The pandemic may have brought us the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting, but even before those phenomena arrived, it seemed that employees across many industries were suffering a decline in morale or job burnout, which they were demonstrating by quitting, retiring or changing jobs.
Typically employers could offer raises, bonuses or extra time off, but these sweeteners don’t seem to be making a difference post-pandemic. In a recent article in Fast Company, Ludmila Praslova, a professor of organizational psychology in Southern California, suggests that it’s up to the employee to advocate for him/herself. That implies
that he/she schedules a quiet time to share with the supervisor which work is motivating and what type of work is less interesting to the employee. The purpose of this conversation is to discuss how the employees’ workload could be reshaped to have more of the exciting work and less of the tasks which are not as exciting to him/her..
Additionally, she identifies “moral injury,” often neglected by employers, as another sources of discontent. She defines it as work which goes against one’s moral values or one’s conscience. She says that sometimes you can have moral injury and/or burnout—obviously a negative combination.
In those situations, there are a couple of remedies. You can find a job more connected to your purpose, or you can find a way to bring your values into your personal life. That might be through volunteer work, groups you join or spending time with friends with like values.
If you’re feeling the effects of job or career burnout, reach out to us at Lansky Career Consultants.
