Stress & Burnout Management

In September 2024, a financial investment company operating in a high-stress environment required a tailored session to help their team of 19 employees manage stress and avoid burnout while improving decision-making. The program aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of how their personality traits influence these areas and to equip them with strategies to navigate high-pressure situations effectively.

Approach:

Hogan Personality Assessments: The session began with an introduction to the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and Hogan Development Survey (HDS). Through a Human Histogram activity, participants explored how their HPI scores affected their ability to make sound decisions under stress. Specific scales were highlighted to show their impact on cognitive and emotional responses in decision-making scenarios.

Linking Personality to Burnout: After reviewing the concept of burnout and its significant costs to individuals and organisations, the session explored how certain HPI traits might predispose individuals to burnout. By linking these personality traits to common burnout triggers, participants could see how they could be at risk and where they might need to intervene.

Development Plans and Behavioural Change: Participants created personalised objectives through a “Stop, Start, Continue” activity, using their HPI and HDS scores to guide their development. The focus was on behaviours that could be adjusted to reduce burnout and improve decision-making. Each participant set clear actions they would take to better manage stress and leverage their strengths.

Understanding Derailers: The session highlighted which personality traits could become derailers under pressure, affecting both performance and decision-making. Participants engaged in an exercise that tied their scores back to real-world scenarios, deepening their understanding of how they could manage these tendencies.

Results:

Participants left the session with a greater understanding of their personality profiles and how these traits impact their performance in a high-stress environment.

They gained practical strategies for managing burnout and improving decision-making, alongside clear personal objectives to guide their development.

Next Steps:

For continued development, we will conduct the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) to uncover deeper motivations and running a team report to further enhance collaboration. These steps would provide additional insights into how the team can align their personal drivers with organisational goals while continuing to build resilience against stress and burnout.