Helping Employees with the Burnout You Aren't Recognizing They're Experiencing
A discussion with David Grossman of The Grossman Group
Many employees are feeling a critical need for deeper communication, meaningful listening in response and concerted assistance to alleviate excessive stress and incorporate greater humanity, says research (Burned Out and Checked Out: What Employees and Managers Need to Thrive) from The Grossman Group, in partnership with The Harris Poll.
One of the more revealing and alarming takeaways was that 76% of employees and 63% of managers report feeling burned out or ambivalent in their current position.
Yet leaders aren’t recognizing just how overwhelmed their employees feel, with 89% saying their employees are thriving compared to the actual thriving figure of 24% – a more than 3-to-1 discrepancy.
David Grossman, the founder and CEO at The Grossman Group, an internal communication agency that partners with Fortune 1000 clients, including McDonalds, Microsoft and Amazon, answers questions about the findings.
That such a high number are feeling burned out or ambivalent seems to be either a mystery or puzzling accepted by organizational leaders. But why, is important to learn.
“It’s a combination of forces that have made burnout more prevalent and harder to spot,” Grossman says. “The pace and volume of change over the past five years have taken a toll on everyone, managers included.”
He points to the velocity, weight and stress capacity.
“Our recent research on the state of change in organizations today shows that organizations are at the change tipping point,” Grossman says.
“Employees can realistically absorb only 1 to 2 major changes a year, yet leaders expect 3 to 4 in the next two years, pushing organizations past the tipping point. This compounds the pressure.”
Managers themselves are nearing or at the end of their figurative bandwidth: 63% feeling burned out or ambivalent, 58% mentally exhausted and 54% overwhelmed.
This, Grossman adds, makes it difficult for them to be as socially aware of how individuals and teams are being negatively impacted.
There is also the problem that team members either have come to believe they have to keep quiet about it or they don’t think to communicate what they are experiencing.
“We also see that employees often don’t share how they really feel,” Grossman says. “Employees are putting on a face that doesn’t reflect their true feelings, likely because they don’t feel they have a safe space, to be honest.”
Begin by Thinking What May Be Necessary and Helpful
“Managers can play a significant role by checking in with employees in more effective ways,” Grossman advises.
“Most one-on-ones focus on projects and tasks, not on how employees are doing as whole human beings. Managers need to conduct dedicated well-being check-ins where they treat every employee as an individual.
“That means understanding each person’s aspirations, what matters most to them about work, the skills they’re developing and their family or home situation that may require flexibility.”
What Else is Rarely Considered
“There’s also the reality that middle managers carry enormous responsibility without always getting the support, tools or clarity they need,” Grossman says.
The pressure and heaviness that they carry can be excessive in volume and intensity.
“They’re expected to lead through change, deliver results and take care of their teams, often while navigating their own burnout,” Grossman explains. “That makes it easy to miss the signals employees are sending or feel unequipped to address them.”
Perception isn’t always reality.
“So, it’s not that managers don’t care,” Grossman says. “It’s that the system around them hasn’t caught up to what today’s environment requires.
“That’s the gap organizations need to close.”
Workers, the research indicates, want organizations to listen more or start doing it and ask for feedback. Less one-directional communication, please.
Grossman detailed what organizations doing this well have in common.
“First, they’ve moved beyond the annual engagement survey to regular well-being check-ins. Employees want more dialogue, more transparency and more ongoing opportunities to share what’s on their minds,” he says.
He elaborates to paint a picture about what that can look like in practice.
“Managers schedule dedicated time not to discuss projects but to understand how each employee is doing as a whole person,” Grossman says. “What are their career goals? What gives them meaning in their work? What’s happening in their life outside work that might affect how they show up?”
How the Numbers Positively Compound
“Second, they make the math work for scale,” Grossman begins.
“When senior leaders and middle managers set aside even two 30-minute listening sessions a month with small groups of 8 to 10 employees, that’s roughly 240 employees reached per leader per year. Across a leadership team of 10, that’s 2,400 employees engaged in meaningful dialogue annually.”
Keeping Desirable Information Flowing, Regardless
“Third, they communicate even when they don’t have all the answers,” Grossman says. “The most effective leaders share what they know, what they don’t know and what they’re working on, using dialogue to bust myths and reduce anxiety.”
An Often Forgotten or Dismissed Step is a Critical One
“Fourth, they listen and act on feedback, and just as importantly, they show employees they’re doing it,” Grossman insists.
“Many organizations gather feedback but don’t always close the loop,” he points out.
“If a decision or improvement came from employee input, leaders need to make that connection explicit. Demonstrating you heard employees and took action because of what you learned, reinforces that two-way dialogue is both welcomed and meaningful.”
Employees expect their well being (not fitness classes or gym memberships) to be important to their employers, being seen as whole human beings. Work flexibility is a part of that.
Employers may not see this as their duty or possible.
“I’d say look at the data: burnout is costing organizations money right now,” Grossman says. “Thirty-three percent of hiring managers predict increased turnover and that turnover costs 50-to-200% of an employee’s annual salary, according to The Harris Poll. “
Looking at the numbers worldwide, the costs are magnified to shockingly-high numbers.
“Disengaged employees cost the global economy $8.8 trillion in lost productivity, according to Gallup,” Grossman stresses. “Beyond creating a culture where employees feel like they belong, this is also about business performance.”
The False Narrative Unmasked
Grossman pushed back on common beliefs or assumptions.
“I’d also challenge the assumption that supporting well-being requires expensive programs or unlimited flexibility,” he argues. “Our research shows what actually drives thriving at work: managers who are clearly invested in employees’ success, empathetic leadership and feeling respected at work. These cost nothing but intentionality.”
Moving Forward, Intelligently
“The fundamental shift is what I describe in my new book as leading with your heart in your head: integrating emotional intelligence with strategic thinking,” Grossman proposes.
“One employee might need schedule predictability because they’re caring for an aging parent. Another might need growth opportunities because they’re eager to advance. A third might be developing new skills and need stretch assignments. You can’t know any of this without having genuine conversations.”
Discussing and Working on What is Possible
“For employers who say flexibility isn’t practical for frontline, manufacturing or site-based roles, I hear you,” Grossman concedes.
“It can’t mean working from home. But it can mean more predictable schedules, input into shifts, cross-training or small moments of autonomy, such as allowing employees to choose break times within defined parameters.”
He summarizes his point.
“Employees want to know their employer recognizes the realities they juggle and is willing to explore what’s possible within the real constraints of the work, Grossman says.
“The organizations that focus on the ‘heart work’ of modern leadership are the ones closing the gap between managers’ perception and employees’ reality,” Grossman says.
There is a straightforward yet skillful approach to satisfy that type of need.
“It requires blending emotional intelligence with strategic thinking and genuinely knowing each employee’s unique circumstances and aspirations,” Grossman adds.
“Those organizations won’t just retain talent, they’ll outperform their competitors.”
Publisher’s Note: David Grossman is the author of the 2026 release, “The Heart Work of Modern Leadership: 6 Differentiators of Exceptional Leaders,” in which he explains why only 30% of leaders do well and how you can join them.
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