Thriving as an I&D professional with experts by your side

Affected by burnout? You’re not alone, AND we are here to help

As Inclusive Employers supports over 450 organisations in the UK and beyond, we connect through the passion for inclusion and the rewarding satisfaction of making the workplace a fairer and more equitable environment. Through our work, we also understand and experience the struggles and potential exhaustion that leaders in the Inclusion & Diversity space face.

Leading on Inclusion and Diversity is a multi-layered, complex and demanding role. On the one hand, it brings excitement to be in a role that encompasses so much – an I&D professional is usually also a project manager, an advisor, an educator, a coach, a mentor, a therapist, an influencer, a strategist, data analyst, all at once, to mention just a few. The expectations are often high, yet the available resources are low. So, it does not surprise me to read that Inclusion and Diversity professionals are highly affected by burnout. The first study to explore burnout experiences among I&D professionals suggests that lack of clear job duties, conflicting job demands, lack of top management support, and experiences of tokenism are associated with burnout experienced.

Burnout has been described as a ‘syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do “people-work”  and its distinctive symptoms are ‘compassion fatigue (loss of a sense of caring)’, ‘a sense of hopelessness about the efficacy of our work’ and/ or bodily reactions as we become more prone to bugs and viruses or physical symptoms such as aches and pains. Important to note is that burnout ‘is a regular, chronic, everyday experience at work that wears you away so that you can’t deal with stressors as you would normally.’

To keep on thriving in this field, it is important that organisations and individuals do recognise burnout and its associated symptoms and address it as an issue affecting staff wellbeing and, ultimately, organisational performance.

If you’ve been there, you are not alone

Burnout can be prevented, and Inclusion & Diversity professionals are calling out for a change in mindset. Research by Maslach has identified six areas that are more likely to lead to burnout. We present these here as some food for thought, alongside some top tips to address them:

• Workload: make sure work matches your capacity, be realistic and say ‘no’ when needs to be. Block time for thinking, reflection, recovery, for professional growth and development. It is a win-win situation!
• Lack of control: do you feel that priorities are constantly shifting or that there are insufficient resources to get the job done? If so, can mid-term priorities be agreed upon with goals well measured to ensure resources are allocated adequately?
• Insufficient rewards: determine precisely what you would need to feel adequately appreciated, and what would counteract the ‘compassion fatigue. Ensure inclusive values are embedded and recognised within processes and procedures such as appraisal and reward systems.
• Breakdown of workplace community: burnout may lead to disengagement, which can be contagious! Is there scope to positively impact team dynamics and relationships of trust to avoid reaching burnout point?
• Absence of fairness: speaking up is part of the I&D role. Make sure to have buy-in from the executive team and build a network of allies and influencers to take concerns to where decisions are being made.
• Value conflict: organisations and society at large have clearly identified the urgent need to ‘level up the field’, to intentionally and consciously work on ensuring organisations adhere to principles of equity and justice – equal rights, equal access to opportunities, equal outcomes. Many organisations will have devised plans and statements that pledge to inclusive policies, procedures, processes and I&D as a golden thread running across programmes. Yet many are failing to follow that up with the rightful resources. Question how decisions are being made and what your organisation is investing in. Do you see Inclusion & Diversity being invested in the same way it is being discussed as a priority?

If organisations truly want to be inclusive workplaces, progress at a steady pace and reach their business objectives whilst taking care of the wellbeing of their staff, aligning values and living them are key ingredients to getting it right. And Inclusive Employers is here to help.

The mission of Inclusive Employers is to support you with this challenge. Many members and clients relate to us as part of their extended team, as we become their coach, advisor, and companion in developing and delivering what they may have no capacity to do internally. From expert advice, allyship, and access to the latest thinking in Inclusion & Diversity, to helping prevent burnout of your I&D team – we take great pride in supporting organisations and workers all over the UK and beyond reach their inclusion objectives.

Join us and make inclusion an everyday reality:

• Access a bank of resources, training and networks to support you in developing your inclusive culture. When you join Inclusive Employers as a member, you get access to a myriad of webinars, events discounts and a monthly catch up to use as you see fit. 91% of our Members are very or extremely satisfied with their Inclusive Employers membership. And we are confident we can support you too.
• Focus your time and energy in measuring progress with Inclusive Employers Standard and receive tailored support to address gaps and move forward.
• Grow and certify your knowledge with an Inclusion Qualification delivered by inclusion experts and certified by Chartered Management Institute (CMI). The qualifications portfolio goes from level 4 to level 7.