How to Fix Your Company’s Culture of Overwork..
11/06/2024
Our relationship with work is becoming increasingly unhealthy. Levels of burnout and stress are at all-time highs. Even before the pandemic, the World Health Organization called stress the “health epidemic of the 21st century.” What is a major source of that stress? Our jobs. Microsoft has conducted several studies analyzing keystroke data and the use […]
What’s Fueling Burnout in Your Organization?
29/11/2023
Organizations around the world are experiencing unprecedented levels of burnout, which is creating a significant — and under-recognized — cost to organizations in the form of quiet quitting, reduced innovation, and even spiraling healthcare costs. Many people are quick to point to an increase in overall workload as the culprit. But our research shows that […]
When Your Vacation Wasn’t Exactly Relaxing
16/09/2023
Vacations are meant to be rejuvenating. Time off can not only help you restore your mind, body, and soul, it also has a positive impact on your work life: One study found that employees who take 11 or more vacation days are more likely to receive a raise or bonus. However, not all vacations are […]
Managing Anxiety When There’s No Room for Error
27/07/2023
In some arenas, mistakes are par for the course and not very costly. It doesn’t really matter if a designer starts over several times before producing a beautiful cover image, an inventor tries a hundred prototypes before finding the one that works, or an entrepreneur pivots from one idea to another based on customer feedback. […]
Is It Time to Shake Up Your WFH Routine?
08/03/2023
We’re approaching three years since the initial office exodus, where millions of people found themselves stationed at home full-time, overnight. The initial shock of that transition has worn off. So if you participated in the office flight, you’ve likely settled into some semblance of a routine. But is it time to make a change? As […]
6 Ways to Reenergize a Depleted Team
21/11/2022
A client of Ron’s, “Kelsey,” a division general manager of a large food manufacturer, recently told him, “Everyone on my team seems tired…all the time. I ask them how they’re doing, and they tell me ‘fine.’ If someone asks for time off, I say yes. They get the work done, but it seems like they’re […]
Be Intentional About How You Spend Your Time Off
24/12/2021
The evidence is clear: Burnout is on the rise. A common suggestion for preventing burnout is to take regular breaks away from work. But what should those breaks look like if we want to maximize rejuvenation and protect our well-being? It may be surprising to learn, but passive “rest and relaxation” isn’t as effective for recovering […]
3 Ways to Help Your Team Recover from Disruption
19/04/2021
Many organizations wrestle with how to excel in rapidly changing times. At some point or another, they encounter challenges that force them to modify the ways they do things so they can continue to meet expectations. Some do it better than others, and it usually comes down to how confident they feel about their teams’ […]
How to Plan Your Life When the Future Is Foggy at Best
08/03/2021
The year 2020 did not turn out as we planned. Unemployment rates in the U.S. are close to twice what they were in February of 2020, and the number of people furloughed is still towering over February averages. Plus, with the profound shakeup of our daily lives, a lot of folks are asking, What do […]
Mental health in the workplace: The coming revolution
20/01/2021
Three weeks prior to his resignation, suffering severe depression, Mendonca had checked into a hospital for an overnight stay. But, acting in his position of great responsibility, in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, Mendonca had “told myself and my team that we all have to operate at 120 percent. . . . This meant […]
Self-Compassion Will Make You a Better Leader
16/11/2020
It’s understandable for leaders to get caught up in fear, doubt, and criticism when facing critical business decisions that will have a major impact on lives and livelihoods. But what’s needed in times of uncertainty and disruption is mental clarity, emotional balance, fortitude, and vision. To move from self-doubt and paralysis to clarity and action, […]
“Serious” Leaders Need Self-Care, Too
03/11/2020
Thomas Barwick/Getty Images The benefits of self-care are well known. Yet when I work with my leadership clients, I often get major pushback around the whole idea. Why are many leaders so resistant to taking a bit of time for themselves? It usually boils down to misperceptions around what good leadership is, what self-care is, […]
Anxious About What’s Next? Here’s How to Cope.
