Why DEI Leaders Are Burning Out — and How Organizations Can Help

Why do DEI leaders burn out so quickly? Research finds that this job demands constant emotional labor and surface acting, particularly for professionals of color. As a result, frustration and exhaustion mount. One solution stems from the way DEI programs are designed. The authors found that when programs take what’s known as a discrimination-and-fairness paradigm approach, DEI leaders experience more burnout because the organization’s focus assumes employee differences are sources of problems that must be managed. Alternatively, when organizations take a learning-and-effectiveness approach, which values employees for who they are, burnout is less frequent. The authors go on to suggest ways companies can adopt the latter approach to set DEI professionals up for success.