Corporate Wellness
Have you and your team hit the wall and are suffering from Pandemic burnout? Join nationally recognized psychologists and specialists to give you strategies to re-energize, find better balance and take care of yourself.
On the Stage
Cloud Conventions 2021
May 12-14
View the On Demand Session Recordings
Navigate the "Next Normal"
Session Preview
How to Bring the Balance Back
How do we bring the balance back to our new work/life environment? Join the conversation as we explore strategies that we want to adopt in 2021 and beyond.
Creating deeper connections with your team
Do we really know how to stay "connected" even if your team and customers are still virtual? Unlock the secrets to staying connected no matter where you work from.
Do you have the resilience to navigate the long term?
If your resilience is fading and you've struggled to maintain your composure and balance for the long-haul, this is a must-attend session for you.
Network & Connect
Meet the Experts
Speakers and panelists joined the Meet the Expert lounges, available after sessions for attendees to take a deeper dive and join the conversation.
The Networking Lounge
The Cloud Coffee Corner opened each morning and the day ended with a casual lounge & Comedy Night on Thursday.
The Latest from Cloud Conventions 2021:
Loading...
Post Subtypes
Topics
How to Bring the Balance Back to Your Team
How to Bring the Balance Back to Your Team
You've had to work from home, become the virtual elementary school teacher, try and maintain customer connections, and find a quite space ...
0
On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions
05/14/2021
0
508553
508553
You've had to work from home, become the virtual elementary school teacher, try and maintain customer connections, and find a quite space in a crowded home environment. Knowing that 50% of the workforce will continue to remain virtual even when we are fully vaccinated and safe, how do we bring the balance back to our new work/life environment? Join the conversation as we explore strategies that worked in 2020 that we want to adopt in 2021 and beyond.Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events?Visit Cloud Conventions »Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals?Visit Convey Services »
How to Bring the Balance Back to Your Team
On Demand Sessions
You've had to work from home, become the virtual elementary school teacher, try and maintain customer connections, and find a quite space in a ...
Where's the Water Cooler?
Where's the Water Cooler?
We've been on hundreds of Zoom®, MS Teams® or BlueJeans® meetings by now, so we know how to "connect", but do we really know how to stay ...
1
On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions
jplist-topic-team jplist-topic-virtual-meetings jplist-topic-relationships
05/13/2021
0
508551
508551
We've been on hundreds of Zoom®, MS Teams® or BlueJeans® meetings by now, so we know how to "connect", but do we really know how to stay "connected". Making connections in the channel has always been about seeing people face to face, going to partner events or connecting in Vegas, so how do we maintain those connections virtually to keep our relationships with customers and peers active and close even if it's only through a video connection? Join Marc Pimsler as he leads a panel from the channel for this important conversation
.
Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events?Visit Cloud Conventions »Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals?Visit Convey Services »
Where's the Water Cooler?
On Demand Sessions
We've been on hundreds of Zoom®, MS Teams® or BlueJeans® meetings by now, so we know how to "connect", but do we really know how to stay ...
Do you have the resilience to navigate the long...
Do you have the resilience to navigate the long...
In 2020, we were in crisis and explored strategies to "Weather the Crisis" by developing greater resilience. But we never expected the ...
2
On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions
05/13/2021
0
508552
508552
In 2020, we were in crisis and explored strategies to "Weather the Crisis" by developing greater resilience. But we never expected the pandemic to still be going on a year later and people still stuck at home or being afraid of being the one that gets really sick. If your resilience is fading and you've struggled to maintain your composure and balance for the long-haul, this is a must-attend session for you. We are moving into the "Next Normal", so what does that mean for you and your business and how do you maintain the resilience needed for the long-haul?Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events?Visit Cloud Conventions »Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals?Visit Convey Services »
Do you have the resilience to navigate the long term?
On Demand Sessions
In 2020, we were in crisis and explored strategies to "Weather the Crisis" by developing greater resilience. But we never expected the pandemic to ...
Hitting a Moving Target
Hitting a Moving Target
Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events?Visit Cloud Conventions »Want to learn about Convey Services Partner ...
