There's an unnoticed and largely ignored population of employees in business today. Thomas J. DeLong, a Harvard management professor blogging for the Harvard Business Review, refers to categories of employees as Stars, Sinners, Low performers, and Saints. And then there are the Stalwarts, the "solid citizens" who make up the majority of employees in most organizations.

The defining characteristic of Stalwarts is their aversion to calling attention to themselves. They are like the proverbial wheel that never squeaks. The quickest way to identify Stalwarts is to list the people who make the fewest demands on the CEO's time.

The other signature trait of Stalwarts is their deep loyalty to the organization. They are responsible and care deeply about the organization's values, and they generally steer clear of risk. "Stalwarts are intrinsically motivated by the service they can render for the good of the organization, and they let their own careers take a backseat to the company's well-being."

If you're an executive or leader who manages Stalwarts, it may be time to reexamine the way you perceive your stalwart colleagues, writes DeLong. He lists common misconceptions about stalwart employees:

Myth #1: Stars are smarter than Stalwarts. Stalwarts are not necessarily less intelligent than Stars. Achievement is a complicated blend of intelligence, motivation, and personality.

Myth #2: Everybody is the same. Not every employee wants to give everything to the organization, leaving little time and energy for life outside the workplace. Stalwarts often place a high premium on work-life balance, and they highly value the time they spend with family and friends. In fact, many of the most productive Stalwarts are recovered Stars who have made a conscious decision to drop off the fast track.

Myth #3: Everybody wants the same thing out of work. Leaders often assume that all of their employees share their drive for power, status, and money. Not so. Many Stalwarts want to influence others in their jobs. Others value autonomy or creative opportunities.

Myth #4: Everybody wants to be promoted. The truth is that many Stalwarts seek recognition and stability rather than promotion. Stalwarts strive for advancement, but not at all costs.

Myth #5: Everybody wants to be a manager. Corporate career-planning practices typically operate on the assumption that people will feel rewarded if they are given even nominal management responsibilities. For that reason, Stalwarts are often asked to give up their technical competencies for managerial ones. In the process, terrific specialists become mediocre managers.

DeLong says Stalwarts bring depth and stability to the companies they work for. "They are always there as quiet yet powerful reminders to high performers obsessed with themselves or as examples to low performers terrified of failure. They will never garner the most revenue or the biggest clients, but they are also less likely to embarrass the company. They know intuitively how to stay grounded. This ability provides real value. In times of crisis, Stalwarts can be an organization's saving grace."

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Work should ennoble, not kill, the human spirit, but fully 95% of managers risk doing exactly that by failing to recognize a primary human motivation.

Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Steven Kramer, an independent researcher, are the authors of "The Progress Principle." In a recent op-ed for The New York Times, they shared their research. They reported that the Gallup-Healthways  Well-Being Index, which has been polling over 1,000 adults every day since January 2008, shows that Americans now feel worse about their jobs than ever before. People of all ages and at all levels are unhappy with their supervisors, apathetic about their organizations, and detached from what they do. When people don't care about their jobs or their employers, they don't show up consistently, they produce less, and their work quality suffers. 

Over the past decade, Amabile and Kramer have researched the causes behind this problem. They collected nearly 12,000 electronic diary entries from hundreds of professionals in seven different companies. Their analysis revealed, not surprisingly, that workers perform much better when they are happily engaged in what they do.

Managers can help ensure that people are happily engaged at work. Workers' well-being depends, in large part, on managers' ability to facilitate workers' accomplishments - by removing obstacles, providing help, and acknowledging strong effort. "Of all the events that engage people at work, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work."

The recession taught many employers they can downsize and maintain profitability. But that concept has started to show its dark side: the burnout bill is coming due.

According to a recent survey from CareerBuilder, and reported by Tim Gould on HRMorning.com, an astounding 77% of workers say they're "sometimes or always" burned out in their jobs. And further, 43% say on-the-job stress levels have ratcheted up in the last six months.

Almost eight in ten workers burned out? No wonder we're hearing that workers would be willing to jump to new jobs at the first opportunity.

