LinkedIn Presents

I'm Maura Erin Smealy and this is the Anxious Achiever, the show that looks at the intersection of mental health and work and how we can all do both better.

Newsflash, you're not the only one feeling really burnt out. Chances are your boss and your HR team are feeling it too.

All of us just, you know, I've been calling it not burnt out, but burnt crispy.

I was like, we just don't have, we don't, we don't have anything. There's nothing to squeeze.

Just, you know, we're moving forward. That's the voice of Daisy Oje de Mendes, my guest today.

She's chief people officer at Vice Media Group, an author and a longtime HR leader.

Daisy points out, it's hard for everyone right now.

She recently returned from vacation to two resignations on her team, both because of burnout.

Usually, my team comes to me to be their cheerleader, right?

You know, the person that's going to, you know, imbibe them with the energy.

And I had to have a real moment of pause and say, you know, I'm not going to lie to you.

I can't motivate you or her to do anything different other than just facing what our truths are.

Daisy's priority as an HR manager is the wellness of her workers. And sometimes, especially

in hard times, that means letting people, encouraging people even, to walk away. For many of us,

the pace of work, it's not going to get slower anytime soon. And Daisy worries about how

market forces might upend us once again.

After following this big moment of renegotiation, the last two years of employees finding

their voices and making their demands be heard. Now we're in the space where leaders are going,

wait a second. The market's softer.

I don't need to retain you as much because there's a healthier talent market out there.

So I'm going to not take care of you the way that I've been saying I'm going to take care of you.

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