3
On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions
jplist-topic-business jplist-topic-new-normal
05/13/2021
0
508734
508734
Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events?Visit Cloud Conventions »Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals?Visit Convey Services »
Charles Darwin's "survival of the fittest" theory likely will not stand the test of time. Session leader, certified counselor and corporate coach Marc Pimsler believes that those who survive will be creative enough to know how to pivot in times of adversity. Join Marc as he leads a session on how to energize your creativity, become more spontaneous, and become the agent of change you need to be in order to "navigate the next normal"
Hitting a Moving Target
On Demand Sessions
Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events?Visit Cloud Conventions »Want to learn about Convey Services Partner ...
Jeffrey Pearl
Jeffrey Pearl
CEO, OTG Consulting
Click here to request a meeting Jeffrey Pearl runs a Colorado-based master agency, OTG Consulting, a consortium of some of the industry's ...
4
Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile
jplist-topic-OTG jplist-topic-Jeffrey-Pearl
0
509253
509253
Click here to request a meeting
Jeffrey Pearl runs a Colorado-based master agency, OTG Consulting, a consortium of some of the industry's most influential connected Telecom Executives leveraging their inside knowledge to assist SMB and Enterprise Businesses in their transition from the PSTN (old telecom network) to IP based Unified Communications in an effort to provide efficacy and savings. Jeffrey has a long-standing entrepreneurial career founding IP520, late sold to Megapath and sits on a number of boards including Konatel, SecureView, and Climbing for Kids. Jeffrey is also on the board of advisors for the Cloud Communications Alliance.
Today Jeffrey focuses on helping others to live their best life and is in process of writing a book and running a YouTube Channel. His goal is to share his learnings to assist others and answer questions around "how to" Live your Best Life!
Jeffrey Pearl
Speaker Profile
Click here to request a meeting Jeffrey Pearl runs a Colorado-based master agency, OTG Consulting, a consortium of some of the industry's most ...
Michelle Cummings
Michelle Cummings
Founder, Training Wheels & Personify Leadership
Click here to request a meetingMichelle Cummings, M.SMichelle Cummings, M.S., is the Big Wheel and founder of Training Wheels, a known ...
5
Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile
jplist-topic-Michelle-Cummings
0
509662
509662
Michelle Cummings
Speaker Profile
Click here to request a meetingMichelle Cummings, M.SMichelle Cummings, M.S., is the Big Wheel and founder of Training Wheels, a known leader in the ...
Mike Boland
Mike Boland
Founder/Partner at TelAdvocate Communications
Click here to request a meeting Since its founding 14 years ago, TelAdvocate has become one of the largest and most respected Telecom and ...
6
Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile
jplist-topic-Mike-Boland jplist-topic-TelAdvocate
0
509362
509362
Click here to request a meeting
Since its founding 14 years ago, TelAdvocate has become one of the largest and most respected Telecom and Cloud Services distributors in the country. As the industry's premier Master Agency, we provide cutting edge tools, software, engineering, design, and sales support to thousands of Sales Partners and enterprises across the country. Our unmatched back-office support is staffed by expert telecom and cloud professionals providing high touch, personalized support. We feature a private life-cycle management software allows our Partners to manage their entire business from end-to-end; but it is our people not our portal that distinguishes us.
Mike Boland
Speaker Profile
Click here to request a meeting Since its founding 14 years ago, TelAdvocate has become one of the largest and most respected Telecom and Cloud ...
Marc Pinsler
Marc Pinsler
Chief Creative Office, MVP Consulting
Click here to request a meetingMarc Pinsler serves as the Chief Creative Officer for MVP Consulting, providing training, counseling, and ...
7
Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile
jplist-topic-Marc-Pinsler jplist-topic-MVP-Consulting
0
508733
508733
Click here to request a meetingMarc Pinsler serves as the Chief Creative Officer for MVP Consulting, providing training, counseling, and consultation to individuals, families and corporations. Marc is certified as a national addictions counselor, is certified as a yoga and meditation teacher, and is also an Advanced Certified Relapse Prevention Specialist. Marc is skilled in using Rapid Resolution Therapy in the treatment of PTSD, Grief, Anxiety, and to eliminate cravings and is passionate about recovery both his own as well as his clients', believing that sometimes all we need is a helping hand and a fresh perspective. Grounded in the belief system that everyone has the capacity to recover, Marc brings humor and spirituality to everything he is involved in. As a gifted counselor, Marc was recognized as the 2010 GACA (Georgia Addiction Counselors Association) New Counselor of the year.
