ERGs at the Crossroads: Benefits, Boundaries, and Burnout

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have grown steadily in popularity across the past decade—their rise matching increasing investment in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Since 2020, however, ERGs have seen an unusually strong surge of attention and interest, with companies relying on them to tackle cultural disruptions and pursue growing business opportunities. This resurgence of an age-old DEI tactic has taken many organizations by surprise. The rapid pace of change and the current environment of uncertainty call for organizations to revisit and examine the role that ERGs will play moving forward. Near universal reports of ERG leadership burnout make these discussions urgent.