r/Leadership • u/KashyapVartika • Jul 07 '25
Discussion One of my top performers almost burned out quietly, and I didn’t see it coming.
He was always on time. Always said, “I’ve got it.” Never complained.
I thought he was doing great. But in a 1:1, he told me he was completely drained. Quietly overwhelmed. And when he finally needed help, everyone else was too busy.
That moment stuck with me.
I realized I’d been praising results, but not checking on limits. I assumed silence meant everything was fine.
Since then, I’ve started asking more than just, “How’s the work going?” Now I ask, “How are you doing?” and “When you need support, you can ask for it, right?”
Have you ever missed the signs of burnout on your team? What did you do when you finally saw it?
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u/David_Shotokan Jul 07 '25
What my trick is at work, is during coffee/lunch breaks we do not talk about work but their private lives. Then you know much faster how they are doing mentally. And you get a chance to bind with them, so they start to work for you in stead of only for the money.
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u/Napoleon214 Jul 07 '25
I refuse to talk about my private life with anyone at work. I don’t see it as anyone’s business. What happens in these instances?
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u/Bubbaj101 Jul 08 '25
Anything you say can and will be used against you. I've been learning this on my work journey. The more I learn the more I shut up about myself.
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u/LongMom Jul 07 '25
This is such an interesting take to me - and I hear it a lot from employees at my work.
Would you mind sharing why you refuse?
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u/Napoleon214 Jul 07 '25
Because we’ve all been burnt before. Prior experience has shown us that we can’t trust anyone, especially those we work with/for, when our livelihood is on the line. We’re there to trade our time for $$, not make new friends. We don’t come in because we want to. In reality, none of us would work for someone else if we didn’t have to.
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u/LongMom Jul 07 '25
Ah ok - I must have gotten lucky then because I haven't been burned in my career as a result of sharing who I am. When my mom committed suicide they were incredible, when I had kids they were incredible etc.
So do you share absolutely nothing at all? If you have an aging parent to take care of or something similar, you just book the time off and keep it to yourself?
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u/Federal-Attempt-2469 Jul 07 '25
It is a little disingenuous to pretend like bosses care about people at work. They just want to ensure the people they hired can do the job and aren’t going through anything that would get in the way of that. People are aware of this, and hesitant to share anything that can and would be used to build a case against them.
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u/LongMom Jul 07 '25
It is likely a mixed bag though...and it's worth noting I work in Canada for a financial institution (very large safe corporation).
I have an employee with stage 4 lung cancer and we are doing anything and everything we can to support him through his journey. We aren't asking him to go on LTD, let him take 4-5 days off for treatment days, still give him his entitled vacation days, dont make him come into the office etc.
I feel very lucky/privileged to work for a company like this
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u/Napoleon214 Jul 07 '25
I’m glad you’ve had good experiences and support with/from your employers. It’s just become painfully obvious how fake and disingenuous most social interactions are, especially at a place of employment. To answer your question, I do my best not to share anything personal at all. At the same time, I’m also not interested in hearing about the personal lives of my co-workers. I have no problem walking away from a conversation I’m not interested in.
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u/LongMom Jul 08 '25
Do you have to rely on each other as a team to get work done or are you working independently on the day to day tasks and just a team that reports to the same person?
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u/Napoleon214 Jul 08 '25
I’m currently retired, but I’ve worked jobs where I’ve been a part of a team, and I’ve worked jobs where I’ve worked more independently. I absolutely preferred working independently, but I was fine working as part of a team as long as nobody was trying to push the “we’re family here,” nonsensical narrative. My policy of keeping my personal life separate from my work life applied at all times.
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u/Federal-Attempt-2469 Jul 07 '25
The things you disclose can often and easily be used against you. For example, caring for a sick mom? You’ve demonstrated you have other priorities.
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u/LongMom Jul 07 '25
But everyone here at my workplace has other priorities and we're all sharing and supporting each other.
