Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2022 - 59

to be the number one aspect that makes
a team successful. In an environment
with psychological safety, employees
are comfortable taking risks, speaking
up and sharing concerns without
fear of being ridiculed or punished.
Without psychological safety, teams
are inhibited. Team members feel
undervalued, are less likely to put extra
work in and are more likely to burnout.
MENTAL TOUGHNESS
Learning and development (L&D) is
uniquely positioned to deliver training
that can target burnout and improve
psychological safety, as there are now a
range of tools that can be used alongside
traditional training to make this easier.
For example, over the last 20 years, a
lot of research has gone into developing
various tools to help assess and improve
psychological resilience needed to be
psychologically safe at work. The most
well-known tool is the psychometric
test, Mental Toughness Questionnaire
(MTQ). The MTQ assesses various
facets of either an individual's or an
organization's psychological resilience
and then suggests training based on
the results. Interestingly, one of the key
variables that is examined in this test is
psychological safety (taking risks).
Trainers using evaluation tools like the
MTQ are able to help organizations
accurately assess leadership capability
in being able to manage their own wellbeing
and resiliency, as well as being able
to support their people and teams to do
likewise. This focused analysis identifies
strengths and pinpoints gaps that need to
be addressed, which can create a culture
of well-being, with better individual and
organizational energy and performance.
Interestingly, the
MTQ assesses
psychological safety through a
component they call risk taking. By
measuring an employee's propensity
to take risks, the MTQ can confirm how
psychologically safe that person is.
Modern assessment tools can assess
multiple people at once, meaning
teams, departments and even whole
companies are able to understand their
psychological safety levels. If there is a
deficit, then specific training can be used
to increase performance in this area.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
The way we work affects our energy
- and our levels of energy affect
our performance, our resilience, and
our likelihood of burning out. What
has become apparent
during
the
pandemic is how much the changes
to our lifestyles have impacted our
overall energy levels. There could
be many reasons for this change in
energy levels, including employees
working longer days at home, taking
fewer breaks, and being unable to
effectively switch off from work.
This has led to a resurgence in the
energy management system being
used by trainers to help burned out
employees. Energy management is
a simple system first popularized by
Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. Training
professionals using this system ask
clients to improve focus by splitting their
time and activities into manageable
chunks. Rather than dealing with one
task after another, allot a specific chunk
of time for each task (no longer than
120 minutes). Follow each task with a
20-minute break, then change to a new
activity. This model posits that human
beings have a maximum cognitive
attention span of 120 minutes - when
humans concentrate for longer; they do
not do it well.
A popular practice to develop better
energy management is to encourage
people to build regular breaks into their
routines, getting employees off their
phones and computers and away from
their desks every 90-120 minutes - no
matter how busy they are. In this rest
period, they are not allowed access to
digital devices. Often, clients use this
time to walk, eat something nutritious
or even have a short nap. The real
power was not the training that was
delivered but in the way it could be
evidenced. Some trainers have used
the MTQ to assess employees preand
post-energy management training
to demonstrate the massively positive
effects upon employees. The results
can also be reviewed qualitatively with
the organization using systems such as
an employee audit, which adds details
around the specifics of the reasons for
the change.
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - SPRING 2022 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
If organizations
want to attract
and retain top
talent, they need
to have a culture
that promotes
well-being
and prevents
burnout.
EXERCISE
Systematic reviews and metaanalyses
of all have concluded that
any workplace program or training that
aims to tackle burnout is going to be far
more effective if it includes exercise.
There have been many studies that
have investigated the effects of
exercise upon burnout symptoms, and
all have found that exercise reduces
emotional and physical exhaustion.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
There is a plethora of opportunities
for training professionals to upskill
themselves with tools, techniques
and qualifications to help their
organization overcome burnout. This
could include using the MTQ system
to assess and diagnose or energy
management and exercise programs
to improve physical health. What is
clear is that now is the time for training
professionals to educate themselves
on ways to combat burnout and
improve employee well-being.
John Earls is one of the UK's leading
experts in burnout research in the
workplace and is currently researching
how to reduce burnout in the workplace
using mindfulness and exercise.
Email John.
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https://www.mentaltoughness.partners/mtq48/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393815/#:~:text=Cardiovascular%20exercise%20was%20found%20to,perceived%20stress%2C%20and%20emotional%20exhaustion.&text=The%20present%20findings%20revealed%20large,an%20effective%20treatment%20for%20burnout https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393815/#:~:text=Cardiovascular%20exercise%20was%20found%20to,perceived%20stress%2C%20and%20emotional%20exhaustion.&text=The%20present%20findings%20revealed%20large,an%20effective%20treatment%20for%20burnout https://www.acsm.org/education-resources/trending-topics-resources/physical-activity-guidelines#:~:text=ACSM%20and%20CDC%20recommendations%20state,on%20three%20days%20per%20week https://www.acsm.org/education-resources/trending-topics-resources/physical-activity-guidelines#:~:text=ACSM%20and%20CDC%20recommendations%20state,on%20three%20days%20per%20week https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2022

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