toxic, invisible force that continually contributes to unhappy workers and the burnout epidemic as a whole:

We put productivity before humanity. We put profits over people.?

That's why 4 million people quit their jobs last year, and why 95% of workers were considering changing jobs. Workers were fed up with feeling like they weren’t valued by the people they worked so hard for. They refused to tolerate poor treatment and abusive behaviors.

Rightfully so. They were already dealing with unprecedented isolation and loneliness, waves of fear-inducing headlines, financial stressors, and mental health challenges. Life was traumatic enough, and many realized the value of their time was far greater than their paycheck.

So many determined that they were indeed burned out, and they quit.

Now, millions of workers are cynical. They believe that the majority of companies do not care about them, and they are losing hope that work can be a place of wellness and fulfillment.

And therein lies the opportunity of a lifetime for today’s leaders:?

To shed the abusive practices that we inherited from plantations, and create a new way of work where people can truly thrive.?

The Work Conditions That Reverse Burnout

Back in 2012, I experienced severe burnout myself.?

I had to quit multiple jobs in a row, because my mental health was totally shot. I repeatedly found myself in the hospital.

I tried everything to get my health back for the next year. You name it, I did it.

Therapy, meditation, exercise, sleep, dietary changes, medication, every supplement at Whole Foods…?

Nothing worked, and I nearly gave up hope.

Then, one day, I came across a book called Play by Dr. Stuart Brown . I didn’t realize it at the time, but it gave me the recipe to restore my health and save my life.

A few quotes from the book that I’ll never forget:?

“A lack of play should be treated like malnutrition; it’s a health risk to your body and mind.”

“The opposite of play isn’t work, it’s depression.”

Before reading that book, I thought play was for kids. I believed play was childish, it was frivolous, and that it got in the way of productivity.

I was totally wrong.

Introducing play back into my life dissolved all of my symptoms of burnout in one month.?

I learned that play is an essential biological function for human beings. It is as important as sleep or proper nutrition.?

When you deprive human beings of play, they become emotionally and socially crippled. They become anxious, depressed, and afraid of their peers. They stop exploring their environment.?

I also learned that play is the source of all the immeasurable value and wealth that human beings have injected into our world. Art, technology, music, sports, dance, film, even religion -- all have sprung from people getting to play, freely, for hours and weeks and years on end. Play is the backbone of our global economy, and the fabric of our culture.?

Many of the world’s most successful people believe work is literally play:

“It’s not work for me. It’s just another form of play.” -Warren Buffett, net worth: $110 billion

“The essential principle of business—of occupation in the world—is this: figure out some way in which you get paid for playing.” -Alan Watts?

"I've never really understood why so many people separate work and play--it's all living. We should be able to have fun at work and bring out the best in each other." -Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group

In order to survive in a post-pandemic world, I believe businesses must infuse play into their cultures. They must make play a priority, to help restore their teams’ mental health and make their management practices as human-centric as possible.

I believe the companies that value play, that create cultures which facilitate playfulness, will not only attract and keep the best talent (i.e. less burnout!), they will also innovate at a faster pace and reap greater profits.?

What is Play in the Workplace?

If you’re resistant to the notion of play, or find this whole idea hard to believe, I get it.?

So first things first: We need to start by defining what play is NOT.

Play is NOT having a ping pong table, an arcade game, or a slide in the office.

Play is NOT hosting happy hours, corporate retreats, and trust exercises with your co-workers.

Play is NOT reserved for the weekend, vacations, and retirement.

The reason none of these qualify as “play” is because they are all an escape or distraction from work. They imply that having fun and experiencing joy can only be experienced in the future, when work is done. They imply that “work” and “play” are wholly separate.?

Play is the DNA of a healthy company culture. Play is the ability to approach every moment as an opportunity to have fun, experience pleasure, and meaningfully connect with those around us.?

A culture of play communicates to your workers that you care about them. It signals that you value their well-being and enjoyment of life. It shows that you care about how they are treated at work, that you value an environment that is fair and kind, and that the quality of their relationships matters.?

In other words: Play restores humanity to the workplace. A culture of play puts people before profits, which results in happier people and a more sustainable way of working.

Need proof that this can work??

Semco is a Brazilian company that was consistently ranked the ‘Best company to work for,’ year after year.?

At its peak, Semco had 5,000 employees and less than 1 percent turnover. They rarely fired anyone. In 2000 and 2001, a total of 3 people quit on their own… out of almost 3,000!?

