Why Your DEI Team Members Might Be on the Verge of Burnout (And What You Can Do About It)
As we settle into the swing of yet another calendar year and find ourselves in the middle of yet another busy month for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professionals (Women’s History Month), some people may be missing the alarm bells.
DEI professionals are currently facing a unique susceptibility to burnout and not enough is being done about it.
DEI professionals are currently facing a unique susceptibility to burnout and not enough is being done about it.
There are three interconnected conditions looming around your DEI team members, requiring much of their time, energy, and effort, and making them more likely to burn out, particularly if you and your organization are not careful.
Here are the three reasons your DEI team members may be on the verge of burnout followed by what organizational leaders can do to prevent that outcome.
1. Downsized DEI Teams
Layoffs have been a seminal feature of business in these so-called “post-pandemic” years.
In fact, according to Crunchbase News, more than 191,000 workers in U.S. based tech companies lost their jobs due to layoffs in 2023. Though tech is the hardest hit industry, the layoffs have spread far and wide. According to Forbes’ Layoff Tracker, over 300,000 workers lost their jobs across industries last year, dubbing 2023 a “year of layoffs.”
It has been well-documented that certain job functions have been more deeply impacted by the onslaught of layoffs than others. Among the worst hit are those tasked with enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within organizations. Reports have come forward exposing the “gutting” of DEI teams in companies like Google and Meta, X (formerly Twitter) and Zoom, and, like the layoffs themselves, this trend extends beyond the tech industry, threatening the important work these teams set out to accomplish.
Following the growth in DEI investment after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the shrinking of DEI teams has left many DEI professionals with many priorities and initiatives but little bandwidth and resources to tackle them appropriately.
Following the growth in DEI investment after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the shrinking of DEI teams has left many DEI professionals with many priorities and initiatives but little bandwidth and resources to tackle them appropriately. DEI leaders and what is left of their teams are overloaded and potentially working on fumes, making them extremely susceptible to burnout.
2. The Politicization of DEI
DEI professionals are deeply familiar with hairy conversations.
The ability to navigate, coach, and progress individuals – and organizations - through a deeper understanding of bias, social inequity, and inclusivity is a prerequisite to becoming an effective DEI leader. However, the dialogue surrounding DEI has become increasingly political as DEI has become a topic of conversation leading up to the 2024 election.
2024 is an “election year” for at least 64 countries around the world, but in the United States, many anticipate the November election to be one of the most consequential the country has seen in a long time. This has brought forth many vocal perspectives in and around organizations and American society, some of which have undoubtedly impacted diversity, equity, and inclusion professionals and their work.
Among the most notable developments swirling around this political landscape is an event that took place in the courts: the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to strike down affirmative action in higher education. Though specific to higher education, the decision opened programs conducted in corporate spaces up to more scrutiny and led to an increase in litigation related to DEI programming in public and private institutions.
These legal affronts have made organizations understandably more cautious and have directly impacted the amount of effort DEI leaders must put into stakeholder management inside and outside of their organizations.
These legal affronts have made organizations understandably more cautious and have directly impacted the amount of effort DEI leaders must put into stakeholder management inside and outside of their organizations.
Additionally, efforts across the country including but not limited to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Anti-Woke” initiatives, legal challenges against DEI-based grant programs such as the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice, as well as a notable increase in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the country have polarized the DEI conversation, making dialogue about these topics simultaneously more important and trickier for DEI practitioners to facilitate.
As mentioned, difficult conversations are already a feature of diversity, equity, and inclusion work. But, in today’s climate, the pressure can feel existential and is very often exhausting. If not managed and supported properly, such conditions can burn out your DEI personnel.
3. Growing Global Turmoil
Lastly, but not least importantly, our current global context might be creating conditions of burnout for our diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioners.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, updates regarding the conflict flooded our TV and phone screens. Then, in late 2023, the world watched as a second major war began to unfold. Beginning with the horrific and unimaginable events of October 7th the Israel-Hamas War has continued with thousands more killed and deprived of food and water in Gaza.
Though many in workplaces across the globe are personally unaffected, the deeply disturbing news coverage, ongoing bloodshed, and distress in Ukraine and, perhaps more glaringly, in Gaza have seeped into the consciousness of people everywhere. This includes the United States, where many leaders and DEI practitioners have been asked to weigh in on company statements, leadership needs, and initiatives tangentially connected to the dire circumstances taking place half a world away.
These conflicts, of course, are in addition to many ongoing and heartbreaking instances of turmoil around the world, including a quickly unraveling and devastating situation in Haiti.
The conflicts taking place today are heavy, persistent, and emotionally charged in ways few other events are.
DEI leaders are accustomed to supporting organizations through trying current events. In fact, the most seasoned DEI practitioners are not only accustomed but adept at coaching leaders to effectively manage through tragedies and the troubling news cycles that follow them. Despite this, the conflicts taking place today are heavy, persistent, and emotionally charged in ways few other events are. This can mean ongoing emotional labor for DEI practitioners as they do their day-to-day work, and it can absolutely contribute to burnout.
So, what can be done to mitigate the impact of the factors listed above and ensure that your DEI leaders make it through without burning out? Here are four nonnegotiable recommendations for organizational leaders who should begin implementing these approaches ASAP.