Marc Pinsler
Speaker Profile
Click here to request a meetingMarc Pinsler serves as the Chief Creative Officer for MVP Consulting, providing training, counseling, and consultation ...
Sandy Newes, PhD
Sandy Newes, PhD
Licensed Psychologist
Click here to request a meetingDr. Sandra Newes (aka "Sandy") is a Licensed Psychologist operating a private practice in the Asheville, ...
8
Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile
jplist-topic-Psychologist jplist-topic-psychology jplist-topic-neurofeedback
0
508566
508566
Click here to request a meetingDr. Sandra Newes (aka "Sandy") is a Licensed Psychologist operating a private practice in the Asheville, North Carolina area. Dr. Newes specializes in treating trauma, anxiety, chronic stress, self-regulation issues, and adult ADHD and works with older adolescents, young adults, and adult clients. In addition to her therapeutic practice, Dr. Newes is nationally recognized for her work in psychological testing, neurofeedback, outdoor behavioral healthcare, young adult and adolescent treatment program development, program research, and neurofeedback.
Sandy Newes, PhD
Speaker Profile
Click here to request a meetingDr. Sandra Newes (aka "Sandy") is a Licensed Psychologist operating a private practice in the Asheville, North ...
Bobbi Beale, PsyD
Bobbi Beale, PsyD
Life Adventures for All
Click here to request a meetingBobbi Beale, PsyD, is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Innovative Practices, part of the Begun ...
9
Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile
jplist-topic-PsyD jplist-topic-Life-Adventures jplist-topic-life-adventures-for-all
0
508523
508523
Bobbi Beale, PsyD
Speaker Profile
Click here to request a meetingBobbi Beale, PsyD, is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Innovative Practices, part of the Begun Center for ...
Derek Herider
Derek Herider
Director of Account Management WOW Business!
Click here to request a meetingDerek Herider manages the channel for WOW Business! One of the largest broadband providers in the country. ...
10
Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile
jplist-topic-Derek-Herider jplist-topic-wow-
0
510312
510312
Click here to request a meetingDerek Herider manages the channel for WOW Business! One of the largest broadband providers in the country. He is an expert at transforming business processes and developing innovative strategies to improve employee empowerment. Before his career in the Telecommunications industry Derek served in the US Army which contributed heavily to his beliefs that the team comes first!
Derek Herider
Speaker Profile
Click here to request a meetingDerek Herider manages the channel for WOW Business! One of the largest broadband providers in the country. He is an ...
Stephanie Yost
Stephanie Yost
Certified Counselor, GumTree LLC
Click here to request a meeting Stephanie (aka Steph) Yost, PCC, CPCC, is a Professional Certified Coach with the ICF, a Certified ...
11
Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile
jplist-topic-counselor jplist-topic-gumtree-llc jplist-topic-PCC jplist-topic-CPCC
0
508524
508524
Click here to request a meeting
Stephanie (aka Steph) Yost, PCC, CPCC, is a Professional Certified Coach with the ICF, a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach and the CCO (Chief Creative Officer) of GumTree LLC, a coaching and consulting company for individual business leaders navigating personal and professional change. She is also currently an Associate for the London based team of White & Lime Coaching and the Founder of WiNGs, the Women's Network Group in State College, PA.
Stephanie has been partnering with leaders for close to two decades.
Currently, Stephanie works with Emerging Women, Inc, facilitating Power Circles for chosen leaders at Hewlett-Packard; is an ongoing Mentor Coach for the Founders in the Techstars Accelerators for both Boulder and Denver, CO, and was most recently the sole Leadership Coach at Gaia, Inc.
A Master of Inquiry into what motivates and inspires humans in both the professional and personal realms, Stephanie reconnects leaders with their innate power and passion, bringing freedom and fun to their work, money, health and relationships.
