“Our brains would melt if they tried to process and store even a fraction of the information they are exposed to.” Tim Pollard, American communications professional Face it: we’re drowning in information. There’s too much to do and see every…
Workplace Stress
Feeling Overwhelmed? Take a Focus Break
The human resource leader’s role is rapidly evolving with ever-changing technology. Many of the responsibilities which formerly fell to HR departments have become automated. Chatbots answer employees’ questions regarding company benefits. Employees may be responsible for enrolling themselves in health…
Do You Have a Culture of Stress? Here’s How to Tell
This article is excerpted from Tom’s recent book, The Stress-Reduction Pyramid: A Guide to Managing the Greatest Threat to Employee Health and Productivity. ∼∼∼∼∼ It’s Monday morning, and you’re standing at the edge of a swamp. Looking out, you see…
Are You A Stress Addict?
Take a moment and consider the following questions: Do you find that you’re consistently in a state of crisis at work, with one fire to put out after another? Do you regularly reject solutions that are offered for the problems…
How Worried Are You About Your Career? Here’s a Way to See Where You Stand
Workplaces are undergoing profound transformations to accommodate the varying expectations of a multi-generational workforce and the increasing influx of AI-enabled entities. The inevitable need to maintain robust talent pipelines for assuring a healthy supply of capable leaders has galvanized progressive…
Your Job Is Killing You. Seriously
How often have you or your colleagues said, “This job is killing me”? What you likely didn’t know was that you were right — the workplace is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States! (And the results…
HR’s Role When Divorce Impacts Performance
Despite the general pattern of the divorce rate declining, there are still plenty of married couples who untie the knot. Doing so is obviously life-changing, but it can also have a severe impact on your career and ability to work…
HR 101: 5 Ways to Win Back Your Stressed Out Workers
According to a survey administered by Kronos and Future Workplace, 46% of human resource professional respondents (at organizations with 100 to over 2,500 employees) blame burnout for up to half of their staff quitting each year. The top three reasons…
3 Stressed Workers Your Wellness Program May Be Overlooking
As more employers start investing in wellness benefits and initiatives, it’s important to understand their objectives. It’s no secret employees need help with managing their stress. SHRM’s annual benefits survey found more employers are offering wellness programs, while a MediKeeper…
How Stress Is Like a Glass of Water
How is stress like a glass of water? Whoever would have thought of comparing stress to a glass half full (or half empty, if you’re one of those people)? Virginia Czarnocki did, and she used it to illustrate an important…
Reduce Stress By Focusing On the Basics
Stress has the ability to destroy even the best company culture. No matter how hard you’ve worked to foster a positive workplace environment, when employees are overwhelmed, they soon burn out. Then the inevitable happens — productivity slows and the…
How to Cut the High Price Of Employee Stress
Every manager wants to fill their ranks with ambitious go-getters. We’re all on the hunt for those who would describe themselves as ‘perfectionists’ in an interview, and who are constantly competing against themselves to improve their game and excel in…
What If You Asked ‘How Are You’ and Really Meant It?
What would you do if someone honestly answered that rhetorical greeting we all use, “How are you?” What if instead of “Fine” or “Good,” which is what convention requires, your coworker said, “I’m not feeling myself. If fact, I’m feeling…
Fight Employee Burnout With These Tips
Every job can be stressful in its own way, but burnout takes that stress to an unhealthy, extreme level. The Mayo Clinic defines it as a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion combined with doubts about your competence and…
When She Took Calls From Her Hospital Bed She Knew Work Was ‘Out of Control’
Ten years ago, Renae Smith founded her own public relations company, The Atticism, in Sydney, Australia. For years she worked long hours, building her business from the ground up, chasing clients, and answering emails at all times of the day and night….
Stressed Out HR: 7 Steps to Making Things Better
Human resource professionals are the “stress absorbers” for their organizations and often for individuals in the organization. They occupy a special niche in the organizational ecosystem — a critical one for the success of all companies. But how can the…
6 Keys to Mindful Leadership
Mindfulness is defined as: the intentional, accepting and non-judgmental focus of one’s attention on the emotions, thoughts and sensations occurring in the present moment. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the immediate moment, rather…
Burnout Is Sabotaging Retention
I don’t know much about the massage industry, but it occurs to me it must be riding high these days. Everywhere I look, companies are providing employees with on-site massages, or covering massage therapy in their insurance, or both. Those…
Stress Goes Down When Your Employees Don’t Bottle It Up
Every employer has their own idea of a dream team, but most will agree it would consist of employees who are passionate about their careers, put forth extreme effort, and hit their goals every month. While this deep passion creates…
How HR Should Manage an Employee Going Through a Divorce
Approximately 90% of people in western cultures get married by the time they turn 50. In the U.S., nearly half of the couples end up getting a divorce. Yikes! If your company has a hundred employees, there’s a very good…