1. Reenforce Your Organization’s Commitment to DEI
Now, more than ever, DEI practitioners would appreciate and benefit from strong, ongoing endorsements and support from their organization’s leadership. This support would be most effective if it included an unequivocal commitment to DEI.
This could take several forms, including (1) highlighting the work of your DEI team on appropriate internal and external forums or inviting your DEI team members to share their recent initiatives and activities on your team calls, (2) sharing in 1:1 meetings with your direct-reports that DEI is a sincere priority for you and asking for feedback as to how that work can be improved within the organization, (3) advocating for and investing in DEI initiatives and programming that everyone can benefit from.
A clear ongoing commitment to DEI will provide assurance to your DEI team members, signaling to them that they are not alone. This can go a long way to preventing the onset of burnout.
A clear ongoing commitment to DEI will provide assurance to your DEI team members, signaling to them that they are not alone. This can go a long way to preventing the onset of burnout.
2. Emphasize DEI as a Benefit to Everyone
Much of the criticism leveled toward DEI stems from a true misunderstanding, the misguided belief that DEI is designed to benefit just some employees and not others. In truth, the spirit and effective practice of DEI supports all employees in their experience of work. While addressing historical inequality is a feature of DEI, its primary goal is to ensure that all employees can feel seen, supported, and nurtured in their workplace regardless of their background.
Leaders can support DEI team members and alleviate stressors that lead to burnout by promoting this message and clarifying for people when necessary that the efforts of diversity and inclusion can be felt by them too.
Here are some helpful talking points:
People bring diversity to their workforces through the many different dimensions of their identity. Therefore, a DEI team is there to ensure all employees feel supported by their organization.
One of the ways the DEI team supports all employees is by reducing bias in systems across the employee lifecycle. This works to oppose favoritism or special treatment. It ensures all employees have unbiased access to opportunities.
Another way the DEI team supports all employees is by incorporating practices associated with deeper inclusion and belonging for all into the experience of work and leadership. These practices and initiatives are designed to build community and help everyone feel better supported in their workplace.
We should all consider engaging in the programming our DEI Team sponsors AND we can also gain a deeper appreciation for all they do by learning about the less visible work they do, including the partnerships they forge, the systemic changes they spearhead, and the policies/cultural practices they help inculcate.
Leaders who emphasize the true breadth of DEI work help DEI leaders in their quest to help everyone understand how powerful and important diversity equity and inclusion work truly is.
Leaders who emphasize the true breadth of DEI work help DEI leaders in their quest to help everyone understand how powerful and important diversity equity and inclusion work truly is. This may reduce the pressure your DEI Team receives from external and internal forces that perpetuate a narrower more critical perspective of the work they do.
3. Encourage a Realistic Number of DEI Projects
This suggestion is admittedly difficult for all parties involved, including the DEI Team members themselves. However, following the 2020 surge of interest in the topic of DEI, four years later, many organizations are still knee-deep in projects, initiatives, and unrealistic timelines. This is especially difficult given the reduction of resources and personnel many DEI Teams are facing.
How can leaders address this overburdening, stress-inducing set of circumstances? Leaders can work with their DEI Teams to set realistic project goals that recognize the years-long process required to achieve true organizational change.
Leaders can work with their DEI Teams to set realistic project goals that recognize the years-long process required to achieve true organizational change.
As Cal Newport mentions in his latest book, Slow Productivity, “doing fewer things” does not mean “accomplishing fewer things.” DEI professionals can prevent burnout and still be deeply effective for their organizations by focusing on less projects at a time and embracing the notion that this work takes time. Leaders within an organization can enable this by working with DEI leaders to determine what is most urgent and most impactful, by allowing their DEI team members to make concessions where necessary with their time and focus.
Here is an example of what this might look like in practice:
You lead a division within your organization, and you’ve seen a strong need within your division for inclusive leadership training and coaching. You reach out to your organization’s VP of DEI who describes a project on the horizon that will address inclusive leadership needs across the organization in Q4 of this year. Rather than place pressure on your VP of DEI to accelerate their timeline and rather than go rogue by finding your own solution to the need you’ve identified, you can ask instead to have your division included, and perhaps prioritized, in the project in Q4 when it is active. You can also ask the VP of DEI if there are any suggested resources available for your managers in the meantime.
4. Respect Your DEI Team Members’ Self Care Boundaries
The work of a DEI professional can be rather selfless. In fact, many attracted to the role are used to being other-focused and may struggle to prioritize their own needs. Leaders can support their organization’s DEI leaders by encouraging rest and rejuvenation and respecting any boundaries they set to engage in selfcare. Some encouraged self-care practices and boundaries may include:
Responding the messages and emails during certain hours of the day (and not others).
Being 100% offline when on PTO, designating someone else to manage urgent crises if needed.
Determining when a Work-From-Home day may be necessary or beneficial.
Of course, there are many ways people can engage in self-care to boost their mental health and prevent burnout. If a DEI professional feels that the leaders around them respect this desire and need, they will be more likely to do what they feel is necessary to take care of themselves guilt-free, leading to burnout prevention.
If a DEI professional feels that the leaders around them respect this desire and need, they will be more likely to do what they feel is necessary to take care of themselves guilt-free, leading to burnout prevention.
This can be a precarious time for DEI professionals and their mental health, but it does not have to be. Your actions as a colleague, leader, and fellow DEI champion can make all the difference.