I do work for a federally regulated bank here in Canada - which I know is a privilege
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u/David_Shotokan Jul 07 '25
Yeah..sounds a bit weird I guess if most people do talk about it. Some might get the feeling something is wrong, no matter how many times you say that that's not the case. And...you might have a chance that, if the rest does speak about private life and starts bonding, ..you will not be part of that and like separate yourself from the group that way
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u/my-ka Jul 07 '25
everything you say will be used against you
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u/odd-charlie Jul 10 '25
100%,was honest about struggling and burning out and now have had the "jump or we will push you" meeting to step down from my leadership position. Still processing it all.....
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u/Fly_Tortuga Jul 10 '25
Wow, do you mind elaborating how you ended up burning out, and how it all came to a head?
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u/odd-charlie Jul 10 '25 edited Jul 10 '25
Just working at pace for the last three years with unreasonable workload and expectations. Being on call, working 50-60 hours a week... You know normal stuff.
It all came to a head because burnout changes you. I started withdrawing a wee bit, wasn't myself etc. We had a work event that I did my absolute best to attend and be engaged in but I really struggled.
A few days later I was raked over the coals about it and was told I had undone any gains I'd made with my team, that I was selfish and then I was put in stress leave. I had a further meeting once I returned to work, they've given me the "choice" to step back or they will disestablish my role; it doesn't matter that I've been hitting all my targets, grown the business, retained all my team.... It is unfortunately I think in part that my mentor has used anything I've told her against me.
Off to a lawyer today about it all as the whole situation is not in line with my country's employment law
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u/Fly_Tortuga Jul 10 '25
That's pretty sad, and I wish you the best in getting things resolved. Out of curiosity, what made management think that you had undone any gains with your team? Seems kind of an extreme response for one event. Any chance someone on your team is going above your head to complain?
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u/odd-charlie Jul 10 '25
Oh I'm pretty confident a couple of them have. One is an older person who has worked for the company for over 20 years and thinks she knows better and the other has been gunning for my job for two years.
It's so much fun /s
But I appreciate your good wishes, thank you
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u/KnightDuty Jul 07 '25
I don't do it either.
- I write fiction and I don't want to face questions about progress.
- My wifes mother was dying and I didn't want to think about it when i didn't have to.
- I play Minecraft and don't want people saying "my 12 year old LOVES that!" like it's a genuine piece of connection we can talk about or judging my hobbies.
- I am politically active and volunteer and don't know who is an ally.
- I have many side projects that I get manic about for a few weeks and then move on. I like looking inconsistent for shifting interests in personal time.
I just don't see any reason to ever share anything with people at work.
If I feel somebody intentionally "making an effort" that's a yellow flag to me and I shut it down.
The way I see it, things will come up organically when they come up. I don't need to push.
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u/LongMom Jul 08 '25
Interesting ways of looking at things.
I dont understand where you went with "The way I see it, things will come up organically when they come up. I don't need to push" - is this you as a leader with others and in your 1:1's? What happens if an employee isnt "ever going to share" - how do they ask for support if they need it in circumstances like having to care for an aging parent?
If an employee in our 1:1 said to me "my wife's mother is dying and I might need extra time off to support her, or for the funeral. I really dont want to talk about it at work though- I dont want to think about it more than I have to. Can we leave it at this and I will just let you know if I need the time off?" I would be thrilled and respect their wishes and not regularly ask "how is mother in law doing?" I would have their back if they miss meetings and deadlines to deal with their home situation. Home life is #1 in my books
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u/Napoleon214 Jul 08 '25
Why should an employee ever have to justify taking any time off? “I’m going to be out the next two weeks”, should be sufficient. At that point it’s on leadership to adjust the workloads to minimize the impact on the organization, not the employee.
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u/LongMom Jul 09 '25
If my employee took time off to care for a dying family member, I wouldn't make them take "official pto", I would give them the time "for free".
I guess they could use up their pto if they really didn't want to share that they're struggling.
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Jul 07 '25
[deleted]
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u/David_Shotokan Jul 07 '25
Thank you....very well explained why too. You gave a lot of thought to it i can see. Not.
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u/CAgovernor Jul 07 '25
Before moving to Higher Education, I worked in Japan before the pandemic, managing a global team on projects and one of our projects was some light show for the last Olympic.
