Hitting the Wall: A Good Place to Hang On

By Katie O’Neill, DC, BS – Clinical Wellness Practice Leader 

Panic, exhaustion, grief, rage, hope, defeat, indifference—throughout the pandemic, we have experienced a collective roller coaster of emotions. Although as humans across the planet we are facing the same viral enemy, the feeling of division and isolation feels stronger than ever.  For many human resource professionals, they might be feeling the additional strain of contending with their own stress, while also being tasked with keeping morale high, helping employees cope, retention, and carrying on with daily business. 

While there is no one size for all or fool-proof solution for managing mental and emotional strain for all employees, resources such as employee assistance programs (EAPs), tele-mental health services, and digital programs have grown in popularity and can be valuable tools. But, what are we missing that we might be able to pull from our toolbox, both for ourselves and others? Here are some suggestions to enhance your current offerings and approach. 

Instead of: focusing on mental health programs

Try: including a focus on physical health programs as part of mental health 

The mind and body connection is strong! It is important to consider the benefits of exercise for stress, anxiety, and depression, in addition to the physical benefits. Regular exercise can be a great complement to other initiatives to help boost endorphins, take a mental break, improve overall health, and can help improve sleep. 

Suggestions

• Encourage and promote existing programs for physical activity and fitness; considering adding additional. 
• Start walking groups and share ways for people to stay active during the work day, such as “move at noon” and stretching breaks. 

Instead of: virtual happy hours 

Try: digital breaks 

Early in the pandemic, virtual meetings proved very helpful as a way to stay connected and provide support during uncertain times. As we have adapted to our new remote environment, between our computers and smartphones, what we might actually need is a break from screen time and to connect with our environments. 

Suggestions

• Make sure remote employees know that they can log off for the day and not have emails after hours that could disrupt personal and family time. 
• When cameras are not necessary for meetings, try to avoid them, and encourage “walking calls” when possible. 
• Provide resources and information on the benefits of digital down time for the day to help reduce eye strain, decrease stress, and improve sleep. 

Instead of: focusing on just talk therapy programs 

Try: include encouraging “flow states”

While talk therapy programs are valuable, they are not the only solution for managing emotions. Have ever experienced being “in the zone” or what is also known as a “flow state”? This is the feeling you get when you are completely immersed in something that is enjoyable, but it is challenging enough to keep your brain engaged. When you are in this flow state, hours can go by where you are avoiding any intrusive thoughts or anxieties, and you often walk away feeling uplifted and less stressed. There are many different avenues to finding your flow state—hiking, playing music, crafts and artwork, dancing, walking, reading—anything that keeps your brain busy and feels rewarding. 

Suggestions

• Evaluate employee work/life balance to make sure employees have enough time for creative and active pursuits.
• Encourage employees to work on their hobbies and provide suggestions for at-home creative and healthy activities, such as online yoga classes, crafting kits, and reading.  
• Ask employees to volunteer what they love about some of their favorite hobbies and include it in internal newsletters, which may inspire others and build more connection and common ground. Stick to hobbies that won’t invoke any controversy and offer general appeal. 
• Include artistic, active, and creative gift cards and giveaways with contest giveaways and company events, such as painting classes and museum passes. 

Instead of: normalizing working during PTO 

Try: encouraging complete unplug time 

We are all guilty of sneaking a peek at our email or working on projects while we are technically on PTO. Whether it is for peace of mind, or to avoid an avalanche when you return to the office, the underlying feeling that things need to be managed constantly prevents disconnecting from work, which can contribute to burn out. Even by answering emails on PTO, we are possibly signaling to other employees that we expect them to do the same. 

Burn out is more likely to happen under on-going stress, and can come on insidiously.  Your top performers might be even more vulnerable to hitting the mental and emotional wall.  Although it can be tough to spot the signs, they include feeling completely mentally and emotionally depleted, irritable, disconnected, and experiencing a lack of enjoyment in life in general. In the workplace, it can show up as negative impacts on productivity and performance, along with feelings of lacking purpose, a decreased sense of accomplishment, and feeling disconnected to the value of work. 

Suggestions

• Try to ensure there is adequate coverage and planning in place so that employees do not have a fear of taking time off. 
• Lead by example—try to avoid answering emails while away, and encourage employees to do the same when on vacation. 
• Be sure to recognize and highlight employee accomplishments to help them see the value of their contributions and stay motivated in difficult times. 

While these are just a few suggestions on ways to adapt to the changing mental and workplace demands of the on-going situation, it is important to also apply these ideas to yourself. Staying motivated, optimistic, and productive under long periods of stress is difficult for everyone, and being responsible for encouraging that in others can sometimes feel like pulling from an empty well. Be sure to extend the same compassion and understanding to yourself as you would with others, that there will be both good days and bad, and know that sometimes hitting the wall is a good place to stop and take a rest.