Stop Asking Employees to Be More Resilient

The future of workplace well-being isn't about asking people to do more. It's about creating cultures that make caring sustainable.

By Dr. Lacey Rosenbaum, Mental Health and Resilience Group

For years, organizations have invested in employee well-being by encouraging resilience, mindfulness, stress management, and self-care.

Many of these practices are valuable. They can help us recharge, reconnect, and better navigate life's challenges.

But increasingly, I've found myself wondering:

What happens when the problem isn't the individual?

As a psychologist, educator, and consultant, I've spent my career working alongside people whose jobs revolve around caring for others—educators, healthcare professionals, nonprofit leaders, social workers, youth mentors, and mission-driven teams.

I've noticed something.

The people who care the most are often the ones who become the most exhausted.

Not because they stopped believing in the mission.

But because they slowly lost the capacity to keep showing up in the way they wanted to.

For too long, we've treated burnout as something individuals need to solve through better coping skills, stronger boundaries, or another self-care strategy.

Those things matter.

But I don't think they're the whole story.

Increasingly, I believe one of the most important questions leaders can ask isn't:

"How do we make our employees more resilient?"

Instead, it might be:

"How do we create workplaces that help people sustain their capacity to care?"

That shift changes everything.

Sustainable Caring Is a Shared Responsibility

Creating healthy organizations isn't simply about offering wellness programs or reminding people to take care of themselves.

It's about building cultures where people feel supported.

Where leaders model healthy boundaries.

Where colleagues look out for one another.

Where psychological safety allows people to ask for help before they reach a breaking point.

Where purpose, connection, and belonging are just as important as productivity.

When we begin thinking this way, workplace well-being becomes more than an individual responsibility.

It becomes part of how we lead.

Five Questions Every Leadership Team Should Ask

Instead of asking, "What wellness program should we offer?" consider asking:

1. What is asking the most of our people right now?

2. Where are people finding energy, meaning, and hope in their work?

3. What helps people feel connected to one another?

4. What expectations or systems may be unintentionally making it harder for people to do their best work?

5. What would it look like to create a culture where caring for ourselves and caring for one another are equally valued?

Sometimes the most meaningful change begins with better questions.

Looking Ahead

This is one of the questions I'm exploring through my own writing, speaking, and consulting.

How do we sustain ourselves while continuing to build better systems?

I don't think we've fully answered that question yet.

But I believe the organizations willing to ask it—and act on it—will create workplaces where people don't simply survive their work.

They continue finding meaning in it.

A Question I'm Carrying

How is your organization helping people sustain their capacity to care—not just for the work, but for themselves and one another?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Continue Exploring

If this reflection resonated with you, I invite you to explore more essays and practical resources on sustainable caring—how we protect our capacity to continue showing up for the people, communities, and causes we care about.

You can also learn more about my work with schools, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and mission-driven teams through keynote speaking, leadership retreats, strategic facilitation, and consulting.