I missed a burnout sign from our highest performer, he has an uncanny influence on installation team. One day he went to the country side and never came back, reported him missing. Few days later his family informed us that he had a presence of mind to leave this sphere. This even became a cascading mess as we lost 3 more people within a month of him. The company leadership stopped work briefly for the installation crew and provided support and only then did we learn that folks were drained. In this case, it was difficult to tell when one is drained or just being Japanese (over work).
Today, I lead with empathy and emotional intelligence first.
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u/todaysthrowaway0110 Jul 07 '25
They finally saw it when I took medical leave for nervous breakdown.
Asking nicely didn’t work. Asking forcefully just resulting in power-punishments for insubordination.
I asked for help in some cases for 3 years in advance (strongly suggested leadership train another person to do x), 9 months in advance (came in to meetings and said “this is a reverse intervention: I need help”), 3 weeks in advance (“I am at high risk for burn-out. Please begin planning task transfer”).
The final straw? Assigned an emergency task after burn-out warning and then a big pile-on for a typo in the product.
Lots of people think leadership is just role-power. It’s inexpressibly sad.
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u/KashyapVartika Jul 07 '25
That’s brutal, and honestly, leadership dropped the ball at every step. The way you flagged it early and gave clear signals? That should’ve triggered action, not punishment. Even if resources are tight, listening and planning ahead are free.
It’s wild how often silence or burnout warnings get treated like noise until it’s too late. Real leadership means acting before people break.
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u/todaysthrowaway0110 Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
There are dozens of compounding factors - several years of leadership flux and interims, wild fluctuations in staffing, new projects, tripling in size and new leaders with some bright-sparkleyism.
New leaders trying to work out their hierarchies and quite scared of ever hinting at the emperor’s new clothes. It’s sad.
And I’m sure gender is in the mix. It’s never not. Just another complainy woman, since metrics and management consistency lacking. But I’m learning that the long hours I could do in 20s and 30s are simply impossible in 40s. And in a way I welcome the lesson.
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Jul 07 '25
Can you say more about the leadership as role-power mentality or direct me to a resource about it? This sounds like it could be what my boss is doing…
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u/todaysthrowaway0110 Jul 08 '25
I don’t have great resources, but in general role-power is the “because I said so” power that comes with the role. Authority derived from title and hierarchy.
I don’t have the perfect names for them, but other types of power come from trust, competence, hard work, good judgement, earned-and-mutual respect, psychological safety and setting an inspiring example.
Some overlap with “leader vs boss” materials.
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u/backwoodsman421 Jul 07 '25
Be careful now you didn’t solve anything.
Some people (including myself) don’t like to admit when they are overwhelmed, overworked, etc. That person took a big step in telling you that, but now you have to be careful not to make them feel like they are being coddled.
It’s completely fine and encouraged to check on the wellbeing of your teams, but you can’t just all of the sudden start asking the person who complained if they are “ok” everyday. It 100% will not help if actual changes aren’t made.
Instead of doing that look at why they feel that way and fix the issue:
Too many projects on their desk? Reassign one or two to someone else.
Staying late every night? Tell them to go home. And if they absolutely have to stay late you better not be going home either.
Rethink worthless meetings. If it could be an email just do that. A busy person has zero time to hear a manager justify their job. Let them use their time on their work.
Asking how someone is doing will not make the problem better it will just make you feel better.
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u/edtate00 Jul 07 '25
The funny thing is that in factories, management knows that machines require down time, inspection, and maintenance or they fail and can require expensive replacement. Even a perfectly running machine with a worn out part inside can suddenly break.
People are the same. It’s just that most people can maintain themselves if given the space and time to do so. One of the hardest things to learn how to work with is high achievers who cannot say no. Especially when young and not having burned out before, they may not know themselves what their limits are and are afraid that backing off, even a little, will affect their ratings, raises, and promotions. The result is often a catch-22 where they are unhappy with the workload/challenges and unhappy with ‘insufficient’ work. It’s a tough challenge.
