what is a turn and burn for work

They expect employees to hit nitro-boosted levels of productivity if that’s what it takes to meet targets. If those targets prove elusive, the goals aren’t the problem – the employee is. They just weren’t motivated enough.

This is an approach often associated with rapid cycles of hiring and firing and catastrophic rates of employee burnout, and it’s best known by the term “churn and burn.”

In this blog, we walk you through what a churn and burn culture looks like, the negative impact it has on your long-term business objectives, and how you can turn your own churn and burn workplace around.

The telltale signs of an organization that’s churning and burning through its staff

Churn and burn is a sign of a deeply unhealthy workplace. While the flu gives you a high fever and a headache, a churn and burn culture also has clear symptoms for employees.

As you might guess, high employee turnover is the clearest symptom that this is an issue in your workplace. This turnover can take several forms, including dismissals, resignations, early retirements, or even stress-related medical emergencies.

A well-known example is when e-commerce giant Amazon reached a crisis point for retention in 2021 when at least 50 vice presidents were reported to have quit, a turnover of over 10% for that level.

The crisis may have been even more severe than that. Some former employees alleged that turnover in Amazon’s cloud division was over 20% in 2021 and over 50% in some major areas of Amazon Web Services.

Though both of these figures were disputed by Amazon representatives, if true, they indicate that the organization’s turnover is higher than average for the sector. For comparison, here’s the average turnover across different sectors, showing the proportion of voluntary and involuntary separations in 2017.[2]

Burn and churn is often talked about like it’s a supervillain’s master plan: “You see, Mr. Bond, I simply overwork the employees so they quit before they can organize. That way, wages remain low while productivity stays high!”

Let’s say you have a highly skilled candidate who is passionate about the work they do and wants to go above and beyond to get results. If you give this candidate the resources they need to complete a project, for instance:

1. A supportive team

2. A sufficient budget

… then they will be able to do amazing things and exceed expectations.

However, if you take away these resources by:

1. Understaffing their team

2. Cutting their budget

4. Disregarding their wellbeing

…all of that energy is diverted into meeting these (unrealistic) expectations and keeping their head above water. No amount of espresso shots can help someone keep up with that sort of pressure.

In the beginning, these candidates may do it because they want to prove themselves, but over time these conditions cause stress and burnout. Research supports this: In a study of 1,000 US employees, one in five was highly engaged but at risk of burnout.[3]

One way you might notice this showing up is through presenteeism, the act of employees forcing themselves to work even when they’re unwell if they fear they’ll be accused of slacking. It’s often caused by factors, including:

• Poor mental health
• Workplace bullying
• Financial pressures
• Being subjected to unrealistic time pressures at work

…all of which are common in the churn and burn workplace.[4]

While it might be most obvious when working in an in-person office, e-presenteeism is also an issue, with more than three-quarters of HR professionals in 2021 saying that they had seen presenteeism even in individuals working remotely.

While this does initially drive productivity and profits, the long-term result is employee burnout, which comes with its own costs. One Stanford study found that employee burnout is responsible for $190bn in spending – that’s 8% of national healthcare outlays – and almost 120,000 deaths a year.[7]

Create opportunities for growth from failure

Setting realistic goals is obviously key for reducing the effects of churn and burn, but managing how leaders view these goals and react when they aren’t met is equally important.

Many churn and burn cultures rely on individuals taking public responsibility for failures, perhaps being called out for poor performance in front of colleagues. Replace this practice with more constructive opportunities for feedback and growth, such as through regular 1:1 meetings between team members and managers.

You’re likely to see a big improvement: Weekly feedback from managers has been shown to drastically improve employee engagement.[9]

When an employee misses a target, instead of expecting them to figure it out for themselves, use it as an opportunity for upskilling. Ask questions like:

• What skills were they lacking that would have helped them reach this goal?
• Where can they find support in developing these?
• How can we readjust their goals and provide support as they develop these skills?

Again, taking this approach does wonders for employee engagement. One study by McKinsey found that organizations that align their HR practices with the skills needs of their employees boost engagement by 50%, lower training and development costs by half, and raise productivity by 40%.[10]

What’s essential here is taking ego out of the equation and reminding employees that whether they succeed or fail, they do it as a team. Harvard researchers found that failure only made people less likely to learn if they felt self-conscious about it, ignoring the learning opportunity to preserve their egos.[11]

Turn or Burn! – Charles Spurgeon Sermon

FAQ

What does a turn and burn mean?

What is the meaning of turn and burn shift?

What is a turn and burn restaurant?

What is turn and burn?

I’ve heard it in two contexts dealing with fighter planes – in an old mmo aerial combat game I played, people would refer to “turn and burn” as a style of fighting where the engines were maxed out and the maximum turn rate was used as the two planes pushed the capabilities of their aircraft to get behind the other.

What is the treatment for a first degree burn?

A first-degree burn is a mild burn that affects only the outer layer of the skin. The treatment for a first-degree burn typically involves cooling the affected area with cool water or a cool compress to help soothe the pain and reduce swelling. Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, may also help alleviate discomfort. It is important to keep the burn clean and dry and to avoid breaking any blisters that may form. Applying aloe vera or a moisturizer may help soothe the skin and promote healing.

What does “turning and burning” mean?

I don’t know about Johnny L.A., but in the restaurant biz, “turning and burning” refers to getting a customer in, fed, and then getting them to leave as fast as possible.

What is a burn and turn in poker?

In poker, it is burn and turn, you are essentially discarding the top card to prevent any advantage a player may have received by being flashed (shown) the card. It is hard to flash the second card. Therefore, the purpose is to insure the integrity of the game. “Turn and burn” is probably “the whole nine yards” all over again.