20/08/2020
Liyao Xie/Getty Images This is a time of the year often marked by personal and professional transitions, a time of graduations, weddings, first-days-at-the-new-job, and strategic planning for the next fiscal year. These transitions often bring a mix of anticipation and excitement — a sense of not knowing exactly what lies ahead but an eagerness to […]
What Meditation Can Do for Your Leadership
24/07/2020
HBR Staff/jermzlee/Getty Images One of the things that stands in the way of many leaders’ success — and therefore the success of their companies — is their ego. Leadership expert Jim Collins found in his seminal study on what makes companies sustainably great that in two thirds of the comparison cases, it was “the presence […]
Does working from home cut or increase energy use?
05/07/2020
The study’s authors reviewed existing research into the impact of home-working.They found of the 39 studies analyzed, 26 suggested that home-working cuts energy use through reduced travel to work and office energy consumption. Only eight studies suggest the impact was neutral or negative. But once a wider range of impacts are included, such as non-work […]
Encourage Your Team to Take Time Off
02/07/2020
David Zaitz/Getty Images “I’m going nowhere fast.” This was the concern one of my clients recently. Her complaint wasn’t about working in quarantine per se, but about her frantic pace and static productivity. With the initial adrenaline rush of the crisis passed, vast numbers of my clients are reporting that they and their teams feel […]
How to Talk to Your Team When the Future Is Uncertain
09/05/2020
As the coronavirus pandemic escalates and disruptions to business-as-usual continue, managers are grappling with the unknown. You don’t know when your employees will be able to return to the office or how different things will be when they do. Regardless, you need to be in constant communication with your team. What information — and how […]
Leading marketing and sales with purpose
05/05/2020
“Without empathy, nothing works.” 1 1. Sean Gregory, “ ‘Without empathy, nothing works.’ Chef José Andrés wants to feed the world through the pandemic,” TIME, March 26, 2020, time.com. That quote, from José Andrés, a celebrity chef who also founded and runs the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, highlights the reasoning behind the organization’s mission: to […]
How to Make Furloughs More Humane
28/04/2020
Richard Drury/Getty Images Furloughs are often a much better alternative to layoffs for both companies and employees. However, until Covid-19, they were infrequently used in the U.S. During the Great Recession only 0.5% of the U.S. workforce participated in furloughs, while one in five workers experienced a layoff. Today, in the most uncertain time any […]
Why Leaders Need Meditation Now More Than Ever
29/03/2020
A global pandemic is in full effect. Risks of infection are on the rise, stock markets are tumbling, the economy is on the verge of a global recession, and every business is facing uncertainty. Chances are high that you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and afraid. That’s normal. The survival part of our brain (mainly the amygdala) […]
Build Your Resilience in the Face of a Crisis
26/03/2020
Chad Baker/Getty Images As the spread and far-reaching impacts of Covid-19 dominate the world news, we have all been witnessing and experiencing the parallel spread of worry, anxiety, and instability. Indeed, in a crisis, our mental state often seems only to exacerbate an already extremely challenging situation, becoming a major obstacle in itself. Why is […]
Burnout Is About Your Workplace, Not Your People
29/01/2020
Martin Barraud/Getty Images We tend to think of burnout as an individual problem, solvable by “learning to say no,” more yoga, better breathing techniques, practicing resilience — the self-help list goes on. But evidence is mounting that applying personal, band-aid solutions to an epic and rapidly evolving workplace phenomenon may be harming, not helping, the battle. […]
Are You Pushing Yourself Too Hard at Work?
22/01/2020
C.J. Burton/Getty Images We all have intense periods at work where multiple deadlines converge, an important deal is closing, or a busy season lasts for a few months. During these times, we may work more intensely or longer hours, but we know that the situation is temporary, and we are able to keep work in […]
Burnout is a pandemic. Why don’t we talk more about it?
