Viewpoint: Why Social Entrepreneurs Are So Burned Out

Monday, December 10, 2018

By Ewald Kibler, Joakim Wincent, Teemu Kautonen, Gabriella Cacciotti and Martin Obschonka

Can entrepreneurs help address the society’s biggest challenges — without burning out?

These are pressing questions. According to Deloitte, private businesses are increasingly expected to help solve the most challenging social problems of our times — health, poverty, and the promotion of sustainable development — in the absence of, or in conjunction with, government action. And many are eager to step into this role: the consultancy’s recent survey of more than 11,000 business and HR leaders worldwide found that almost 80% say “citizenship and social impact” is very important or important today.

But is it reasonable to expect a for-profit enterprise, and its employees, to address large-scale social problems? Helping those most in need and running a commercially viable business at the same time can create conflicting of goals.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Source: Harvard Business Review (link opens in a new window)

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