Anyone else ever take Defensive Driving classes to reduce car insurance costs? I did for years and OMG I dreaded those classes. They were a total soul-drain. Dry and delivered with zero intent to engage.
I’d always leave (a) with zero memory of anything I “learned” and (b) in need of serious soul-replenishment. Kind of a lose-lose I guess?
Then one year, I discovered a course being taught in a comedy club. Same curriculum delivered by comedians. Were these the sharpest comedians I’d seen? Compared with other comedians, no. But compared with driving instructors? May as well have been Seinfeld.
This time the content landed. Some of it even stuck. And I left feeling energized rather than depleted. It wasn’t fun instead of functional. The fun was an element of design. Rather than coming at the expense of learning, it served to heighten it.
This is the paradigm shift the workplace is screaming for in the realm of performance and wellness. We need to let go of driving performance at the cost of our health and then correcting with “recovery” programs and benefits; and lean into designing the work in ways that enhance wellness while driving up performance. A virtuous cycle rather than a vicious one.
Of course, the investments in wellness programs matter. Keep them. Use them. But also: let’s reduce the need to fix problems the workplace is causing. Let’s start building wellness into the work itself.
In my work with teams on this, I’ve noticed that when you see people struggling with things like burnout, anxiety, and disconnection, it’s rarely about the work itself. It’s about how the work is organized. And when you fix the organization, both wellness and performance improve.
Let’s talk burnout
If you’ve read me before then you’ve heard it before. Burnout is not exclusively a volume problem. It has so many drivers. Often it’s not about how much work we’re doing, but how much energy we’re expending on managing choke points — decisions, approvals, backtracking due to misalignment or poor communication.
So instead of burnout recovery programs, what if we found where people are spinning their wheels without getting anywhere?
Start here:
- Just ask your team to note where they feel energy drain that doesn’t match output. Not hours worked, but moments of frustration, waiting, or rework
- Look for patterns. These usually cluster around decision-making, communication loops, or unclear expectations
- Pick one systemic issue and make a small change. Simplify or frontload with better intel. Change how that type of work gets done
- Monitor the impact and tweak accordingly
When I do this with leadership teams, they’re always shocked to see how much energy goes to managing organizational friction instead of creating value.
How about anxiety?
If you’re thinking “that’s not on us — that’s being caused by the world; by politics and news and the economy…” then you’re right. And a little wrong.
While we’re all navigating pretty toxic levels of global uncertainty, work should be a place for clarity. Our goal isn’t to wipe out anxiety — it’s to stop contributing to it.
Start here:
- Replace your next all-hands memo with listening sessions. Ask: “What information do you need that you don’t have? What questions are keeping you up at night?”
- When you share updates, always include the “why behind the what” and how decisions get made
- Before finalizing big decisions, ask your team what they see that you might be missing. When people help build the plan, anxiety goes down because ownership goes up
- Create predictable spaces for people to surface uncertainty. Then actually address what comes up
What I’ve learned is that anxiety at work isn’t usually about the content of the information. It’s about the gaps. When people don’t know how decisions get made or where they stand, that’s when the spiral starts.
And disconnection. It’s no joke
Even our Surgeon General declared loneliness a global health crisis. Remote and hybrid work can amplify this, but the real issue isn’t physical distance — it’s the absence of meaningful connection and shared purpose.
Most organizations leave relationship-building to chance, then wonder why engagement scores tank.
Start here:
- Build real conversation into existing meetings. Two minutes at the start for people to share what’s actually happening in their work or life
- Pair people up for monthly informal conversations. Different departments, different levels. Base it on complementary strengths or shared challenges
- When you recognize people’s work, highlight not just what they accomplished but how their unique approach made everything better
- Create working groups around real problems. Nothing builds connection like solving something meaningful together
When you design connection into how work gets done (instead of trying to add it on top), people feel more belonging AND the work gets better. You just have to be intentional about it.
Because organizational performance and human performance aren’t in conflict. They fortify each other when we design for it.