We all know the usual suspects when it comes to employee burnout – workload, deadlines, and poor work-life balance. But there’s a quieter, often invisible driver that organisations underestimate: value misalignment.
Shalom Schwartz’s research into personal values shows us that we’re all driven by ten core motivators – things like Power, Achievement, Hedonism, Stimulation, Self-direction, Universalism, Benevolence, Conformity, Tradition, and Security. These values shape how we behave, make decisions, and what we need in order to feel fulfilled at work.
When our personal values are aligned with the workplace culture, there’s energy, flow, and engagement. But when they’re not? That’s when the cracks begin to show.
The Cost of Misalignment
Imagine an employee whose top value is Self-direction – they thrive on autonomy, creativity, and being trusted to make decisions. Place them in a company with rigid rules, micromanagement, and no space for innovation, and frustration quickly builds.
Or take someone who holds Benevolence and Universalism highly – they want to contribute to the wellbeing of others and see fairness in action. If they’re in an environment focused heavily on Power and competition at the expense of collaboration, their motivation will erode.
Over time, this clash creates stress, disengagement, and ultimately burnout. Employees feel like they’re working against themselves just to survive the day.
The Ripple Effect on Business
When employees are burning out because their values are ignored or clashing with the culture, it doesn’t just stay with them. It spreads across the organisation:
- Lower productivity – energy is wasted fighting against the environment rather than channelling it into good work.
- Reduced retention – people don’t leave jobs, they leave cultures (and managers) that don’t fit.
- Toxic cultures – burnout leads to negativity, withdrawal, and poorer teamwork.
- Reputation damage – word spreads quickly about workplaces where people feel undervalued or constantly drained.
In short, when values misalign, everyone pays.
So, What’s the Fix?
The good news is that values are not mysterious or intangible – they can be identified, measured, and actively aligned with workplace practices.
Some practical steps include:
- Awareness: Encourage employees to explore and articulate their own personal values.
- Dialogue: Open conversations about where individual values overlap or clash with organisational values.
- Culture audit: Leadership teams should regularly check if the stated company values actually show up in daily behaviours.
- Flexibility: Allow space for different value expressions – some need independence, others need structure. Both can thrive with the right support.
Why a Values Workshop is Imperative
This is exactly why I run Personal Values Workshops for organisations. In these sessions, I guide teams to discover their values, understand each other’s motivators, and see how these fit (or don’t fit) with the wider business culture.
The outcomes?
- Clarity – people see what really drives them (underlying drivers behind values) and their colleagues.
- Alignment – managers learn how to “speak into the listening” of their teams.
- Resilience – employees are less likely to burn out when they feel understood and supported.
- Performance – businesses unlock engagement, collaboration, and innovation.
Burnout is not inevitable, but ignoring value misalignment makes it far more likely. If you want your business to be sustainable, resilient, and attractive to top talent, understanding values is not a “nice-to-have” it’s essential.
👉 If you’d like to explore bringing a Personal Values Workshop into your workplace, let’s chat. It could be the difference between a culture that quietly burns people out and one that genuinely brings the best out of them.
Let’s chat over a coffee to see if this workshop is for you. Hit this link to book a time and the coffee is on me!