Villanova University Graduate Programs in Human Resource Development

On this episode of , Kyle reflects on a critical moment that showed him his organization was invested in his wellbeing:

"When I took my month off from my job, I was in the middle of a promotion process that I thought I was giving up because I was stopping work, and during that time, my manager kept that process going and I returned after a month off to receive my promotion. And that was the ultimate signal for me that the choice that I had made to prioritize my well-being and my health was not only the right one, but was truly a supported one."

Encouraging people to take time is one thing, but removing the career penalty for doing so is what actually creates psychological safety.

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On this episode of , Bethany places the onus for preventing burnout on the organization, not the individual:

"I think organizations create situations that we ask our employees to be a part of. So therefore, it's our responsibility to put in place systems and structures that help prevent burnout, because if you put it on the individual, then in every situation we can say, 'Yup, well, they didn't do enough.' Nope. 'We didn't do enough,' as a leadership team, as an organizational structure."

We typically frame burnout as something employees need to manage by setting better boundaries, or taking more time off.

However, organizations create the conditions people work in, and they play a direct role in deciding whether those things can happen. When burnout shows up, don't ask why your employees didn’t handle it better. Ask what you and your team may have built that made this outcome likely.

Asking people to do more for themselves won't prevent burnout; asking organizations to do more for their people will.

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HR Affirmations 👐 tell us yours!

On this episode of , Kyle Ali shares a moment most leaders probably regret:

"One of the absolute most frustrating things to watch is someone that is killing it at their role, and ultimately they decide that they're going to leave the company...and then suddenly leadership steps in with all these things that they could do to retain them. Do those things now."

Instead of treating retention as an emergency response, build it into your culture:
- recognize contributions before burnout sets in
- ask high performers what they need to succeed
- create space for growth before your best people look elsewhere

Leaders lose high achievers even when they have solutions because those solutions come too late. What are you willing to offer, and why wait?

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On this episode of , Bethany, Heather and Kyle unpack why Americans might get extra burned out.

"I think here, in the United States, we've owned a culture where burnout is actually like a point of pride. And that is problematic...saying I'm burned out is saying I worked so much harder than everybody else."

If work sits at the center of everything, burnout is inevitable, and shifting that reality starts with shifting our perspective.

To make real change, we need to begin at the individual level. How we talk about work and define success matters!

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