Free Up To Calm Down: 10 Ways To Restore Yourself, Your Workplace Now
Maintaining calm in a stressful work and culture environment is essential. (Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com)
It’s been a lot. The stressful developments of the past several months from political campaigns, the election, catastrophic global conflicts, to natural disasters, have caused distress and disruption for anyone and everyone, regardless of politics.
The 2024 American Psychiatric Association report shows 70% of adults in this country “are particularly anxious about current events.”
Add in the requirements individuals bear for the holidays at work and at home, as well as end of the year presentations, reports, and projections, and there is an equation leading to burnout. Add in the disparities of race and gender in culture and the workplace, and it may seem insurmountable. But it is possible to transcend the discord with strategies to stay calm—and productive.
Keeping with Take The Lead’s 10 year anniversary, here are 10 suggestions for options to employ for yourself, colleagues, clients, coworkers, friends, and family to make the end of this year better than you imagined. This way you can jump into the new year with energy and positivity.
“Keeping with @TaketheLeadWomen 10 year anniversary, here are 10 suggestions for options to employ for yourself to make the #endofyear better than you #imagined. #holidayseason #seasonalstress ”
1. Acknowledge the toll. With a nod to reality, you can agree that this has been a rough patch, perhaps personally as well as in professional circles. The American Institute of Stress declares that stress at this time in our culture is real. “Chronic, unmanaged stress, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, can be as harmful to our health as secondhand smoke, according to the American Heart Association. Research suggests deep-breathing exercises can lower a person’s blood pressure and reduce anxiety.”
Read more in Take The Lead on stress and women’s health
According to the American Institute of Stress, the holidays alone are a major source of stress. “Get ahead of job stress and burnout. Make sure you realize you’ve hit your breaking point long before stress-warning signs set in. Avoid putting yourself under unrealistic deadlines. Spread job tasks over reasonable time frames. Ease into your workday instead of catapulting into it. Unplug at the end of the day and set boundaries to protect your personal and private time.”
2. Express gratitude. Simple rituals of thanks to coworkers, clients, suppliers, partners, and managers can round out the sharp edges of tension. By modeling practices of gratitude at work—whether spoken privately or in a meeting or by group email—the company culture improves. A new poll by Talker Research found, “Nearly half of employees also cited how appreciation from peers (48%) and their direct boss (46%) was the best way gratitude can be shown in the workplace — valued higher than receiving regular raises (39%).” Additionally, “72% of respondents say being connected to their company’s culture is important to them. At its core, 48% believe what makes a company’s culture so special are their coworkers — more so than the leadership (38%) or a belief in common values and missions (33%).”
“Simple rituals of #thanks to #coworkers and #clients can round out the #holidayseason tension. By modeling practices of #gratitude at work, the #companyculture improves.”
Read more in take The Lead on maintaining a civil workplace
3. Be vulnerable. In conversations with colleagues or associates, listen with empathy and respect and also share your own concerns. Without judgment, invite discussion with the intention of alleviating conflict and airing considerations. According to the non-profit civic movement, Better Arguments, creating space for better arguments improves well-being for yourself and others. According to their mission, “Vulnerability is necessary to enter any kind of conversation that is not simply confirming your own worldview. By getting vulnerable, we can open new avenues for human connection. Keep in mind that getting vulnerable is something to consider when you have something to gain or grow from it. Consider your ‘why.’ Do you want to hear a new point of view? Do you want to make sure your own perspective is heard? Knowing your ‘why’ can help you engage in a way that may push your comfort zone, but ensures you are still comfortable with the interaction.”
Read more in Take The Lead on vulnerability at work
4. Learn to improve. Perhaps in addition to a chaotic climate, you have seen that your leadership tactics missed the mark and that you are eager to embark on a path to powerful improvement. Take The Lead’s array of trainings and resource options include the new 9 Leadership Power Tools Course has two distinct curriculum options: to climb the ladder in your career; or to achieve success as an entrepreneur. Now is the time to put to use the power you have always had, but can now access strategically and with purpose. Grasping the moment to put energy into your own worklife and mission can shift your energy from avoidance to abundance. Sign up for courses, attend webinars, trainings and ask for coaching advice. The mental and intellectual energy you use to educate yourself will be beneficial to your outlook and overall health.
“Now is the time to put to use the #power you have always had, but can now access #strategically and with #purpose by signing up for any one of @taketheleadwomen ‘s array of #trainings”
Learn more here about courses, trainings, coaching at Take The Lead
5. Harness the positive. Instead of dwelling on bad news, disappointments and things that are out of your control, shift your attention to the good aspects of a moment, a career, a job or even an interaction. Creator of “the Resilience Challenge with 20,000 study participants, Judith Moskowitz, vice chair for scientific and faculty development in the department of medical social sciences Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine” tells NPR, “People can absolutely be taught to increase their positive emotions, even when things seem pretty bleak.”’