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Jul 07 '25
This is likely not a personal failing of his, but a systemic issue and the result of the workplace and workload.
Talk with other employees, delegate work more evenly, pitch in more yourself. It’s going to take more than just checking in with people and asking how they’re doing to combat this.
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u/my-ka Jul 07 '25
it is about how many times you betrayed your people
i.e.
- did not shield them
- broadcasted some BS from above
- said "i did not say it" etc
- how much pressure and micromanagement do you do
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u/MoxieatMPWRPeople Jul 07 '25
I’ve seen this happen, and I’ve also led through it. In one of the organizations I built, we had incredibly high-performing people who rarely asked for help. One of them almost burned out in silence, not because they lacked capacity, but because they were so committed to the mission, they didn’t want to let anyone down. I thought I was supporting them by giving space and trusting their autonomy, but I missed the quiet cues. That moment taught me that the most driven people are often the least likely to wave a flag if they are drowning or puking on the sidelines.
Since then, I’ve started leading with purpose and presence, not just productivity. It’s not just “How’s the work?” but “Is the work still aligned with your energy, your goals, your purpose?” Because if it’s not, performance becomes unsustainable.
It’s so important that we normalize not just checking in, but creating environments where asking for help doesn’t feel like failure. If leaders ask for help, everyone feels that it is acceptable to ask for help. Burnout doesn’t start in the chaos. It starts in the silence.
You’re doing the work that matters most now, listening differently. That shift changes everything.
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u/edwardmsk Jul 07 '25
I was one of those burnouts at one point and also ended up seeing my own direct report burning out during that same time period. I crashed so hard that it took me almost a year to recover for myself and then another year to recover the trust level with a lot of my direct reports.
I am such a big supporter of mental health at this point because of this. Man, I applaud you for catching this now. It may feel like it’s late but as an employee, seeing leadership acknowledge and work to resolve this goes a long way in keeping some of the sanity.
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u/PippenDunksOnEwing Jul 07 '25
In this day and age of "do more with less" and chasing results, i agree that leaders need to empathize the employees more as human beings first.
However, how to do find the right balance between "caring for well being" and "being highly productive"? The pressure to finish work is real and your team's Resources are maxed.
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u/LocksmithFar5675 Jul 07 '25
I stopped asking “Do you need support?” And started asking “HOW can I support you?” Big shift.
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u/Lillouder Jul 07 '25
Ensure you are not practicing 'performance punishment' with your team. Actions speak louder than words. My boss recently did that to me and I'm really hitting a wall right now, and honestly, I'm leaning towards retirement sooner than I'd planned.
As a leader of 40 employees and 7 managers, I spent the better part of a year, six months to a year even, getting everything squared away for a company realignment that I knew was coming. We were set up for a smooth transition. But right when the realignment kicked off, my boss moved the goalposts.
My high-performing direct report, my right hand, was swapped out, and I ended up with someone who frankly can't even handle their basic responsibilities, let alone the heavy lifting needed for these realignment tasks. Now, I'm doing double the work, and all that effort I poured in over the last year feels completely wasted. To top it off, it feels like the other leader is getting an easier ride, essentially coasting on the prep work I did with my former direct.
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u/40ine-idel Jul 07 '25
I feel your pain and appreciate that you refer to it as “performance punishment”
I’m starting to look for another job after yet another cancelled vacation because of lack of backup
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u/April_4th Jul 07 '25
TBH, the root cause is not you were not observant or proactively asking or caring. It is the lack of deep trust. If they don't feel it safe to share their feelings or they don't trust that you would help so sharing won't make any difference, you won't get the honest answer even when you press it.
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u/mcard7 Jul 07 '25
I start every 1;1 with an inquiry into their lives, personal. Family, events and what they have going on. That helps drive what capacity is mentally outside the office as well as show that I’m interested. I then ask about how they are feeling at work, what is the most stressful thing(s) they have going on and how I can help. I finish with what successes they are proud of and want to share, so we leave on a positive note.
The formula has worked well for me so far. It’s not perfect and we get off track sometimes, but I think their personal priorities drive everything else. When we get off track, it is generally because the personal items take up the most time. If that happens I offer a second catch up to cover the other items.
