People Aren't Disengaged. They're Exhausted.
- Jennifer Meyer
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
The first quarter of the year is almost over, and I’ve been in a LOT of rooms.
HR leaders.
ERG leaders.
Managers.
In every single room I’ve been in, I’ve heard one overwhelming issue.
“How do we get people to show up?” It’s coming from wellness folks working hard to ‘engage’ their teams.
It’s coming from ERG leaders trying to understand why they shift, and people still don’t enter the room for programming.
It’s coming from friends who are struggling to find reasons to care about jobs they love.
Hell - it’s coming from me when I take a look at my calendar and say, ‘Lord, how am I going to get to all this?’
I mean, seriously - what is going on?
I got into a bit of a deep dive with a few folks at a SHRM event recently, and as I pondered it later realized it’s not that surprising. The real question is - what are we going to do about it?
It’s a difficult place to be if you're a leader because you can’t force people to engage. You just can’t. For all the talking we do about trying to figure it out, engagement is something people choose to do.
The only real control a leader has is creating a space where people want to make that choice.
And there are things you can do that support it. Like, showing respect and empathy. Having the boundaries you need to ensure you have stability when you engage with your team. And certainly, having programs and events can also help.
But honestly - people are effing tired. I mean, aren’t YOU?
It’s like we are careening over a cliff, and all anyone really wants is to sit and watch the grass grow. So many of us are bombarded daily with noise.
The news.
Social media.
Email.
It makes going to the grocery store feel like a gargantuan task.
And when people feel like that, you aren’t going to get them to engage unless you tell them it’s mandatory.
And spoiler alert - that won’t support healthy functional teams.
So what do we do?
We let it be ok that people don’t want to self-actualize at work.
We accept that some members of our teams are coming because they need to eat, and they are meeting expectations.
We are alright that not everyone is hitting a home run.
And we show up for those people with the same energy and dedication, and RECOGNITION we show for the VIP.
We (leaders) have the clarity to know that not wanting to engage is human right now.
The stress in our world is real. The overwhelm is real.
When people feel like that, they need to know it is safe for them.
We send the “Thank You” even if they don’t show up at the company picnic.
We let them know they are still valued, even if they don’t complete the satisfaction survey.
We recognize that wanting, no needing, the world to slow down just a little bit is normal.
And yes, people still need to meet expectations.
And yes, people do need to be held accountable.
But let’s make sure the standards we are holding them to are reasonable.
Let’s make sure we haven’t normalized a speed that is actually not sustainable.
Let’s GET REAL and remember that life can’t be lived at full throttle every day.
Engagement happens when people have the capacity to engage.
And by capacity, I mean the energy.
Stress and overwhelm, even if it’s not solely coming from work, take energy. The goal becomes just getting through the day, not leaning into growth or connection.
I remember times in my life, solo parenting a special needs child, where I couldn’t think past just getting kids fed and into bed - I wasn’t even able to think through ways to foster connection between siblings. To say nothing about doing extra at work.
If we want people to engage, the question isn’t “how do we get people to care more?” It’s “Have we created an environment where people have the energy to care?”
Research on burnout and overwhelm repeatedly shows this. When people feel chronically stressed, overwhelmed, and burntout, engagement drops. And it has nothing to do with not caring. It has to do with what they have energy to think about.
The state of our nervous system prevents or supports our ability to think clearly and choose engagement.
So while we push seemingly frantically into Q2, take a beat to consider what kind of space (literally and figuratively) are you providing to the people you lead to be human?
How are you supporting the environment where they know that doing their best doesn’t always mean a grand slam?
How are you holding them accountable to high standards without creating unsustainable pressure? Where are you saying - “I Got You?”
Till next time!
Consider your life. Be on purpose
Jennifer
Interested in a more RAW insight? Check out the video below.
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