NDSU Ombuds Shares September Message on Organizational Burnout
Posted: 2026-09-20 06:08:34 Expiration: 2026-10-27 06:08:34
NDSU Ombuds Kristine Paranica used her September message to all faculty to share an outside article on redesigning workplace rituals to prevent burnout, along with information on how to reach the Ombuds office.
NDSU Ombuds Kristine Paranica sent her regular message to all NDSU faculty Sept. 16, sharing an article titled “Practicing Healthy Organizational Rituals” by organizational consultant James Lopata.
The article examines why dedicated employees in service-oriented organizations often burn out fastest and proposes four principles for building what Lopata calls a “breathing organization”: designing for shared information rather than need-to-know access, building intentional silence into meetings and decisions, measuring staff sustainability alongside performance metrics, and holding leaders to the same practices expected of everyone else. Paranica encouraged faculty to consider how the ideas might apply to their own units.
The NDSU Ombuds Office offers confidential, neutral, informal and independent conflict coaching, mediation, issue resolution, and workshops. Reach the office at 701-231-5114 or in NDSU Library Room 20C.
-- Academic Affairs: Haley Hamel