In our recent ISACA® Journal article, “Mitigating Auditor Burnout With an Energy Management Mindset,” we discussed what auditors can do to effectively manage their energy and avoid burnout. Although individual auditors can have an impact on their own energy management, their efforts are constrained by the organizational setting in which they work. Organizations can choose to support auditors’ efforts to increase resources, decrease job demands, practice skills and tasks, and monitor energy—and thereby manage personal energy. Thus, organizations have a significant role to play in protecting their employees’ mental health.
So how can organizations serve as allies in fulfilling this goal? That is, how can organizations help increase resources, decrease job demands, support practice and monitor energy?
- Increase resources—Organizations should give individuals the resources they need and want as opposed to providing a generic checklist of resources. It is crucial to listen to employees when they ask for resources as these are the resources they are likely to actually use. Conversations about such requests also serve as an opportunity to make employees aware of existing resources (e.g., training or tools).
- Decrease job demands—Releasing employees from low priority, less value-added responsibilities (i.e., busy work) can be helpful. Such tasks may be assigned to interns or less experienced employees who could benefit from such practice. Organizations must listen to employees when they say they do not have enough time to meet job demands and be willing to shift deadlines, automate certain tasks or strategically reassign some of their workload to others. However, it is important to be mindful of removing responsibilities people find rewarding and value-adding; asking individuals which responsibilities they prefer to keep versus offload is key.
- Support practice—Organizations should let individuals choose what, how much and when to practice while also giving them the resources (e.g., time) and opportunities (e.g., special assignments) to perform such practice. Practice depends on what the individual or job requires. Organizations must listen to employees when they say they need training, practice or help with certain skills and be willing to provide them what they need. Providing a variety of training options so that people can choose to take what they need, when they need it, and how they need it (e.g., face-to-face vs. online) is helpful. Employees should also be provided flexibility in their schedule to perform practice, such as the opportunity to complete training at work during slow times. Supporting practice is about enabling employees to develop skills that prepare employees for future job demands they will encounter as their careers progress rather than requiring them to perform tasks or training that do not support future job demands or useful employee development.
- Monitor energy—Cultivating awareness of employees’ energy and how it changes over time is valuable. Individual managers can develop this awareness by checking in with employees regularly about stressors and stress levels, then having honest conversations with employees about what can be done to mitigate burnout. Upper management can use workplace climate surveys to track employees’ energy from year to year, and they can allocate more resources to energy management when aggregate trends suggest increasing burnout.
Employees are more likely to sustain their effectiveness and efficiency when organizations help them manage their energy to avoid burnout. The key is to afford employees a legitimate voice to express concerns, actively listen and empathize when they express concerns, and collaborate with individuals’ efforts to manage energy.
Editor’s note: For further insights on this topic, read the authors’ recent Journal article, “Mitigating Auditor Burnout With an Energy Management Mindset,” ISACA® Journal, volume 3 2023.