Headquartered on the island of Maui, with a portion of her time spent in Boulder, CO, she works with people anywhere in world via phone and video. She especially loves working with those ready to create a revolution, both within themselves and in their communities.
She believes that we only improve with age and that radical self-care is the secret to the universe. To support yours or your company's own evolution, drop her a line.
Stephanie Yost
Speaker Profile
Click here to request a meeting Stephanie (aka Steph) Yost, PCC, CPCC, is a Professional Certified Coach with the ICF, a Certified Professional ...
Commercial Real Estate's Pandemic Pain Is Only...
Commercial Real Estate's Pandemic Pain Is Only...
December 22, 2020 by Noah Buhayar, John Gittelsohn and Jackie Gu
Bloomberg article written by Noah Buhayar, John Gittelsohn and Jackie Gu. Published December 22, 2020.The coronavirus pandemic shuttered ...
12
Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends-Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends
jplist-topic-commercial jplist-topic-real-estate jplist-topic-cre jplist-topic-covid jplist-topic-coronavirus jplist-topic-office jplist-topic-remote jplist-topic-rent jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-lease jplist-topic-markets
0
506406
506406
Bloomberg article written by Noah Buhayar, John Gittelsohn and Jackie Gu. Published December 22, 2020.The coronavirus pandemic shuttered thousands of U.S. restaurants, gyms and stores, kept office workers at home and left hotel rooms sitting empty. Yet, so far, the commercial real estate market hasn't really had a reckoning.
That's set to change.
Lenders have granted struggling building owners months of forbearance, avoiding fire sales. But even as vaccines herald the slow return to normal life, it's increasingly clear the fundamentals of real estate have been altered.
Next year, many property owners who've fallen behind on debt are going to have to put more money into their buildings, sell at distressed prices or hand the keys back to the bank. Roughly $430 billion in commercial and multifamily real estate debt matures in 2021, forcing lenders and borrowers to come to terms about what buildings are worth in a world the pandemic reshaped.
"That period of 'let's just put a Band-Aid on it' is more or less coming to a conclusion," says Wendy Silverstein, a former executive with Vornado Realty Trust and WeWork who recently started a restructuring and advisory firm. "There's a lot of collateral damage that's going to be hanging around for a while."
That damage has the potential to ripple far beyond building owners and their tenants. Commercial property underpins the tax base in many cities across the U.S., and a downturn could pummel local budgets. As loan losses mount, the slump could also put stress on the banking system. The Federal Reserve singled out commercial real estate in its most recent Financial Stability Report as showing particular signs of weakness.
Projections from real estate services firm CBRE Group Inc. suggest that property values for apartments, offices and retail real estate won't find their bottom until the middle of next year. Worse, the rebound to pre-Covid levels could take until 2022 or beyond. One exception to the trend: industrial real estate, the warehouses and logistics centers that have gained value as investors snapped up buildings essential to the delivery economy.
Unlike the last property market downturn, which was caused by excesses and exuberance in the financial markets, Covid-19 has upset real estate fundamentals by changing how we lead our lives.
Travel will be slow to come back, leaving millions of hotel rooms empty. Companies are already deciding they'll need less office space than before, either because of staff cutbacks or because more of their employees will permanently work from home. And the rise of e-commerce-along with small business closures-will create a glut of retail space in a country that already had too much of it.
By one measure, about a billion hotel room nights will go unsold this year. Foot traffic on Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, plunged more than 70% at shopping malls as consumers bought Christmas gifts online, according to S&P Global. More than 100,000 restaurants are closed permanently or long-term.
"Retail will remain just a mess, hospitality will have a very challenging year, and, in more isolated instances, office will be problematic," says Dave Bragg, a managing director at real estate research firm Green Street.
The most glaring distress is in the $529 billion market for bonds backed by commercial real estate loans. The delinquency rate last month for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) was 20% for hotels and 14% for retail, according to Trepp. Those obligations that will become more difficult to repay as they fall further behind.
To a large extent, real estate has always been about location. And, if nothing else, the pandemic has reshaped where people want to live, work and shop. The Atlanta Fed recently began tracking fundamentals for apartments, offices, retail and industrial real estate in metro areas across the U.S., creating an index of whether they're trending in a positive or negative direction.
