How to Mitigate Staff Burnout in What Will Be an ‘Emotionally Brutal’ Cycle

Now is the time to talk about staff burnout because the job descriptions that are being written in 2023 and the hiring processes that are being put in place today can help candidates and groups retain staff for the longer term.

At least that’s the perspective of Eboni Speight, an EVP at the progressive “strategy tank” Way to Win. Speight spoke to C&E about managing staff burnout in an era that is seeing Gen Z enter the workforce being managed by, in many cases, Gen Xers who grew up in the industry giving everything for the cause.

“We’re going to have to take some of these things into consideration, because if not, we’re going to see a decline in the [number of people willing] to work hard like Gen X,” she said.

For Speight, managing staff burnout starts with hiring and having clear processes around “career pathing,” she said, which means “specifically laying out how hiring works. What does qualified mean? [And] taking some of those biases out. We have to make sure we have the right people in the right positions.”

But also, the right number of people. Campaigns and groups need to set “reasonable goals” and have the right number of staff available to meet them.

“When we talk about mitigating burnout, I do think hiring enough staff and hiring qualified staff is a key component,” she said.

Speight recalled the start of her more than two decades in the industry: “I started in 2000 in this work. Back then, you just burned yourself out. Some of those sentiments still exist, depending on the generation that those staffing managers come from.”

Gen Z is now arriving into paid positions in field offices and consulting firms. “While they are really excited about the movement and cause, they also have a lot [boundaries around] what they will and will not do,” Speight said.  “They’re maybe not as willing to make those types of sacrifices that I made.”

Ultimately, she said, candidates and groups need to “stop the churn-and-burn mentality.” Instead, candidates and groups should prioritize developing better staff management systems.

“Pay attention to how the management is leading people,” she said. “Campaign managers can often become micro-managers, [so] be sure to encourage independence while also setting expectations,” she said, adding that mental health of staffers also needs to be prioritized going into 2024, which is going to be a challenging cycle for the left.

“I believe it is going to be emotionally brutal,” she said.