Our society is all about working hard, achieving, and getting results. As a result, the business environment can be quite cruel towards employees.

As the leader, you’re tempted to just let people work themselves into the ground – it’s their own decision, right?

But you’re the one who sets the culture for your organization. And you know it’s poor reasoning to let your people burn out. So what do you do?

Start by creating a culture which supports peoples’ self-care.

  • Tell your folks – repeatedly and consistently – that you support their decision to stop work.
  • Leave the office yourself. Try not to take your work home.
  • If you have to call or text someone after hours, make sure it’s truly exceptional, important, and urgent – and very rare.
  • Support people who decide to not look at their emails outside work hours.
  • If you want to do an event outside work hours, let everyone know well in advance and support their decisions to not attend.

Honestly, you know this stuff – it’s not complicated.

But sometimes we need to be reminded.