Fired Up!: A guide to transforming your team from burnout to engagement

by Mia B. Russell, Girvin Liggans

Overview

Imagine this . . . you are leading a team that is full of energy, enthusiasm, creativity, cooperation, and participation. Team members enjoy working　with one another and the nature of the work itself. Simply put, the team is a pleasure to engage with and they help you achieve organizational goals − on time and under budget. Sounds great – right? Of course it does . . . but it may not be your reality.

Your team’s success is impacted by changes within the work environment, and as a leader, manager, human resources professional or organizational development consultant you are constantly striving to address threats to employee engagement and well-being. One such threat is the global phenomenon: burnout.　

Fired Up! offers a framework and collection of interconnected principles that can help you build a positive and effective work environment. It serves as a starting point for people leaders (and those that work with people leaders) to understand burnout and engagement while developing a plan of action. Inspired by the stories, anecdotes, and strategies included in the book, you will find support and tools for creating an environment that fosters engagement for your team.　

Gain an insight into the causes and consequences of burnout, learn how to assess your team and work environment and become aware of the conditions that can shift your team from burnout to engagement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783110741629
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	08/22/2022
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mia Baytop Russell, PhD has served in various roles across nonprofit, academic, and corporate sectors. Currently, as lecturer in the Center for Leadership Education at Johns Hopkins University, she teaches leadership and management courses. Drawing from personal interests and challenges with work-life integration and work-family conflict, Mia has spent decades exploring well-being in multiple contexts. Her research focuses on the sustainability of well-being, specifically family economic well-being and career/work-related well-being. As a contributor to the field of financial education and organizational behavior, Mia has published dozens of interdisciplinary articles, developed programs, and consulted with organizations.

Girvin Liggans, PhD is an expert in policy analysis and a lecturer in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins Universitywhere he teaches management, leadership, and technical communication. Rooted in decades of work within public health agencies, Girvin is dedicated to advancing health equity and employee well-being through a focus on evidence-informed decision-making in public and organizational policy. His research is multidisciplinary and spans environmental health, organizational behavior, legal epidemiology, and diversity and inclusion. Girvin holds an MS in Environmental Health Science from the University of Michigan along with a BS in Environmental Science and PhD in Organizational Leadership from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments XI

Preface XVII

Introduction XIX

Part I: A stronghold

Chapter 1

Burnout matters 3

Burnout as a global phenomenon 3

You can count the costs 4

Nobody is immune to burnout 5

Burnout is an organizational problem 6

The casualties of burnout 7

Managing burnout requires leadership 9

Chapter 2

Why we work – in general and in organizations 11

Wake, work, sleep, and repeat 11

Division of labor and productivity 12

Everyone wants meaningful work 14

Organizations need motivated employees 15

Motivating the masses 17

Chapter 3

Your work environment and well-being 19

The surroundings tell the story 20

A focus on what is positive and effective 21

Key characteristics of the work environment 25

Job demands 25

Job resources 26

Organizational support 27

The dynamic work environment 27

Current realities 28

Span of control 37

Part II: A trench and the oasis

Chapter 4

Burnout – the making of a concept 41

The three dimensions of burnout 41

What burnout is not 43

The causes and consequences of burnout 43

What every leader and manager needs to know 46

So, what next? 46

Chapter 5

Work engagement 47

A most desirable state 47

The causes and consequences of work engagement 49

An essential focus for organizations 51

From an individual focus to your team’s work engagement 51

So, what next? 53

Part III: Minding the gap

Chapter 6

Shifting from burnout to engagement 57

The Organization-Job-Personal (OJP) framework 57

Three steps 60

Chapter 7

Step 1 – Assess 63

Bringing it all together 69

Chapter 8

Step 2 – Acknowledge 70

Ideating strategies 70

OJP potential strategies and solutions 75

Bringing it all together 77

Chapter 9

Step 3 – Act 78

Brick by brick, build a plan 78

Assess, acknowledge, act, and repeat 81

Keep the flame burning 84

Bringing it all together 84

Chapter 10

Self-audit, self-care, and self-compassion 85

Support tools 87

Afterword 91

Endnotes 93

Appendix I

The Organization-Job-Personal (OJP) framework 101

Appendix II

Work environment assessment 102

Appendix III

Leader assessment analysis form 103

Appendix IV

Acknowledge – guiding questions table 104

Appendix V

OJP strategy chart 105

Appendix VI

OJP potential strategies and solutions chart 106

Appendix VII

Timeframe 124

Appendix VIII

Fired Up! Action Plan 126

Appendix IX

Self-care BINGO card 127

Appendix X

Create-Your-Own BINGO card 128

Appendix XI

Guiding questions for training and facilitation 129

Appendix XII

Resources 131

List of figures 133

List of tables 135

Further reading 137

About the authors 151

Index 153

Editorial Reviews

The book will be appealing to managers, leaders and HR professionals who wish to become acquainted with the phenomenon of burnout and look for specific, well-validated methods for recognizing risks in the work environment. Furthermore, it provides practical advice and solutions on how to increase employees’ motivation, vigor and commitment to the team and organization.

Stela Salminen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

This book is unique in that it provides an approach to organizational burnout with specific guidelines and solutions for making the organization function more efficiently for both managers and employees.

Elissa Levine, Psychotherapist/Clinical Social Worker, Washington D.C, USA

I believe this book contributes to a new understanding of burnout and how it is a huge concern in the workplace today.　 This book definitely stimulates the mind to the concern of burnout and I believe that it will be very useful in helping combat burnout for those that take the time to read it

Kevin McCall, ADP Talent Management, Tucson, USA

Russell and Liggans provide a principle-based approach to leadership that delineates the factors which lead to the exhaustion and reduced effectiveness created by burnout. While thoroughly evidence-based, practical steps are given to move team members from burnout to active engagement. Fired Up! is a foundational resource every leader will highly value.

Paul White, Ph.D., Psychologist; President, Appreciation at Work; and best-selling author, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

Fired Up! tackles in a very practical and inspiring way one of the most pressing challenges of our time. People have been disengaged, over-worked, and stressed for too long in the workplace. Now is the time to fire up our imaginations and energy to change the way we work and the way we think about work. Start the process with this book.　

Stuart Crainer, Thinkers50 co-founder 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Fired Up! is a smart and accessible work that provides an effective framework that can help leaders address burnout within their teams and organizations. In the wake of the Great Resignation, this book could not be more timely.

Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Regret, When, and To Sell is Human

From the Publisher