With Trish Foster, diversity, equity & inclusion leader at Trish Foster Consulting
What is workplace burnout?
It stems from overwork and chronic stress. Textbook definitions include emotional, physical and mental exhaustion combined with negative feelings and reduced effectiveness. I use a shorthand description: workplace stress left unmanaged.
Why is effective stress management crucial for individual well-being?
Long-term stress leads to other emotional and physical problems, including sleep loss, depression, high blood pressure, muscle tension and heart disease. It’s also bad for personal relationships!
Can you talk about the individual benefits of stress management?
A wide range of stress management techniques help people “re-set” their minds and bodies. Here’s a great example: five minutes of meditation a day helps clear the mind, enhance mood, boost brain function and decrease stress.
How does stress management contribute to a better workplace environment?
Employees who are less stressed are healthier, and healthier employees are more engaged, more productive and happier. In fact, Forbes reported that happy employees are as much as 20% more productive. It’s important for people to know what triggers stress, how they can build personal resilience and even how work can be organized or restructured to decrease stress.
You provide a course on decreasing workplace stress and boosting well-being. What advice can you offer for supporting and empowering team members in high-pressure situations?
It’s best to educate employees about a wide range of options, so people are equipped with lots of tools and strategies. A focus on human connection is more important than ever in virtual work environments. This can include team building, shared values and social events. Individual strategies like mindfulness, meditation and diet/exercise routines are also critical, and for systems-oriented people, providing processes that remove excessive complexity are important.