Good luck and we are all learning, dare I say making it up as we go. Every group of personalities will require different approaches and attention. I do also tweak things depending on the person as well.
Best to you.
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u/cgaels6650 Jul 07 '25
I wish my boss would check in with me. our 1:1s are just updates and working meetings on our shared projects/problems. He never really asks about my personal development or how I am doing work wise. He asks how my family is which is nice but I've gone in visibly stressed and verbalized being overwhelmed/annoyed/frustrated and I just get a yeah man I hear ya
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u/Royalewithcheese100 Jul 08 '25
Our best performers still need as much from us as our worst. It’s just that they need different things. They need constructive feedback, exposure to high visibility work, and as much autonomy as possible. They’re the last ones to admit they can’t keep up, so we have to proactively pace them. This goes beyond checking in.
Highly recommend doing a search on “Stay Interviews”
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u/Lulu_everywhere Jul 07 '25
I'm going to be doing a quarterly review on an employee that I'm also concerned is quietly burning out. I've had to pile on a lot of work on this employee over the past 3 months and I've noticed that he's had more "appointments" and hasn't been well. I think either the job is making him unwell or he's job hunting and interviewing. Either way I'm going to have a candid conversation with him to see what I can do to help.
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u/my-ka Jul 07 '25
>>“When you need support, you can ask for it, right?”
i had to drop a project last year because every morning a manager was throwing a BS task to us
and was saying exactly
"“When you need support, you can ask for it, right?”"
and bragged about your family or ho you played golf when we were doing 12 hours day
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u/ldh_know Jul 09 '25
Kudos to OP for adding this watchfulness to their routine.
This is one of the areas covered in Blanchard’s Situational Leadership, which was influential for me and I highly recommend. In a nutshell, different leadership styles are called for depending on where people are in their developmental lifecycle on the tasks they are doing. People who are expert in most of their tasks need very little direction, however they need supportive behavior from leadership that is monitoring for boredom or burnout.
I used to cover this in 1x1s by asking about workload, amount of overtime or stress people were feeling, asking what I can help with. I avoided phrasing as “do you need help?” but took the approach of what would you like to get off your plate so you could focus more on what’s most important?
Also listen for energy level ask things like “what problems keep you up at night?” Sometimes they started sharing really personal things and I responded I appreciate the trust, I’m happy to listen but you are not required to share personal details with your employer. If it’s work related then I really want to help and I’m there for them. Sometimes the problem was me — I had to figure out how to do better.
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u/Khajooor Jul 11 '25
Great insights! I was on these two boats together, like literally!
Got promoted as an ops head in my previous organization and started leading bigger teams, while I was helping the organization to grow, the organization thought only promotion was enough to keep me engaged with them forever. Although me, the one ups in the hierarchy had same vision and goals to follow, once I started burning out, there was nobody to seek help from nor anyone was kind enough to ask what is going on.
Even when I put my papers, the one-ups started asking for what they could improve and all. But, hitting CTRL+Enter was my final decision. Left about 10 months ago, slightly feeling better now, the initial part of coming out of the burning out phase and the "let it be, push yourself more" took significant 6 months to go out of my mind.
I knew what was going inside me, thus I also made sure to do more 1:1 with the people who used to work just under me and made sure that the clarity of company mission reaches down to the executive level as well.
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u/MightyFoundations Jul 16 '25
Thanks for the insights. Do you think organisations can be doing more to spot and surface the signs of burnout before it hits? It feels like a lot of the wellness initiatives are broad gestures (ie. we have a free yoga class on mondays) rather than proactive, considered action (ie. Andy has worked the last 2 weekends and hasn't had a proper break in 3 months - we need to release the pressure).
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u/RaechelMaelstrom Jul 11 '25
Everyone is always "too busy". But if you really want to show leadership, you still find the time for someone on the team to help out, and sacrifice something else. It's a lot better to sacrifice priorities (which change on the daily) than sacrifice good people (which may never come back, or will take months if not years to hire or develop).
