THE PANDEMIC HAS MADE 2020
A ROUGH YEAR FOR MANY USE ENDS.
ONE BIG CHANGES HOW WE DEAL
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WORKPLACE
STRESS AND BURNOUT.
JOINING US NOW IS DR. ESME
CRAFT.
MORNING.
WE HAVE SEEN SO MANY CHANGES
SINCE MARCH.
KIDS AT HOME, KIDS NOT AT HOME,
WORKING ALONGSIDE PARENTS.
IT ALMOST SOMETIMES FEELS LIKE
WHIPLASH.
RIGHT.
ABSOLUTELY.
PEOPLE ARE FEELING THE STRESS
PRODUCTIVE AND BEING SEEN AS
GOOD EMPLOYEES WHILE ALSO
TRYING TO JUST SURVIVE IN THEIR
PERSONAL LIVES.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR
PEOPLE?
I SUPPOSE THE FIRST STEP IS
YOU MAY BE DEALING WITH
SOMETHING THAT IS A CONCERN.
WELL, YES.
IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR
EMPLOYERS BUT ALSO FOR THE
PEOPLE THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH
, COWORKERS AND SOMETIMES
SPOUSES, TO RECOGNIZE THAT
THERE MIGHT BE ENVIRONMENTS
THAT ARE REALLY STRESSFUL FOR
US.
PARTICULARLY IF WE SEE
WORKLOADS INCREASING AND WE
FEEL LIKE THERE IS NO IN TO THE
WORKLOAD.
IF WE FEEL LIKE WORK ISN'T
AGAIN, THAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN WE
ARE WORKING FROM HOME AND
PEOPLE THINK THEY'RE GOING TO
BE ABLE TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE
OR THEY ARE IN THE OFFICE I
DON'T HAVE KIDS.
PEOPLE ARE CARRYING STRESS FROM
HOME INTO THEIR WORK LIVES AND
THEIR WORK LIVES INTO HOME
LIVES.
WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE
BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THOSE PLACES,
AND INCREASE STRESS FOR A LOT
OF PEOPLE.
WE KNOW THAT EACH EMPLOYER
WILL BE DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF
LEVELS OF FLEXIBILITY OR
UNDERSTANDING THAT BALANCE AND
THAT TENSION THERE, IS THERE
SOMETHING THAT YOU, AT HOME,
CAN DO FOR YOURSELF?
SOMETHING YOU CAN CONTROL TO
TAKE OFF THE PRESSURE A LITTLE
WELL, I THINK BEING HONEST
ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN BEAR.
SOMETIMES A LOT OF TIMES PRIDE
THEMSELVES ON HOW HARD THEY
WORK, HAVING A STRONG WORK
ETHIC.
YOU KNOW, INITIALLY PEOPLE WHO
ARE WORKING HARDER AND SEEN AS
GOOD EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, THAT
FEELS GOOD FOR THEM BUT WE HAVE
TO BE REALLY CAREFUL TO NOT
EXPLOIT OURSELVES AND OVERWORK
OURSELVES.
YOU KNOW, FIRST AND FOREMOST IS
IT IS NOT TO BE ASHAMED THAT
YOU CAN'T TAKE ON MORE.
IT IS ABOUT BEING HONEST ABOUT,
OKAY, HERE IS MY LIMIT IS AND I
AM ABOUT TO REACH IT.
HOW DOES THAT WORK?
HOW DO YOU HAVE THAT
CONVERSATION AT THE WORKPLACE?
I WONDER IF PEOPLE ARE
EXPERIENCING WHERE THIS HAS
ENTERING MONTH 10, AND
MANAGERS, I THINK, IN SOME PACE
THE FLEXIBILITY IS RUNNING UP
AGAINST PROFIT GOALS AND WORK
EFFICIENCY GOALS.
WELL, I THINK WE HAVE TO
THOSE THINGS ARE PRESENT AND
THE WORK DOESN'T GET DONE IF
YOU DON'T HAVE SOMEONE TO DO
IT.
WE HAVE TO CREATE AN
ENVIRONMENT WHERE IT IS
PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY
THAT MAY MEAN CHECKING IN WITH
EMPLOYEES, CHECKING IN WITH
COWORKERS MORE FREQUENCY TO SEE
HOW THEY'RE DOING.
IF THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO
TAKE BREAKS, ENCOURAGE THEM TO
TAKE THE BREAKS.
ENCOURAGE COWORKERS TO TALK TO
EACH OTHER.
SUPPORT FROM SOMEONE THAT WE
FEEL LIKE MIGHT BE IN A SIMILAR
SITUATION.
WHETHER YOU ARE A SUPERVISOR OR
SHIFT LEADER OR JUST SOMEBODY
WORKING ON THE LINE, WHATEVER
THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR YOU, JUST
BEING HONEST AND SAYING, YES, I
GET OVERLOADED TOO.
ONE OF THE HARDER THINGS IS
TRYING TO FIND THAT BALANCE.
YOU COULD BE WORKING ALL THE
TIME NOW THAT YOU ARE AT HOME.
YOU COULD PUT THE KIDS TO BED
AND GO BACK TO WORK.
WHAT KIND OF BOUNDARIES OR
LIMITS?
DO YOU RECOMMEND SETTING THOSE?
THIS IS WHERE SPOUSES OR
PARTNERS REALLY COME INTO PLAY
AS WELL.
WE SOMETIMES WILL NEED THAT
EXTERNAL REMINDER TO SET A
BOUNDARY.
TELLING YOURSELF, OKAY, HERE
ARE THE NORMAL WORK HOURS AND
IF I AM ABLE TO GET THAT WORK
DONE RELATIVELY WELL IN THOSE
HOURS, GREAT.
IF I AM GOING TO COME BACK
AFTER I PUT THE KIDS TO BED AND
THINGS LIKE THAT, SET A TIME
LIMIT.
PAST 7:00.
GIVE YOURSELF A LITTLE BIT OF A
BUFFER BETWEEN THE TIME YOU GO
TO BED OTHERWISE YOUR MIND WILL
BE RACING.