Janice’s Blog
Pause to Banish Burnout
Why is pausing important?
Pausing is the key to learning how to control or modulate our emotions.
When stressed it is normal to have some sort of initial stress reaction. But, how long should the anger last and how angry should you get?
It turns out that our stress reactions are rooted in patterns of behavior that neuroscientists call neural pathways. These can get developed somewhere along the way in childhood from parents, teachers or peers. The problem comes when our parents or teachers were not equipped to teach or did not role model healthy behavior.
The Great Resignation: How to Engage & Retain Employees
As you no doubt know, this year has been one of the toughest years in recent history to recruit and more importantly, to retain top talent. Dubbed as The Great Resignation by psychologist Anthony Klotz, this period of time was marked by 4 million people leaving their jobs in June and another 4 million in July and August, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
Workers are desperately seeking emotionally intelligent workplaces. That means a C-Suite needs to not only understand their workers, but also truly value them and their opinions.
What Good Are Employee Benefits if No One Knows About Them?
As I interact with clients from different industries, talking about burnout and how to prevent it by changing behavior, I am amazed to learn that many employees are not aware of the key wellness benefits available to them through their jobs, especially mental health benefits.
Many companies are finally paying attention to the importance of incorporating and expanding mental health benefits into their wellness strategy. If we haven’t learned it before, we certainly learned this important lesson last week when Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, famous for her magnificent and seemingly fearless aerial feats, announced that for her safety, both mental and physical, she was taking herself out of the most competitive event of her career.
How burned out are people at their workplaces, who in general, don’t have to literally soar and twist through the air with the whole world watching?
Gratitude Goes a Long Way to Banish Organizational Burnout
What better way is there to engage employees than to make them feel good about their work life by showing gratitude?
There was a period of time not so long ago during the difficult recession of 2008 when many were happy simply to have a job, any job. Gone are those days when an employer shows gratitude by simply paying workers a fair wage for work done. Now vibrant benefits packages are a given. But all of that money invested and extra-fluffy add-on benefits mean nothing if a team member is being overworked, emotionally or verbally abused, or simply under-appreciated or neglected.
Volunteer to Banish Your Burnout
How do you feel after you have had a positive experience helping someone less fortunate? Have you ever taken a pet dog to visit the elderly or served food at a soup kitchen? Just seeing the recipients’ faces light up makes it all worthwhile. Have you ever noticed that full delighted feeling you feel after one of those experiences?
Five Ways to Overcome Burnout at Work
Millions of Americans are returning to work after being home during the pandemic. While this has been exciting for many, some are feeling burned out by their work. What do you do if you are feeling burned out by your work? How do you reverse it? How can you “get your mojo back”?
How can you tell if you burning out? Here are some of the signs: snapping at co-workers or family members, angry outbursts, sleep problems, digestive issues or feelings of resentment.
If you are experiencing burnout at work, here are five actions you can take.
Seven Ways to Find Your Happy
I contend that happiness can be called upon any time of the day, no matter how busy you are. We don’t normally associate happiness with busy-ness. However, many of us do find stimulation and satisfaction from our work. At the same time, how often do you stop to acknowledge just how satisfied and stimulated you are? In other words, during a stressful day, can you still find a moment to Find Your Happy?
What is an Emotionally Intelligent Manager?
In 1995 Daniel Goleman made the term emotional intelligence popular when his book, Emotional Intelligence remained on The New York Times bestseller list for a year and a half. According to Goleman there are five key elements of EQ, the popular moniker for emotional intelligence:
1) Self-awareness – knowing one’s strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and impact on others
2) Self-regulation – controlling impulses and moods
3) Motivation – loving achievement for achievement’s sake
4) Empathy – understanding others’ emotions
5) Social Skills – building rapport with others to move them in desired directions
Music Heals the Soul
Listening to music, as well as playing music, can be immensely therapeutic. The sound waves actually travel to your body and you “feel” the music, viscerally. Have you ever noticed that as soon as you hear one of your favorite pop or rock songs you begin to move to the beat? Simultaneously, the brain releases the happy chemical, dopamine so that one feels a sense of joy and enhanced mood and even euphoria.
Manage Mental Health to Ensure Your Organization Thrives
Managing mental health is one of the most difficult struggles for workplaces, especially in 2021 after one of the most difficult years our country and our workplaces ever experienced.
Quarantining during Covid-19 caused rates of loneliness to rise. This caused more burnout and sadly, suicide. Being isolated was one of the biggest sources of mental health issues during Covid.
On top of all of that stress, overwork was another huge problem. One example was that of moms of school-aged children, who worked extra long hours, attempting to keep up with not only their own work but that of their children.