An Underrated Leadership Strategy to Prevent Burnout

How can you get high performance from your team without burnout?

It comes down to understanding the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model by Johannes Siegrist.

If you understand the key concepts, you can motivate your team.

Here's how it works.

Effort (E):

It is the physical, psychological, and emotional exertion that individuals invest in their work.

It includes the intensity of the work, time pressure, and the level of responsibility or demands placed on the employee.

The high effort isn't a problem; it's when it surpasses the perceived rewards that burnout looms.

Reward (R):

Rewards encompass everything employees receive in return for their tangible and intangible efforts.

Rewards are crucial for employee motivation and job satisfaction.

When they are perceived as insufficient to effort, it can lead to stress and burnout.

Imbalance (I):

Imbalance in the ERI model occurs when the perceived effort-to-perceived rewards ratio is unfavorable.

In a sustained imbalance, employees feel they are putting in more effort than they receive in return. 

This is a significant predictor of stress-related outcomes, including burnout.

How can you apply this to your team?

1. Audit Effort: Understand how and where your team spends their time.

2. Evaluate Rewards: Scrutinize tangible rewards like salaries and intangibles like appreciation. Ensure they align with the effort.

3. Detect Imbalance: Regularly check if perceived rewards match efforts. Open channels for honest conversations about workloads and rewards.

4. Communicate openly about organizational goals, expectations, and the value of individual contributions. Transparency enhances employees' understanding of how their efforts contribute to organizational success, reinforcing the link between effort and reward.

5. Analyze Workload and Recognition: Ensure the workload is distributed fairly and recognize employees' contributions. This helps in aligning effort with perceived rewards.

Understanding and applying the ERI model can be transformative. 

If you want to explore how these principles can impact your team, I'm here for you. 

That’s all for this week.

Wishing you the best,

Dr. Beckford.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I can help:

2.  Hire me to speak about wellness at your next event or retreat.
3. Book a strategy call so I can answer your questions.