How can HR help their companies fight the burnout epidemic? The first step is realizing that it's not just a matter of employees being asked to do too much - although that's certainly a factor. Researchers in Spain recently released the results of a study on employee burnout. They contend the phenomenon takes three main forms:

1. "Frenetic" burnout: This occurs in the Type A, driven personalities - workaholics whose ambition pushes them to work past the normal limits of human endurance. They're often extremely successful, but their success doesn't last. They burn out.

2. "Underchallenged" burnout: This malaise results from lack of employee engagement. These workers just don't care about their jobs. They're bored, get no satisfaction from day-to-day duties, and don't see much hope for personal growth.

3. Finally, there's the group that's simply "worn out." Not too hard to understand where these folks are coming from: they're simply overworked, and likely are feeling unappreciated. They're the losers in the "doing more with fewer people" philosophy a lot of companies have adopted over the past couple of years.

What's HR's role in dealing with the burnout issue?

Raise Morale: HR pros can partner with upper management to establish recognition and reward programs that will help workers feel appreciated and valued.

More Training: Helping employees learn new skills is a proven technique for increasing employee engagement. A cross-training program, developed with company managers, can help minimize workers' feeling that they're stuck in a dead-end job.

Effective Recruiting: As shown by the burnout trend, companies can't run on skeleton staffs forever. Along with finding the right people for new staff openings, HR managers can use internal transfers and promotions from within to fill spots that open as the economy improves.

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We've all been told of the importance of giving positive feedback. We've learned all the basics about giving it successfully: make it timely, make it specific, and consider sharing it publicly.

All of this is good advice, says Kevin Eikenberry, writing on his leadership blog, "but it falls short of the mark if we want to make a long-term lasting difference in the self-image, confidence, and performance of others." He recommends taking pen to paper.

Why Write it Down?

Eikenberry offers four reasons why written feedback is so valuable.

1. It is unusual. While most of us give (and receive) far too little positive feedback, receiving it in writing is even more rare. When was the last time someone gave you positive feedback, encouragement, or a specific "thank you" in writing?

2. It implies importance.  The time taken to form our thoughts and write them down demonstrates to the receiver how valuable and important the feedback is. And when it is handwritten, it shows a level of significance beyond an email (though Eikenberry says there is nothing wrong with sending these thoughts in email).

3. It can be preserved. Oral feedback can be preserved, but only in the mind of the receiver. "I know that I have had people tell me very nice things that I remember, and in some cases I can even take you to the exact location that they told me. But written feedback can be preserved, and in many cases will be saved... for a very long time."

4. It will be re-read and therefore reinforced. Oral praise is shared and can be savored by the receiver, but I don't think many people will stop the person giving the feedback and say, "Will you tell me that again, please?" Quite the opposite for the handwritten note. It will be read at least twice initially, and if the feedback is especially meaningful, perhaps several more times in the coming days - and often far beyond.

We want to give feedback so that it will have an impact on the receiver, Eikenberry says, so it will influence them in deciding their future behaviors and to reinforce what they are doing well.  

Eikenberry asks leaders to consider two questions:

• When was the last time you gave someone positive feedback in writing?
• What could you share in writing with an employee today?

Employee turnover has some obvious costs associated with it, including recruitment, training and salary. However, every time an employee leaves, there are a variety of hidden costs you might not have considered, says Gwen Moran, writing for Entrepreneur.com. While you might not be writing a check for these costs, here is how turnover can drain dollars, she says:

• Slippage. When an employee is missing, the work that isn't getting done has a price attached to it. Lost sales, production delays and lags in new product introductions all cost your company money.

• Ripple effect. Turnover has an impact on the peer group, as well as the management chain, making everyone less effective. Co-workers need to pick up the slack, distracting them from achieving their own performance goals, while managers need to devote time to finding a new employee.

• Customer loss. When a knowledgeable employee leaves, taking experience and customer service ability with him or her, that can have an impact on customer satisfaction. "Customer commitments are often not met, and the company can lose important customers," Moran writes. "Dealing with trainees can be challenging. If you have a lot of unwanted turnover, customers can get annoyed or begin to lose interest in your business."

• Lost credibility. Management can lose credibility when it creates an environment with excessive turnover, and existing employees can become demoralized and decide to move on. It's important for smaller businesses in particular to work on creating environments that retain employees. "Too often, small-business owners don't consider how important it is to invest time and resources into their employees," Moran writes. "Either way, you pay."