What is community manager burnout?
It sounds dramatic.
But it is accurate.
I’ve burnt out working in events, catering and community management.
Like burnout in the events and catering industry, there is much giving and giving mentally and physically without much training or guidance.
We are ‘enthusiastic and great with people’, so we are let loose – to proceed until apprehended – either by our mental well-being or eventually find the edge of our ambiguous job remit.
So many coworking spaces accidentally give their community managers everything in the building to do.
They need a dedicated marketing person, so the community manager does that.
They don’t have an IT department, so the community manager handles the switch from coworking space software A to coworking space software B.
They need a sales team, so the community manager does that.
Someone has signed up to HubSpot and Salesforce alongside the new coworking space software B without asking.
So they watch the videos Trailhead by Salesforce during their lunch break.
They don’t have an event organiser, so the community manager does that.
They don’t have a ‘web guy,’ so the community manager dabbles in WordPress and chats with Grant from Rocket Media, a kind member of the coworking space.
They don’t have an HR department, so the community manager does that.
The community manager organises the inclusion, diversity, accessibility and equity policy.
As a community manager, you are pulled in many different directions by the members, the space owners, onsite visitors and any team members or interns you are lucky enough to have.
I was reminded of all this by Marc Navarro‘s point at our London Coworking Assembly gig at the Workspace Design Show London, which Christian included in his recent article:
“It’s a tough gig. A community manager typically lasts only three years before either burning out or moving on to something else, says Marc. The best community managers are brilliant connectors, but they can ‘disappear in a puff of smoke’ due to the exhausting efforts required of them. “
So, what can you do in your space to take care of people better who work for you?