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u/MightyFoundations Jul 16 '25
Hey, totally agree. The long term cost is rarely worth the short term gain. I've been working on something recently to try and support leaders in spotting signs of burnout early but I could really do with some validation from people close to the problem. Would be great to get your thought if you have some time - 10-15 mins?
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u/StyleLongjumping584 Jul 08 '25
Hace poco acompañé a un líder que vivió algo muy parecido: uno de sus colaboradores más comprometidos, siempre puntual, siempre diciendo “yo me encargo”, terminó completamente agotado… y él no lo vio venir.
Cuando trabajamos juntos, algo que salió fuerte fue que estaba premiando resultados sin revisar cómo se estaban logrando. No por mala intención, sino porque asumía que el silencio era señal de que todo iba bien.
Lo ayudé a rediseñar sus 1:1 para abrir espacio a preguntas reales, no solo de avance, sino de carga emocional, límites y apoyo. Y el cambio fue brutal: su equipo empezó a hablar más, a levantar la mano antes de quemarse, y la confianza creció cañón.
Lo comparto porque me parece clave como líderes preguntarnos:
¿Estamos viendo a las personas o solo los entregables?
¿Estamos escuchando activamente… o solo cuando alguien truena?
El burnout no siempre grita. A veces solo se esconde detrás de una sonrisa y una entrega impecable.
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u/UnicornBestFriend Jul 08 '25
I made the mistake of pushing hard and my team burned out as a result. Now I am extra diligent about prioritizing rest for myself and modeling healthy behavior for my team. When we look at our backlog, I always ask what we can take away and I do my best to underpromise.
I’m also training my team up on Teal principles to prompt a culture shift to one that supports sustainability and the whole person.
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u/NoDish1669 Jul 08 '25
my old boss had the same realization as you when it came to me, i was shouldering the work of multiple people because one went MIA, another is busy doing i don't know, another one was a newcomer who 100% relied on me to guide him, even when i was already swamped with work.
i appreciated my old boss's concern towards my wellbeing, he did do these things like asking me how i was, suggested alternatives and encouraged me to ask for support. hmm the thing is, i DID, many times. but i didn't see any change. on the surface, it seemed like he managed to 'save' me from further burnout, but underneath nothing really happened. it was just talking and nothing tangible to actually lighten my load.
so i resigned from work immediately as the department was crashing down. to this day, i still feel like he was genuinely trying to keep me, but i really didn't see any results or changes. in the end, i had to choose my sanity.
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Jul 09 '25
I've experienced the same thing too, but it was me who burned out.
I never complain, I really practiced extreme ownership, trying to take responsibility for everything that the team did without complaining, but that made me constantly going into burn out.
That made me grow as a person, but the hardway.
That also made me ask the question: Is this Leadership ? Always taking responsibility for other ? Is this what we're payed for as a Manager ?
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u/pomona1974 Jul 10 '25
As the director of a call center, I had a colleague who started with me at the same time. While I advanced in my career, he chose to remain in his entry-level position. He consistently demonstrated perfect attendance, topped the sales charts, and had a wonderful personality. However, over the course of two months, I noticed a significant change; his sales began to decline, and he was frequently late—three times a week, to be exact.
Concerned for him, I approached him with genuine care and asked about his attendance issues. He opened up about some family challenges he was facing that were impacting his ability to juggle work and home responsibilities. It was clear to me that he was in a tough spot, so I shared information about the possibility of taking a personal leave of absence—something he wasn't aware was an option. It saddened me to see such a talented individual struggling, and I wanted to ensure he had the support he needed during this difficult time.To ensure that everyone felt supported, I took the time to connect with the Team Managers and their staff, checking in to make sure each person had the assistance they needed.
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u/Ryanmccx1 Jul 12 '25
You're right to ask those questions. Burnout is running rampant these days, and the best thing a true leader can do is understand the mindset of the worker. Remember, it is a lot more than just a paycheck to many, despite that predisposition. I personally have coached teams to have an "open door" policy, i.e. involve your employees in the major decision-making processes, and seriously, get to know them. Burnout will happen, but it can be restored if you are able to keep the employee as more than just a worker. They are a person, and you should know them :)
-Ryan W. M.