Instead of being laser-focused on results, Semco encouraged employees to ramble and HAVE FUN through their workweek, so that they could meander into new ideas and new business opportunities.

The way they kept turnover low was by reminding Semco employees continuously to make sure that they are where they wanted to be, to make sure that they were having fun, doing what they wanted to do.?

Need more proof?

After introducing a “fun work philosophy” at Missouri Baptist Hospital, results of their in-house surveys showed that the number of employees expressing "strong" satisfaction tripled, with an increase from 25% to 75% in the first year.

How to Infuse Play Into Company Cultures

In order to successfully mitigate against burnout and infuse play into a company culture, I believe there are three essential pillars:?

1. Permission
2. Recess
3. Infusion

We’ll now go through each one.

Pillar 1: Permission

Given the seemingly frivolous nature of play, it’s understandable why most organizations don’t welcome it. Most businesses pride themselves on their relentless focus on results and efficiency.?

That’s why most managers ultimately treat play as a waste of time, because on the surface it appears to be a direct threat to productivity. Play must be managed, minimized, and controlled.

This is the first major obstacle to a healthy workplace:?

Is there a clear sense that people have guilt-free permission to play?

Now, to be clear: I’m not talking about management telling employees they need to go play.?People don’t like that, and it doesn’t work.?

I’m talking about employees feeling SAFE to play, without being worried about getting results 100% of the time, or getting into trouble.?

So, what stops people from playing or being playful??

The research shows that the #1 most important factor in giving workers permission to play and feeling safe to play, is seeing organizational leaders setting the example, by demonstrating their own playfulness.?

There are other factors, like feeling constant pressure to meet objectives and hit deadlines, and believing they don’t have time. But it’s ultimately leadership that we take our cues from.

This is where every organization has to start: With leadership.

It’s not enough to tell your team to “come up with a plan for work-life balance.” Workers have to see that play -- and being playful -- is what leaders genuinely value and embody.?

They have to see that play can get them approval, respect, and praise. Otherwise, it’s not attractive and there’s no incentive to do it.?

So how do we do this?

I believe the most scalable way to do this is through media, showing the executive team and management explicitly giving permission to play. That means demonstrating how they endorse performing work tasks in ways that are engaging, fun, and joyful.?

We did something similar for Scribe Media, which wanted to demonstrate how much leadership truly valued people showing up as their “Whole Selves.”?

We made a documentary about an event called ‘One Last Talk,’ where people gave speeches in front of the entire company about their deepest truths -- what they would say if they were going to die tomorrow.?

This documentary continues to demonstrate to every prospective candidate that Scribe is totally aligned with their belief that showing up as your ‘whole self’ is totally acceptable.?

Demonstrating your values in action is how you show people that they have permission to play. When leaders can demonstrate healthy behaviors and attitudes around play and all the workers can see it for themselves, the positive effects will begin to ripple throughout the company.?

To sum up, workers need to see that leadership embodies and values play. They have to feel a sense of safety and security in the idea of play, that being playful is cherished and rewarded. Everyone has to know that they have guilt-free permission to play. That is the first pillar.

Pillar 2: Recess

Jim Loehr is a sports psychologist who spent years studying elite athletes. He wanted to know what separates the world’s greatest tennis players from other professional tennis players.

What he found wasn’t that they had better serves, or volleys, or net game. They were better at quickly recovering between points. The players who could calm their nerves and restore focus in between points were the ones who won the most.

A major part of what causes burnout is our constant mental attachment to our work. In many organizations, being available 24/7 is the unspoken connection. When a manager sends late-night emails, they are demonstrating that the culture is “work work work, no play!,” which results in a stressed out team.?

Psychological detachment from work -- what I call “recess” -- effectively buffers against emotional exhaustion and burnout, and improves performance. That is the paradox of play, is that it makes us better workers by restoring our energy and emotional resources.?

And if you believe that taking time off to play will hurt performance and reduce productivity, consider this:?

Nobel laureates are at least 22X more likely than other scientists to partake in hobbies like acting, dancing, magic, or other types of performing arts.?

Nationally recognized scientists are much more likely than other scientists to be musicians, sculptors, painters, printmakers, woodworkers, mechanics, electronics tinkerers, glassblowers, poets, or writers, of both fiction and nonfiction. And again, Nobel laureates are far more likely still.?

Recess not only allows us to psychologically detach from our work, it gives us new abilities and perspectives that enhance our work!

So how do we empower employees to take recess?

