FAIR Model for ERGs: Resilience (Harvard Business School)

So we begin! I’m grateful you’ve joined me on the journey to making Employee Resource Groups more playful!

If we haven’t met, I’m Acey Holmes, founder of BoredLess. I believe adults deserve to play, especially at work. For over three years, I’ve dedicated my career to helping companies implement Playful Work Design for their teams and leaders - creating workplaces that are flexible, mission-driven, psychologically safe, and inclusive.

And if you are leading an ERG right now, you’re already doing that work…whether anyone calls it that or not.

Recently, Harvard Business School published an article outlining four tensions that shape whether ERGs truly thrive.

They call it the FAIR model:

Formality. Audience. Identities. Resilience.

If you’ve ever thought:

• “Should we push leadership harder or keep this internal?”

• “Are we trying to serve members… or perform impact?”

• “Why does this feel heavier than it should?”

You’re not imagining it. You’re balancing all four tensions at once. Let’s start with the last one, because well, I’m neurodivergent and don’t always follow the rules.

Resilience

ERG leadership often sits on top of your actual job. You care deeply. You want impact. And sometimes you’re holding emotional weight no one else sees.

The ERGs that last don’t just focus on advocacy. They design for sustainability. Not with retreats or bigger budgets. With small, intentional resets built into their rhythm.

This is the heart of Playful Work Design; it’s not adding more, but designing the work itself to be more human, more sustainable, and more energizing.

Here’s one you can try at your next meeting. Instead of starting with updates, ask:

“If we had been carrying a backpack for the past couple weeks or month, what was in it that we don’t actually need to carry?”

No fixing. No solving. Just noticing. Shared awareness reduces isolation. Reduced isolation builds resilience. And resilience isn’t about pushing through. It’s just about pacing.

Weekly Reset

Adopt the language of abundance…of time. ERG leadership can make time feel scarce.

What if we practiced a different narrative? Try saying this affirmation once before opening your calendar. And once after lunch (you do stop to eat lunch, of course, …right?).

There is enough time.
I have more than enough time.