Burnout, a poll, a template, a tweet

Insider Comms for internal comms

Apr 29

🌴 Programming note: I’m taking off next week for rest, relaxation, and reflection. See you again in mid-May.

So Tired

98% of HR professionals have felt burned out at work in the past six months, according to a Workvivo survey of HR and internal communications professionals.

😲 Other eye-popping findings:

88% of respondents have dreaded work in the past six months
79% are open to leaving their jobs
Only 29% feel valued in their organization

The burnout is real. Six weeks ago I asked Mister Editorial subscribers whether they wanted to see job postings in this weekly dispatch. The vote wasn’t even close. By a margin of 28:1 readers said yes! (Scroll down to see the latest opportunities.)

My humble advice to stave off burnout:

Make sure your work hours are sane. Sure, there are some days that are longer and even sometimes when you actually need to check in on the weekends, but that after-hours work should be rare. Try not to log on before the normal start of the workday (8 or 9 a.m.) and log off as soon as possible at the end of the normal workday (5 or 6 p.m.). Your friends, family, and soul will thank you. I know it’s hard for some of you to hear this, but if you don’t get to that thing before the end of the day, the company will still be standing tomorrow.
Learn to say no. You can’t do everything. The more you take on, the more the quality of your work will suffer. A couple of things will help you say no.
1. The first is practical. Provide a sound reason for declining (e.g., it’s not a strategic priority; we’re shorthanded; not now, maybe in Q4). If you can, provide templates and best practices to others, so they can take on low-risk comms work themselves. (This HBR article might be helpful.)
2. The second is psychological. Saying no can be hard and uncomfortable. But at some point you need to draw a line and advocate for yourself (your sanity, your time, your soul). Saying no creates space for you to do your best work. (This psych article might be helpful.)

Are you burned out? Email me with your story. You will remain anonymous.

📊 Polling

To whom does the head of internal comms report in your organization? (Asking for an article I'm working on.) Please take my poll on Twitter.

Mister Editorial @MrEditorial

To whom does the head of #internalcomms report in your organization? (Asking for an article I'm working on.) If the answer isn't one of these four, leave a comment with your answer.

Not on Twitter? Hit reply with your answer.

Industry Knowledge

🔖 Bookmark this: a five-step change management plan plus a template (Grossman Group)

📰 Irresistible clickbait: “The ultimate guide to compelling email subject lines: data-driven best practices + 21 examples” (Klaviyo).

🎩 h/t to Staffbase’s Kyla Sims for that one

⚖️ Can an internal comms process create attorney-client privilege misuse? Google says no. The U.S. Dept. of Justice says yes. (Lexology)

Sample Channel Effectiveness Survey (Template)

After you conduct a channel audit, survey employees about their comms habits. Here is a template for a short but effective sample channel effectiveness survey. It’s only five questions and should take just a couple of minutes to complete. (Mister Editorial)

Internal Comms Adjacent

🤖 How to Improve Corporate Culture with Artificial Intelligence (Entrepreneur)

📺 A review of “Severance,” the dystopian office drama on Apple TV+ directed by Ben Stiller (New Yorker)

➖ I added Hyphen by Pardis Mahdavi to my list of books on writing and editing (Mister Editorial Bookshop)

shallow focus photography of red and white for hire signage

Coursera - Senior Internal Communications Manager (Remote, U.S.A.)

Disney - Sr. Manager, Internal Communications – Disney Streaming (Burbank, CA)

DocuSign - Sr. Communications Manager (Remote, U.S.A.)

Intel - Senior Manager, Executive Communications, Chief Commercial Officer (several U.S.A. locations)

QVC - Senior Manager, Internal Communications (West Chester, PA)

Walker & Dunlop - Internal Communications Specialist (Bethesda, MD)

👀 Job Application Email Examples With Professional Writing Tips (Ladders)

@elonmusk

From the head of internal comms at Twitter:

Julie Steele @juliezsteele

I work at one of the most influential companies in the world and somehow people trust me to do important things in our biggest moments. Just feeling really grateful and humbled. But also very very very very tired.

Have a great weekend!

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter | Mister Editorial archive | editorshaun@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Besides running Mister Editorial, I work in employee comms at Splunk. The views in this newsletter are my own.

Mister Editorial