Your Employees Are Burning Out. Jocelyn says HR Needs to Start Listening | SHRM '26 | WRKdefined Podcast Network: Conversations Pushing The Boundaries of Work

Companies keep asking employees to do more with less, then wonder why engagement drops. Jocelyn King says burnout isn't just about workload. It's what happens when people become overwhelmed, disengage, and eventually decide they're done.

Burnout, employee engagement, listening strategies, remote work, employee experience, workplace culture. The challenge is understanding what employees are actually experiencing without crossing personal boundaries, then using that insight to build a better workplace.

In this episode… Jocelyn King explains why listening strategies matter, how remote work can create isolation and burnout, and why HR needs to personalize the employee experience. She also talks about using technology to gather employee sentiment, supporting frontline workers, and making the business case for HR investment.

Key Takeaways :

Burnout looks like disengagement. When people become overwhelmed by workload and workplace pressures, they start pulling away.
Doing more with less has a breaking point. Employees can end up doing the work of two, three, or four people without additional compensation or recognition.
Remote work can create isolation. Screen fatigue and less face-to-face interaction can make engagement harder, especially for people who thrive around others.
Asking “How are you?” isn't enough. Employees often automatically say they're fine. Real listening strategies need to go deeper.
Technology can make listening scalable. Two-way communication can generate hundreds of thousands of data points, giving companies insight into employee sentiment across stores, regions, districts, and the wider organization.
HR needs to understand the business. Building the case for employee experience investment means connecting people issues to productivity, turnover, resources, and overall business goals.