These are challenging times and I’m hearing from more and more clients in the workplace about how stressed they feel.
It seems the major issue hinges on uncertainty;
- How can I stay safe from the Corona Virus?
- Is this recession going to get deeper and is my job secure?
- Will my kids be going back to school and if not, how will I balance work and home
- …and I don’t even want to start thinking about politics!
In part related to our work from home isolation, there is not a sense of “we’re all in this together but instead we’re struggling more on our own” which just seems to make the effort a bit more difficult.
As we try to figure out how to address these issues, it may be helpful to consider how stressed we are. I’ve come up with a simple pictograph to help you assess your stress. Remembering that we experience our stress in our bodies, we can think about how all this is affecting us by noticing where we are feeling our stress level. Take a look at the pictograph and see where you might be experiencing your stress and if it’s above your heart, take some time consider what you might want to do to lower that level a bit. A few ideas to consider
- Self-Care- This includes some good sleep, making sure you exercise, even if your gym is closed. Last week, we took an afternoon off, played hooky from work, and went for a nice walk in the park with our dog.
- Speak to your boss: If you are feeling stressed about work or perhaps are feeling isolated working from home, make sure you reach out to others and connect.
- Try something new: I saw an article in the paper about making pizza’s on the grill and it sounds like fun, so I’ll be adding that to my list of Corona Virus Pandemic Recipes (CVPR)
- Reach out for help: If you or your team need some resilience support, give me a call and lets chat!
Events and Offerings
- Resilient Mindfulness: I’ve had quite a few requests to do a Resilient Mindfulness session in evening (or late afternoon for my PDT friends) so I’ll be offering one next Wednesday, August 19 at 7PM EDT. Our topic will be on Building Better Relationships at Work and Everywhere Else. Click here to join into the fun.
- September 7th, 2020: I’ll be doing a virtual presentation to the California Professional in Human Resource Association on Strategy Driven Leadership.
- Check out my latest article on LinkedIn on the Leadership Café.
© Richard Citrin 2020
