Executives And Leaders Are Leaving Their Roles Due To Burnout

The Great Resignation, or The Turnover Tsunami, shows no signs of slowing down, and this mass exodus is not just for frontline workers. Executives and leaders are leaving their roles due to burnout.

Upper management, CEOs, and executives are overworked, overwhelmed, and leaving their companies for positions in organizations that recognize the value of a healthy and happy workforce.

Among many factors precipitating The Great Resignation, fatigue and lack of support are the most significant. A recent Deloitte survey revealed that almost 70% of executives are considering leaving their jobs for workplaces that care more for their well-being. According to the same study, 57% of employees outside of management roles want to quit for similar reasons.

The Recession Isn’t Helping Unsupportive Companies Retain Leaders

The high number of resignations impacts organizations concerned about retention and the recession. Since higher-paid professionals have invested years of their lives toward education and career-building, these turnover rates are alarming for many companies.

Assuming the recession will keep leaders in their current roles at all costs is a mistake. Toxic companies may rely on fear and scarcity to retain top talent, but despite the news out of Wall Street, skyrocketing stress levels, punishing schedules, and toxic cultures are driving even prominent leaders out of coveted leadership positions.

Recession notwithstanding, there are more open jobs now than in February of 2020, before the pandemic. The job market is still hot, despite anxiety over US economic state. Workers and leaders have the power of choice and can still dictate the course of their careers. Because of this, burnt out executives and leaders are leaving their roles, knowing they will find better opportunities.

In 2022 alone, major corporations, including Amazon, Starbucks, Pinterest, and American Airlines, have seen their CEOs resign. That’s in addition to the losses of 2021, which include Twitter and Disney.

Many of their press releases cite the reasons people would expect—these prominent figures are looking for greener pastures. C-suite executives and leaders across all industries are looking for new challenges, better culture fits, and a work/life balance that allows them to have full lives outside of their careers.

Being more financially secure allows leaders to exercise control over their career paths in ways lower-paid professionals or entry-level workers cannot always risk.

Pandemic Fatigue and High Turnover Impacts Management Roles

When The Great Resignation began, the emphasis was on lower-paid workers leaving their jobs, leaving companies scrambling to produce, provide customer service, and maintain operations.

Workers were frustrated with the demands of the pandemic and the unfair expectations set forth by their companies. They generally searched for more flexible work situations, better pay, concern for their well-being, and career advancement opportunities.

Executives experience similar frustrations. The ongoing effort to replace the workers leaving their jobs adds to their stress, along with reduced resources and increased pressure from management. A manager survey by Humu shows that hiring and retention were the two biggest challenges for leadership in the past year.

Managers must lead entire teams through extraordinary changes and difficulties as workforces and markets are still trying to find stable ground after the past two years. Executives and leaders can be great decision-makers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they possess the skills to lead people through times of personal and professional crises.

In addition, they often don’t have the power or influence to change the culture and priorities of an organization to give their team members the compensation and respect they are demanding.

Leaders must mediate the needs and goals of two groups: their teams on the ground and the top executives in the company. This is a stressful, often impossible, position to navigate, and they are doing it while also running day-to-day operations.

Prioritizing Well-Being Is Non-Negotiable for Ethical, Growth-Oriented Businesses

Although executive boards and other C-suite members may be reconsidering compensation, overall employee well-being should be a high-priority item on their agenda. The bottom line is that no one should sacrifice their mental and physical health for a paycheck, and workers know it.

Some of the same concerns that frontline workers face often apply to executives and leaders: they are unable to meet their basic needs and are undervalued by their employers.

Their demanding roles, increased responsibility, decreased resources, and exhausting schedules often prevent them from meeting their basic needs, practicing self-care, or taking time off. They suffer from unhealthy stress levels and a lack of support from their employers, despite their high-level roles and salaries.

The first step toward mitigating these issues is accepting that, in 2022, well-being is more important to people than advancing their careers at any cost. Leaders know they don’t have to tolerate poor treatment in exchange for a title and high salary. They can find fulfilling roles in companies that will value them and support their employees well enough to attract and retain talent.

Work is Both Essential to Fund Basic Needs and Self-Care, and a Significant Obstacle to Meeting Basic Needs and Practicing Self-Care

According to the same Deloitte survey, work is the most significant obstacle employees and executives face in prioritizing their well-being. High-stress work and long work hours obstruct proper self-care, and even basic needs take a back seat to deadlines and pressure to meet targets.

Engaging in healthier habits and intentional self-care is crucial for overall health and well-being. It significantly contributes to job performance, but many other dynamics prevent professionals from employing these positive habits.

For example, setting and maintaining work/life boundaries while working from home is challenging, even for hybrid workers. When the office is at home, it is more common to cross time boundaries, complete tasks outside work hours, and accommodate leadership and team expectations of near-constant availability.

Workers and leaders are not getting the time away they need to recuperate. A staggering 63% of employees and 73% of the C-suite report not taking enough time off of work and not taking enough breaks.

Accountability Among Executives and Health-Savvy CEOs

Recent efforts have improved accountability among executives. Execs and CEOs recognize that their companies need to do more to prioritize employee well-being, citing employee wellness as a significant priority in the coming years.

Deloitte calls for more health-savvy leaders who understand the significant impact well-being has on a company’s success. It affects performance, retention, and ultimately, revenue.

When organizations take steps to improve the well-being of their executives, leadership teams, and workers, they are investing in their most valuable resources. When they don’t, they risk their top talent and leaders leaving their roles due to burnout.

How are health-savvy leaders implementing these crucial changes?

• First, executive boards are discussing ways to develop better benefits packages, which would significantly impact the health and well-being of their employees.
• Second, many organizations recognize the need for more flexibility, better hours, and more time off. When leaders and workers can consistently take proper care of themselves and their families, their stress levels tend to decrease while innovation and productivity levels increase.
• Third, executives and managers are joining the voices of their team members to demand corporations invest in stakeholder-centered, transparent business practices and ethical decision-making.

As part of this process, companies should evaluate their mission statements and make decisions based on alignment with company values and progress toward their long-term missions vs. focusing solely on short-term gains and metrics.

When companies value stakeholders above short-term profits, it positively impacts all employees, from leadership to the teams they lead. It creates space to address issues without waiting until burnout forces top talent to resign. If retention and loyalty are essential to an organization, they must prioritize the well-being of their hourly employees up to those in leadership positions and executive roles.