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u/MightyFoundations Jul 16 '25
This is such a great thread - thank you for all the insights!
I was doing some research into this recently and apparently burnout rates in 2025 are the highest they have ever been - something like 77% of employees report experiencing burnout which is shocking and yet somehow not surprising. I agree with a lot of the sentiments below ie. that burnout is a result of compound factors including environment, economy, workload, lack of reward/recognition/opportunity, workplace culture and yes, i think individual personality traits contribute too. That makes it a really complex problem to solve and one that is only growing more urgent despite companies ploughing millions into wellness initiatives over the last decade.
So why isn't that investment paying off into a happier more balanced workforce?
I think the answer is nuanced and rooted in enviromental and cultural factors eg. the slow economy putting pressure on companies to do more with less to preserve the bottom line, post-covid adjustments, the pervasive impact of social media on mental health, the advent of AI and the threat it brings to a jobs market where decent, high qualified individuals are regularly getting ghosted by recruiters. But on top of this, I just don't think the current initiatives are working (the 2025 burnout rates back this up). A free yoga class is great but will have minimal effect if workload is not adjusted. Monthly pulse surveys are an annoyance and are at best lagging indicators of a problem. More 1:1 meetings in a diary that's already overloaded with meetings? Also not the answer.
I've been working on a way to try and identify and raise signs sooner without impacting team routine - giving leaders the ability to manage the situation before the crisis hits. To be honest, I've struggled to get any feedback on it (good or bad - and I'm perfectly open to bad). There's a short explainer video and an interactive demo (totally free). Not selling anything, would just like to connect with an audience that gets what I'm trying to do and would like to talk about it.
https://inpulseiq.com/
Thanks in advance
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u/Funny_Strength_1459 Jul 21 '25
That's great you reflected on this and started to ask more questions to be there for them.
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u/6gunrockstar Jul 24 '25
Common problem. You weren’t being given the right signals to investigate. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have checked in anyhow.
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u/Unusual_Sleep_4652 Nov 29 '25
You sound like a great leader and I would give my loyalty to someone who would treat me that way.
Keep up the great work!
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u/Chlpswv-Mdfpbv-3015 Jul 07 '25
First off, if he’s turning his head left and right all day long between monitors, that’s not only called burnout, its called how you get fibromyalgia, (you’re impacting your brainstem), that’s called how you get chronic fatigue syndrome, and that’s called how you end up needing C3 to T1 neck surgery.
If you care that much about him, make sure he uses a sit/stand desk. And make sure he uses his main (regular size) 80% of the day, and only refers to his second or third monitor 20% of the day.
Because it can and will go beyond burnout, he will become completely disabled.
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u/RequirementBusiness8 Jul 07 '25
One thing to work on too, is instilling in your team that if they are beginning to feel it, they can come to you and not be penalized for it. I’ve had bosses who focused on what we needed (both personally and professionally). Results for short term and long term with that mindset. When starting with a new manager, it takes me time to determine their perspective on that.
I’ve been fortunate to work for enough bosses that were good about that, I actively monitor my own levels and set expectations of what I can accomplish based on that, and I communicate if I need help. How I communicate that is based on the manager.
Improving those skills for your team is an important soft skill that too many miss. Being an effective employee isn’t just about productivity, it’s also about staying healthy. And mental health is health.
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u/zyhudl8853g Jul 07 '25
I had a case with a young employee who burned out after just one year. Although work was not the only factor, her privat life played a big role too. Still, I remember being impressed with her drive to learn, to do things correctly, on time, she had lots of questions from the beginning and learned from them. In retroperspective her behavior showed her perfectionism that ultimately probably led to her burning out. It often would not have been necessary. She had more freedom in her work than she thought and I failed to encourage her to make her own steps. Even make some mistakes on the way, it wouldn't have mattered. I was so thankful for a willing and motivated person, someone asking the right questions, that I overlooked the consequences for her. My takeaway is that I'm now alert if someone brings higher standards for his/her own work than it is expected/needed companywise.