AFP – The Covid-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call, leading millions of workers to reassess their careers and professional aspirations. A growing number are feeling uncomfortable working for companies that don’t align with their values, often resulting in what is known as “misalignment burnout”.
This concept, introduced by American psychologist Mark Travers, co-founder of the telemedicine platform Awake Therapy, describes the physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that comes from long-term engagement in a job that conflicts with one’s personal beliefs.
For example, an employee with a strong ecological conscience may feel a strong value conflict if they work for a company with little commitment to the fight against global warming.
This psychological unease can plunge employees into a downward spiral from which it is difficult to extricate themselves. The signs of misalignment burnout are similar to those of other forms of burnout, whether physical, emotional or cognitive.
The worker who suffers from it finds it difficult to be fully committed to their professional tasks, and becomes progressively disengaged from their work. Feeling in an inextricable situation, they may become resentful – even hostile – towards the people they work with.
In the most extreme cases, this can lead people to quit their jobs.
QUEST FOR MEANING
Misalignment burnout touches on the very idea of meaning at work. Studies and opinion polls all agree that employees, especially younger ones, attach importance to working for a company that shares their values. The latter are not prepared to compromise their ecological and environmental ideals to enter the job market.
Thus, 57 per cent of French 18-30 year-olds questioned in a survey by Pour un réveil collectif and Toluna Harris Interactive would be prepared to resign if they felt that the company employing them was not doing enough to combat climate change.
This growing quest for meaning is partly explained by our relationship with time.
The contemporary individual lives in the present moment and has difficulty projecting themselves into the future: they are more motivated by the prospect of working in a job that interests them and suits them personally and ethically, than by the prospect of a career.
This need for fulfillment can lead to “job hopping”, if the coveted job turns out to be disappointing. Two-thirds of the members of Gen Z polled in a survey by United Kingdom firm Resource Solutions plan to leave their current employer within the next two years.
Against this backdrop, companies would do well to give more thought to the social, societal and environmental impacts of their activities if they wish to boost employee motivation and prevent misalignment burnout.
They need to clarify their missions to leave no room for vagueness, and above all, avoid their employees feeling trapped in a job that’s at odds with their fundamental values.