“Instead of #dwelling on bad news, #disappointments and things that are out of your control, shift your #attention to the good aspects of a #moment, a #career, a job or even an #interaction. #glasshalffull”
NPR reports,” When something unfortunate or unexpected happens, can you find a silver lining? It’s a familiar concept, but Moskowitz says it can pay off. One refrain she uses in her own life when something bad happens is, ‘It could have been much worse.’”
Read more in Take The Lead on positive mindset
6. Initiate group programs for learning. As a leader, you can offer members of your team or those in a specific department to advance their knowledge in trainings on new developments in the industry or to understand changes in fields that affect your work. Taking action is an antidote to feeling helpless. Offering workshops that can shift the workplace culture to be one of inclusion and advancement for women and underrepresented individuals can alter the dynamics in a good way. Make coaching sessions possible and alert members of your team that you value them to invest their careers.
“As a #leader, you can offer members of your team chances to advance their #knowledge in #trainings on new developments in the industry. #leadershiptrainings #bestpractices #mentormotivation”
Learn more about Take The Lead programs for companies.
7. Set realistic goals for yourself and your team. It is probably not realistic for you as a leader to start work after 9 a.m. and shut down at 5 p.m. on the dot. But you can pronounce that your home life is sacred and that you are not accessible 24/7, seven days a week. Making those boundaries known, can help you feel more in control and can model for others the respect you have for life concerns outside of work. Some colleagues may have multiple layers of responsibilities and research shows women carry these burdens far more often than male counterparts.
A new study shows what studies historically have expressed in their research: “The ‘digital double burden’ of juggling work and family life heightens the potential risk of ‘digital overload’ and burnout’ for women.”
How that manifests in the workplace is that many have anxiety about reaching their goals and being productive. Forbes reports, “A Workhuman survey of 1,000 full time employees found that 61% of U.S. workers say they’re productive at work, but it comes at a cost. A total of 80% report they have productivity anxiety and over one-third have it multiple times a week.”
Express that you value outcomes and you value team members who reach results with respect for their own mental health.
Read more in Take the Lead on productivity
8. Build in rewards. For myself, when I am under intense deadline pressure, I set intermittent markers for self-rewards. After I write perhaps 500 words of a piece, I treat myself to fresh glass of flavored ice water, or a walk around the first floor of my house (where my home office is) or if it is nice out, a walk around the block. While you are not in the business of offering trophies for just showing up, when someone at work delivers an exceptional presentation, secures a client or submits a grant on deadline, perhaps they get treated to a lunch, or write the accomplishment on a white board with team members offering kudos. Perhaps say they can leave early one day or get literal applause on a zoom meeting.
Read more in Take The Lead on work culture rewards
9. Write down your purpose. The act of writing in longhand in a journal or notebook engages the brain far differently than the process of typing words on a screen. Brainstorm with yourself what plans you have to accomplish your work purpose and articulate what your mission means to you. The act of free-writing is proven to improve mental health, as well as reduce stress with a measurable reduction in blood pressure. Perhaps you want to offer the suggestion to team members and colleagues to do their own writing to grasp their intentions and lay claim to their futures. Gift your colleagues a leather-bound or colorful journal for them to use at home, work, or on transportation.
“#Brainstorm with yourself what #plans you have to accomplish your #workpurpose and articulate what your #mission means to you. The act of free-writing is proven to improve #mentalhealth!”
Read more on Gloria Feldt and Intentioning
Keila Shaheen, author of The Shadow Work Journal, tells Forbes, “Journaling isn't inherently prescriptive, but it can be a wonderful addition to your daily routine for setting intentions and releasing emotions.”
Read more about confidence in the workplace.
10. Maintain confidence. What tends to evaporate in overloaded times when obligations overlap and crowd your thinking, is a feeling of not being able to manage even the small everyday tasks. When other concerns beyond your life loom large, you can still maintain your own confidence by reassuring yourself of your competence, strength, and abilities.
This is because many of us are succumbing to the gendered confidence gap. Authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman of, The Confidence Code: The Science And Art Of Self-Assurance—What Women Should Know, write: “Even when we are prepared to tolerate the personal disruption that comes with aiming high, even when we have of ambition, we fundamentally doubt ourselves.”
Knowing the predilection to self-doubt is culturized within us, understanding that you are agile and can put into action what you intend, this can give you more confidence and help you handle what comes your way. Shift the narrative to be about all what you can do, not what you can endure.
Leadership Takeaway of The Week:
“People can absolutely be taught to increase their positive emotions, even when things seem pretty bleak.”’
Judith Moskowitz, vice chair for scientific and faculty development, Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
