Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Coping with rapid change in the workplace: long-term strategies

Taking care of ourselves and recognizing when we feel overwhelmed can be challenging, especially when we’re facing high levels of stress. If we don’t take care of ourselves and take the breaks necessary to heal, it can lead to burnout, which affects both our personal and professional lives.

While implementing small, everyday strategies can provide immediate relief to burnout, developing long-term coping mechanisms is essential for preventing or curing burnout altogether. 

If burnout feels like lost energy, enthusiasm, or confidence, the Lyra article, “Burnout 101: Symptoms and Coping," suggests the antidote is to accumulate joy. The article also recommends to do the following to accumulate joy.

Build Resilience—Find joy in your work by focusing on aspects that inspire you or bring you satisfaction. This could involve setting personal goals, pursuing professional development, or celebrating team successes.

Personalize Your Workspace—Make your workspace a reflection of your personality by incorporating items that bring you happiness, such as framed photos of loved ones, motivational quotes, or meaningful souvenirs from travels.

Mindfulness in the Moment—Take time to engage with your environment while working. Pause occasionally to appreciate the sights, sounds, and scents around you, as this practice can enhance your awareness and help reduce stress.

Breathing Breaks—Remember to step away for brief breathing breaks during particularly busy or overwhelming periods. Techniques such as deep breathing can help clear your mind and rejuvenate your focus.

Track Your Accomplishments—Maintain a journal or a digital list of your daily or weekly achievements. This can serve as a powerful reminder of your progress and boost your confidence, especially during challenging times.

Enjoy Music Wisely—Listen to music that enhances your mood or productivity when appropriate.

Engage in Balancing Activities—Identify activities that help restore your energy and balance. For example, if your work involves long periods of sitting at a desk, schedule regular walking or stretching breaks. Simple exercises can invigorate your body and improve circulation.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Coping with rapid change in the workplace: action and adaptation

As you work through changes at work, taking action and adapting is vital and oftentimes difficult when you’re feeling overwhelmed and stuck. One strategy to feel more engaged, fulfilled, and productive in your community and work is to cultivate compassion (2 min video). Lewis Carroll also gives great advice on how to work through difficulty and overcome a creative block—if you want a fun dive, ahem, down the rabbit hole.

We also recommend checking out the following resources:

• Building Work Stress Resilience
• A Moment for Encouragement (2 min video)
• What To Do When Your To-Do List Is Too Much (2 min video)
• How to Get Started When You're Feeling Stuck

You can read our first and second article about change in the workplace on the N&N blog.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Coping with rapid change

When things at work change unexpectedly, it can help to gather information and ask your managers and colleagues questions to better understand how the changes will affect you. We recommend the following articles to help you communicate with your coworkers and manage change:

• Communication dos and don'ts at work (5 min read)
• Communicating under pressure (5 min read)
• 6 Ways to Manage Stressful Transitions at Work (5 min read)

You can read our first article about change in the workplace on the N&N blog.

DEI Coffee Hour

We want to give a special thank you to those who joined us at the DEI Coffee Hour on March 16. As mentioned at the end of the coffee hour, we have a Mental Wellness in the Workplace Q&A form devoted to answering general questions related to workplace mental wellness. We encourage you to continue submitting questions to the form, as this helps inform our discussion topics.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Coping with rapid change in the workplace

We are accustomed to rapid change here at the University. But even welcomed change can affect our minds and bodies. Rapid change can cause us to feel stress, anxiety, and uncertainty about the future, and can cause our bodies to experience physical symptoms, like sleep and digestive issues, and getting sick more often.

If you are experiencing stress or anxiety related to change, you should acknowledge your feelings, take a break, focus on what you can control, employ empathy, and get help when needed. If you are feeling symptoms longer than usual, or more intensely, you may need to seek out more care. If you have any insight regarding change, please take our short survey.

University resources

• Stress Management
• Taking care of yourself under stress
• Mindfulness based stress reduction
• Courses
• Center for Spirituality and Healing
• Banishing burnout and building resilience