Rates of stress and burnout are skyrocketing—and it’s not just the economy or political strife to blame.
Today, humans consume an average of 74 gigabytes of information daily—the equivalent of reading the 100,000-word book The Hobbit or watching 25 episodes of Stranger Things in 24 hours, said Jay Shetty, podcaster, author and chief purpose officer of Calm.
“Our brain has not caught up with the ability to process that much information—let alone make sense of it,” he said.
On an HR Executive webinar this week alongside UKG Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer Bob DelPonte, Shetty noted that advancing technology and connectivity have our brains feeling “bombarded” nearly all waking hours. He cited research that the first thing 80% of adults do when they open their eyes each morning is look at their phone—and it’s the last thing they do at night.
The overwhelm that brings could be exacerbating the mental health crisis, which is bleeding into American workplaces: Deloitte research found that 60% of employees say they are considering looking for a new employer that better supports their wellbeing.
HR and people leaders have a key role to play in reducing the overwhelm, Shetty said, by transforming their workplaces into environments that drive inspiration, not drag it down.
That can start, he said, with leaders—supported by HR—acknowledging the power they wield: People will spend at least one-third of their entire lives at work, so it’s incumbent upon employers to make work a “joyful place.” Working closely with employees to help them understand their own energy drains and passions can create the micro habits that fuel more fulfilling workplaces.
It’s a transformation, Shetty said, that requires a reinvention of modern leadership norms and a reimagining of the relationship between employers and employees.
“The ideal organization is not one where teams feel their leaders need to notice their potential, and leaders feel their teams need to take on more responsibility,” Shetty said. “Great organizations have leaders who want to spot potential and teams who want to take on more responsibility. That creates a space where both are trying to help each other—and everyone flourishes.”
Jay Shetty on effective leadership: empathy and expectations
Creating happier, more satisfied workforces is contingent upon leaders who are willing to prioritize both empathy and business objectives, Shetty said.
Often, the latter takes precedence: Leaders emphasize the standards, KPIs, targets—and expect their team members to meet them, no matter what. It’s an ineffective approach, Shetty said, in that employees may rise to meet those objectives, but they do so out of fear and pressure, which he called “unsustainable.”
Related: Listen to the full replay of this webinar.
A healthier approach to leadership acknowledges that employees aren’t “robots or machines,” Shetty said. They don’t have the ability to put in 150%—or even 100%—every single day, as conditions both inside and outside of work will influence their performance.
The most effective approach to leadership doesn’t “drop standards,” he noted, but rather helps workers feel safe to “rise to the standards, rather than feel forced toward them.”
A coaching mentality
Shetty suggests leaders look to the example of athletic coaches.
Coaches are adept at recognizing when their team members need to rest and recharge—habits leaders need to actively instill in their employees—based on understanding them as more than just “names on a sheet of paper.” They see each of their team members as unique individuals and take their strengths, weaknesses and outside influences into account as they work to help them bring their best to the court or field.
“That is demanding a lot from leaders; it’s easier said than done,” Shetty acknowledged.
Making ample one-on-one time with employees is essential, as is staying humble; a reverse mentorship mentality—through which leaders embrace learning from their teams just as much as they teach them—can make this approach to leadership “less exhausting.”
It’s also more fruitful for employees: If they are always relegated to the “follower” role, that’s what they’ll deliver.
“They’re not being motivated to rise to the occasion if they always feel like they’re learning and you’re leading,” Shetty said. “The best leaders make themselves feel like students and learners—and that employee can then take ownership.”
Feedback—delivered in a way that emphasizes both empathy and expectations—is key. Reiterate the high standards the business or team anticipates that employees rise to, clearly communicate how employees can meet them and offer support on that journey, Shetty advised.
It’s an approach that may not come naturally to modern leaders, as many likely weren’t exposed to this leadership style as they rose through the ranks. Yet, Shetty noted, wider transformation has to start somewhere.
“Culture changes when people change. And people change when one person changes,” he said. “All you need is one person to break the pattern.”
3 strategies to inspire employee purpose
Apart from empathetic leadership, the most fulfilling, productive workplaces are also spaces where employees are deeply connected to purpose.
Shetty pointed to Yale University research that coined the term “job crafting”: an intentional reframing that enables employees to find more meaning in their work.
Researchers followed hospital maintenance workers and noticed a stark difference: Those who were most satisfied with their work identified themselves not as “cleaners” but as “healers”—acknowledging the trickle-down effect of their daily task on patients and hospital staff.
“It’s not what you do for work; it’s how you feel about what you do for work that makes the difference,” Shetty said. “That brings purpose.”
Shetty said leaders can give employees the space to connect to purpose in several ways, including:
Look beyond the daily to-do list.
Employees need to intentionally “look up from their laptops, beyond the spreadsheets and PowerPoints” to see the “real impacts” of their work. That could include customers they help, how they challenge themselves, their ability to provide for their families or give their kids amazing experiences on vacations.
“There are so many beautiful things that happen because we have work, and that wouldn’t happen if we didn’t,” Shetty said.
Embrace unused skills.
Often, employees may not use their “natural skill set” at work, which can inhibit passion.
During his career, Shetty recalled, he encouraged his teams to bring skills they use outside of work to the workplace. That inspired a photography hobbyist to find new joy in capturing work events, a cyclist to start a cycling club and someone who excelled at party planning to organize team-building, celebratory events in the office. Shetty, a former monk who worked as a consultant for Accenture, brought his passion for meditation to a lunchtime meditation class for two colleagues.
“All of a sudden, the workplace can become somewhere where you feel you have more value,” he said.
Seek out meaning.
There are likely many opportunities for employees to find more meaning in their work, but employees may feel their job title minimizes their impact.
“You don’t have to be a doctor or a nurse or a surgeon” for your role to have meaning, he noted. Developing connections with colleagues or getting involved with corporate philanthropic ventures can inspire employees to recognize their personal contributions to a greater good.
“We underestimate the amount of impact our professional lives have on changing lives.”
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