Again, the prerequisite is that they need to feel SAFE. They must see leadership taking recess, valuing it, acknowledging, celebrating it. If it is not rewarded or praised, no one will not do it.?

Following that, employees and companies need to have some “skin in the game” so that they’re actually committed to regular recess.

One of my favorite examples of this is FullContact, a company in Denver that not only provides their employees a minimum 15 days paid vacation, they actually pay for the vacation itself!?

They spend $7,500 per person each year, because they know it’s cheaper than the $75,000 it will cost to replace that employee if they burnout.

I often recommend that people “pay to play” -- in other words, spend money to join a committed group, or become a paying member at a dedicated organization, so you have the accountability you need for the desired behavior.?

Another way to kick off regular recess is by doing a 1-month challenge, where you intentionally play for a little bit each day. You can track your progress each day, using an app like Habit.?

Play is highly individualized, so specific activities can’t be prescribed to everyone. What feels like play to me might feel like a nightmare to you, and vice versa.?

The key is to reflect first on your play history, and then incorporate those activities into your workweek as a means of recharging.?

Some other things that organizations can do that support recovery are to automate psychological detachment. For instance:

• Volkwagen turns off its email server thirty minutes after the end of a shift, and turns it back on just before the start of the next one.?
• Daimler, a German automaker, has programmed its servers to automatically delete e-mails received during employee vacations, telling senders who they can contact in an employee’s absence.?
• Portugal recently just made it illegal for bosses to text their workers during off-hours.?

To sum up, recess is essential for preventing burnout. Psychological detachment from work is not a “nice to have” -- it is a requirement for preventing burnout.?Management needs to view recess as a daily habit that’s as important to productivity as sleep or meditation. They can also put systems in place to ensure psychological detachment from work.?

Pillar 3: Infusion?

Infusion is where we officially dissolve the boundaries between “work” and “play,” and approach every moment as an opportunity for play.?

Jon Acuff did a study with 900 people, asking them to intentionally infuse play into their work.?In the study, researchers asked participants to make what they were doing fun.?

The people who did had a 31% increase in satisfaction and felt more connected to the work.?

The research also showed they had a 46% increase in performance success. People actually performed better when they made their goals fun.

Something I learned that changed the way I view work forever was discovering that the most effective motivator was play.?

From the book "Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation."

Pressure was a decent motivator, and purpose was good too. But it was when the work was FUN -- where there was an intrinsic reward and emotional payoff -- that’s when motivation was strongest.

The importance of infusing play into work is backed up by Dr. Ellen Langer of Harvard University, who said:

“People are at their most mindful when they are at play. If we find ways of enjoying our work, blurring the lines between work and play, the gains will be greater.”?

The key is that we must be deliberate about making work fun. Every project has difficult parts, so it’s not enough to say “Just have fun!” We need to be intentional about infusing play into our work, and making it fun.?

The question to ask, at the beginning of any new task or project, is:?

How can we approach this in a way that optimizes for joy, laughter, fun, and engagement?

Again, there isn’t a prescribed answer for how specifically to infuse play. All of this is individualized and self-directed by each worker. You cannot tell them what will make it play for them; they have to voluntarily decide for themselves.

For some, it may simply be having a reward at the end of playing their favorite video game. For others, it could be working alongside a friend at a cafe, or having to do something they’re afraid of if they don’t complete it on time. Whatever will make it fun and joyful for them will yield greater engagement and results.?

For one of my clients, they infused play into work by doing improv games with their team once a week. They had a team of salespeople, who made marketing calls on behalf of Fortune 500 companies. Even though they were doing less work each week because they were playing improv games and goofing off, they were still able to set a new company record for hitting client sales attainment goals. Again, play is a performance enhancer.?

So, the questions for leaders to ask their team here are:?

What’s stopping you from experiencing fun or pleasure at work??

What can we do to support you in making your work as enjoyable and fun as possible??

Let’s Restore Humanity to The Workplace

If you are a leader or expert who wants to change the way we work for the better, shoot me a message or send me an email (hi AT charliehoehn.com). I’d love to hear from you.

Charlie Hoehn is the author of Play for a Living and Play It Away, which Tony Robbins called “The cure to your stress!” His views on work-play integration have been featured on NPR’s TED Radio Hour, Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, Forbes, Fast Company, Chase Jarvis Live, and Tim Ferriss’ Blog. He has spoken to groups at the Pentagon, Microsoft, Stanford, HEC Paris, TEDx, Mental Health America, and the Canadian Embassy.