29/10/2019
Stress – from the Latin “stringere”, to squeeze tight, touch or injure – is not bad, per se. Positive stress and adrenaline in the right circumstances can make us stronger, happier and healthier. Yet, in certain work environments, chronic stress provokes anxiety, detachment and fatigue that can lead to burnout. The World Health Organization (WHO) […]
What Happens When Teams Fight Burnout Together
11/10/2019
Michael Blann/Getty Images Here’s a vexing paradox. On the one hand, companies are offering more wellness and well-being options than ever before, including mindfulness and yoga classes, nap rooms, and fitness facilities. On the other hand, employee burnout has risen to such a level that the World Health Organization now considers it a workplace hazard. Most […]
How dual-career couples find fulfilment at work
02/10/2019
The struggle to balance two demanding careers is a dilemma that many employees face daily. Our recent study of more than 35,000 workers with spouses or live-in partners in a variety of professional sectors found that 89 percent of women and 70 percent of men are part of a dual-career couple (DCC)—a couple in which […]
When Passion Leads to Burnout
27/07/2019
ito akihiro/Getty Images You’ve no doubt heard the well-worn advice that “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” It’s a nice idea but a total myth. When we equate work we love with “not really working,” it propagates a belief that if we love it so much, we […]
6 Causes of Burnout, and How to Avoid Them
13/07/2019
Bryan Mullennix/Getty Images A fog of burnout surrounds you: You’re perpetually exhausted, annoyed, and feeling unaccomplished and unappreciated. Everything in you wants to quit your job. But is that the best choice? Ultimately only you can know what is right in your situation. But there is research that can help you determine whether you can […]
New Zealand has unveiled its first ‘well-being’ budget
10/06/2019
Based on the idea that gauging the long-term impact of policies on the quality of people’s lives is better than focusing on short-term output measures, the initiative has five priorities for 2019: aiding the transition to a sustainable and low-emissions economy, supporting a thriving nation in the digital age, lifting Māori and Pacific incomes, skills […]
Most mental-health problems are untreated. Trained laypeople can help…
19/04/2019
IN ANY GIVEN year one person in six is afflicted by a mental illness. Most cases involve mild-to-moderate depression or anxiety. Some sufferers recover on their own. For many, however, the condition is left untreated and may become chronic or severe. In the past social stigma meant that people kept their pain to themselves. The […]
What happiness can teach us about how we measure human development
14/04/2019
Last week I had the opportunity to visit Bhutan for the first time, a trip I’ve been looking forward to for many years. The country’s quest to buck the global trend of measuring human development success by Gross Development Product (GDP) and going instead with Gross National Happiness (GNH) has long intrigued me. Yale University […]
Easy Stretches to Do Each Morning
07/03/2019
Starting your morning on the right foot can make a difference to your entire day, and what better way to get this done is to stretch and breathe properly. Stretching in the morning must be done when your body is already warm, say after your morning exercise routine. This way, your muscles will not be […]
Feeling Anxious? Here’s How That Can Help..
27/02/2019
Recently, I was at an event with an actor. Together, we were about to walk onstage to address a large group of people about a project we were collaborating on. Backstage, I turned to the actor. “I’m anxious,” I said to the actor. She looked as cool as a cucumber. “Put another way,” she whispered, […]
Popular Exercises That Can Be Dangerous for You and How to Replace Them
21/02/2019
Some exercises can cause more damage than progress for your health, creating issues like unnecessary tension in the neck, spine, and shoulders or too much stress on your joints. There are also exercises that are so ineffective, you’ll just be wasting your time doing them. The good news is that there’s a suitable replacement option for each of them. 1. Behind the […]
Loneliness is a serious public-health problem – All the lonely people
27/01/2019
LONDON, says Tony Dennis, a 62-year-old security guard, is a city of “sociable loners”. Residents want to get to know each other but have few ways to do so. Tonight, however, is different. Mr Dennis and a few dozen other locals are jousting at a monthly quiz put on by the Cares Family, a charity […]
How to Manage an Employee Who’s Having a Personal Crisis
18/01/2019
Source: How to Manage an Employee Who’s Having a Personal Crisis