I'm With Arianna Huffington: Elon Musk May Be Setting A Bad Example
Josh Bersin
Global Industry Analyst, I study all aspects of HR, business leadership, corporate L&D, recruiting, and HR technology. ✨
As with many of you, I've been watching Elon Musk's management style at Twitter carefully. Is it ok to lay people off anonymously and ask people to sleep in the office just because the new CEO overpaid for the company?
Well today Arianna Huffington's article, Employees Aren't The Only Ones Suffering From Burnout really nailed this topic. Everyone, from CEOs on down, will suffer poor performance when they are burned out, tired, or stressed.
I know it sounds cool to say "I'm powering through this" or "I'm killing it" when you work night after night on a project. But as many researchers know (including the US Military, by the way, which highly advises soldiers to sleep), the result of burnout is poor performance, errors, and even property damage.
Lack of sleep can cause lots of problems, as many studies have shown. In fact I kind of wonder if Mr. Musk was short on sleep when he put together the deal in the first place. And it may make one wonder about the engineers working on self-driving cars, along with many other Tesla safety features.
Sleep deprivation impairs memory, decreases cognitive function, and results in poor decision making [7-12]. This decrease in psychomotor performance is associated with an increased occurrence of error [8, 13-16].
Business Does Not Have To Operate This Way
Business success does not require brutal hours, constant stress, or unhealthy work. And I've studied this myself.
My research, which is detailed in my book Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World's Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations, eplains what you may already know. Companies that perform over the long run (I mean decades, not years) are always focused on employees above all else. They learn, through business cycles and competitors, that only by taking care of employees can you continue to innovate, grow, and compete.
Yes, when the stock price goes up you can push people to do unnatural things. But once times get tough, employees (and CEOs) need endurance, judgement, and development to succeed.
I'm not saying Musk won't turn Twitter around - it did appear to be a very slow-moving, bureaucratic organization. But his new experiment, trying to make it "hardcore," is not something I would necessarily recommend.
About Josh Bersin
Josh Bersin is an analyst, author, educator, and thought leader focusing on the global talent market and the challenges and trends impacting business workforces around the world. He studies the world of work, HR and leadership practices, and the broad talent technology market. He is often cited as one of the leading HR and workplace industry analysts in the world.
He founded Bersin & Associates in 2001 to provide research and advisory services focused on corporate learning. Over the next ten years, he expanded the company’s coverage to encompass HR, talent management, talent acquisition, and leadership and became a recognized expert in the talent market. He sold the company to Deloitte in 2012, when it became known as Bersin™ by Deloitte. He currently sits on the board of UC Berkeley Executive Education.
In 2019 Bersin launched the Josh Bersin Academy, the world's first global development academy for HR and talent professionals at all levels and across all industries. Serving as the Academy’s dean, Bersin guides its program offerings, interacts with members, and shares relevant research and insights to help HR and talent professionals stay current on the trends and practices needed to drive success in the modern world of work. Today Josh is the CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, offering research, advisory services, and benchmarking to HR leaders and teams around the world.
Bersin is frequently featured in talent and business publications such as Forbes, Harvard Business Review, HR Executive, FastCompany, The Wall Street Journal, and CLO Magazine. He is a regular keynote speaker at industry events and a popular blogger with more than 800,000 followers on LinkedIn. Josh’s new book, Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World's Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations, is already a best-seller on Amazon.
Throughout his career in HR and HR technology, Josh has continued to focus on the needs of HR executives, HR teams, and the careers of HR professionals. He believes in the “craft” of human resources and is one of the profession’s most vocal advocates for the importance of HR in the ever-changing world of work.
Recent Publications
What I Learned About The Future Of Work From the King And Queen Of The Netherlands
Understanding The Tech Layoffs: Could They Have Been Prevented?
The Growing Role Of Pay In Employee Experience And Business Growth
Career Pathways: An Innovation That Could Transform The Economy
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1yAs someone who values hard work and dedication, I found Josh Bersin's post about the dangers of burnout and overwork to be very thought-provoking. It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and grind of modern society, but it's important to remember that our mental and physical health should always come first. I appreciate Bersin's call for leaders to prioritize well-being and balance in the workplace, and his reminder that success doesn't have to come at the cost of our health. How can we create a culture of balance and well-being in our workplaces, especially in industries that are notoriously demanding and high-pressure? What steps can leaders take to promote healthy habits and prevent burnout among their employees, and how can we encourage individuals to prioritize their own well-being without feeling guilty or ashamed for taking a break?
Creative leader, agency founder, brand strategist, internal communications specialist. Helping business leaders direct traffic in the intersection of brand x culture.
1yDuh
Security Analyst Engineer at Inetum
1yHe is creating a mental health crisis on his company.