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Key Takeaways Chasing bigger numbers at the expense of employees eventually hurts the business too.
When employees feel valued and understand why their work matters, they’re more resilient and less likely to burn out.
Listening to employees and acting on their feedback builds trust, engagement and long-term retention.
Burnout is often framed as a workload problem. But in high-performing organizations — especially those that are people-based — that’s rarely the full story. I’m seeing this play out daily in veterinary medicine.
One vet I recently spoke to was seeing 20-plus patients a day, and the mission that drew her to the field had been buried under performance targets. She walked away for one simple reason: everyone she worked with was unhappy.
In vet medicine, it’s been a perfect storm: a shortage of skilled professionals, growing patient demands and emotionally intense work are pushing teams to their limits. The broader economic environment (rising costs and pressure to expand services and revenues) has only added to the strain.
Of course, vets aren’t unique in this. Across industries, growth targets have become disconnected from operational realities, and the people doing the work are paying the price.
The problem is growth without guardrails
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