TITLE:
Strategies to Reduce Burnout for Employees with High Workload Demands in the Event Planning Industry
AUTHORS:
Michelle Healy, Kim A. Critchlow
KEYWORDS:
Burnout, Job Demands-Resources Model, Event Planning Industry, Employee Retention, Workload Management, Organizational Support, Employee Engagement
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.4,
July
27,
2026
ABSTRACT: Ineffective strategies to reduce burnout for employees can decrease productivity and quality of work and can increase turnover. Event industry leaders who struggle to reduce burnout of employees with high workload demands are at risk of employee turnover. Grounded in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, the purpose of this qualitative, pragmatic inquiry research project was to explore effective strategies to reduce burnout for employees with high workload demands. The participants were eight event industry leaders who had effectively implemented strategies to reduce burnout. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and a review of public websites and documents. Using thematic analysis, three themes were identified: 1) prioritize the employee, 2) nurture communication, and 3) provide resources. A key recommendation is for event industry leaders to commit to a cadence of regular meetings with employees to ascertain their levels of strain and to be prepared to make changes to their workload to prevent employee burnout. The implications for social change include the potential for event industry leaders to promote and influence a community of healthy work balance and personal well-being among their employees, who may also live and work in the communities served by their work.