As remote work has enabled people to leave high-cost areas like New York and San Francisco, for instance, their apartment markets have started to show the telltale signs of stress: rising vacancies and falling rents. More affordable places like Dallas and Indianapolis are holding up better.
Office owners in many high-cost areas are going to have to contend with higher vacancies as companies plan for a future where remote work is far more common. Deutsche Bank AG is weighing a plan where employees would spend two days a week at home, while Facebook Inc. has said that half of its workforce could be remote in the next decade.
Others are considering shifting where their workforces will be. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., for instance, has scouted for offices in South Florida in a potential relocation of part of its asset-management business from Wall Street. Silicon Valley stalwarts Oracle Corp. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. are moving their headquarters to Texas.
For now, office use is still just a fraction of what it once was. But it's faring better in car-dependent cities like Los Angeles and Dallas than in places where people are more likely to ride public transportation, such as San Francisco and New York.
Even borrowers who are current on their payments may face challenges when their debt matures and they need to refinance or pay off their principal. Financial restructuring has already begun, mostly behind the scenes.
"Now what you're seeing is somebody has to write a check," says John Murray, head of commercial real estate at Pacific Investment Management Co. "The timeout is over."
The new lifelines come with stricter terms, often in the form of preferred equity or principal payments to reduce the loan-to-value ratio, he says.
Even as an onslaught of distressed debt looms, there's plenty of capital to chase deals. Private real estate debt funds raised $10.7 billion in the third quarter, the most of any strategy, according to Preqin, while North American real estate funds for all types of investment were sitting on almost $200 billion in dry powder in December.
All that money may limit how far commercial real estate prices fall. Congress's new Covid relief agreement, which allows banks and other lenders until the end of next year to work with delinquent borrowers, also could give businesses more time to stay afloat. And by mid-2021, widespread vaccinations may allow consumers to finally escape from home and return with open wallets to hotels and malls. As Richard Barkham, chief economist for CBRE, put it: "We're entering the dark before the dawn."
Commercial Real Estate's Pandemic Pain Is Only Just Beginning
Commercial Real Estate Trends
Bloomberg article written by Noah Buhayar, John Gittelsohn and Jackie Gu. Published December 22, 2020.The coronavirus pandemic shuttered thousands of ...
2020 Allen Matkins View From the Top: Top 10...
2020 Allen Matkins View From the Top: Top 10...
November 10, 2020 by Anton Natsis
Article written by Anton Natsis and published on November 10, 2020 to the National Law Review.A Rapid but Uneven Market Recovery from the ...
13
Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends-Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends
jplist-topic-covid jplist-topic-real-estate jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-commercial jplist-topic-business jplist-topic-office jplist-topic-remote jplist-topic-WFH jplist-topic-tech jplist-topic-office-space
0
506213
506213
Article written by Anton Natsis and published on November 10, 2020 to the National Law Review.A Rapid but Uneven Market Recovery from the Pandemic Downturn Michael Van Konynenburg of Eastdil Secured gave another excellent summation of the current economic climate. Though the pandemic has caused widespread market volatility and unemployment, a fast economic recovery has also occurred, in large part due to the federal government's fast response that has pumped trillions into the failing economy. In fact, the U.S. economy has never before experienced such a precipitous market decline and recovery-it has taken only five months for the market to recover from a 34 percent decline. But the winners in this recovery are not across the board-the likely winners will be logistics, data centers, life science, and innovation markets, while the most challenged markets will be retail (particularly malls), the hospitality industry, and commodity office.2. COVID-19 Will Bring a Widespread Expansion of Office Touchless Technology. While it will take a while for office landlords to coordinate with their tenants to phase employees back to working in-office full-time (in less dense layouts), Kilroy Realty Corporation's John Kilroy reports that "office technology is now stepping forward in ways it hasn't in the past to make the touchless environment more expansive." From automated lighting and elevators to sinks and toilets, Kilroy believes that it won't be long before an employee will have a chip or keycard on their person that will activate many aspects of their office life when they enter a room, such as turning on the lights, opening and closing blinds, turning on air conditioning, and more. This technology was already in development before the pandemic, but the collective desire to get back into the workplace has made it a high priority for companies and rapidly accelerated its implementation. We can expect offices to look very different in that regard a year from now.3. Employee Office Culture Will Return. Though many were excited about the newfound possibilities of working from home early on in the pandemic, many employers and employees have now come around and found that it is less productive than working in an office environment and doesn't work as well as they initially thought. Working in an office is "about building culture, building community, onboarding employees, building mentorship and apprenticeship," says Owen D. Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties. It also wears on employees to have that line between work and home life blurred-"Am I working from home, or living in my office?" Work from home will certainly be a bigger part of the work environment moving forward, but it appears that many companies and employers who went all-in on the work-from-home model early on are now seeing the downside of it and want their employees to return to work. We should expect a hybrid of office and work from home in the future.4. The Office of the Future will Prioritize Collaboration. "We're really looking closely at how office space may get away from being an area for dedicated workspaces, and how it will morph into more of a living room setting that addresses comradery and connection," noted Robert Paratte of Kilroy Realty Corporation. As it has become clear that remote working has worked better for "head-down" type work and less well for collaborative and creative projects, we may see offices in the coming months and years be re-imagined as spaces that omit the sea of desks where isolated work is done (such work can stay remote). This will be to make more room for wider, less dense floor plans complemented with extra outdoor spaces that encourage the in-person interaction that is so valuable for creative and collaborative work.5. Global Capital Is Still Looking to Invest in the U.S. If an attractive asset such as life science or logistics goes on the market right now, interested parties are going to be limited domestically and coming primarily from abroad. Both Kevin Shannon of Newmark Knight Frank and Stephen Van Dusen of Eastdil Secured agree that the U.S. is still the safe haven for capital, creating a global appetite for U.S. investment-Korean investment in the U.S. alone has tripled in the past year. Investment interest is coming from Europe (particularly Germany), Asia (particularly Singapore and Korea), and Australia, which are all looking to invest their capital where the economic growth and demand is happening. With cap rates in European cities in the 2.75% to 3.5% range, the yield that's available domestically is comparatively attractive in conjunction with their hedging costs.6. COVID is Accelerating Technology Trends that were Already Occurring. According to Matthew Field at TMG Partners, "What's happening with COVID can be seen as 'the Great Acceleration,' accelerating things that were already at play before March." Warehouses and online retailing, personal fitness, and telemedicine were already trending before the pandemic hit, and this technology has just grown more rapidly due to the pandemic. Of course, hotel, travel, and the hospitality industries have taken a huge and devastating hit and will take time to recover, but as a whole, we will see a lot of societal transformation and innovation born out of this rapid technological acceleration.7. Leasing Transactions Continue to be Extremely Slow. Chris Roeder at Jones Lang LaSalle reports that leasing activity has significantly dropped and that everyone is spending their time preparing for when the world is safe enough to bring life back to a state of normalcy. As Rod Diehl at Boston Properties stated, "Until we have a vaccine, I'm afraid that we're going to be treading water." A lot of sublease space has also been added to the market over the past few months, and it will be a challenge to fill it all with so many uncertainties about the future still in place.8. Renewals will Dominate the Leasing Market for the Next Year. Our leasing panel agrees that over the next three or four quarters, short-term renewals are going to take up the majority of the office leasing market. Peter Brindley at Paramount Group predicts that as tenants begin to identify and discover how they're going to re-configure, improve, and use their space in a safe way, they'll be more inclined to relocate and start to execute on those strategies. At that point, the pendulum should shift away from renewals and back towards leasing as tenants realize they need to move to create safe office spaces for their employees.9. Construction is Generally Moving Forward on Schedule. In discussing the effects of the pandemic on development, permitting, and construction, developers reported that projects that were already in process before the pandemic have moved forward with few delays overall. There have been some challenges in navigating on-site safety measures for contractors, but significant delays in construction have been few and far between.10. Permitting Challenges are Widespread. On the other hand, the permitting process has been significantly more challenging for developers and has led to many delays. Building departments, which are already operating with an antiquated, non-digitized system, are working from home and don't have the supervision, collaboration, or resources that they would have working in the office, significantly slowing down the permitting process. According to Thomas McCarthy at McCarthy Cook, operating within a regulated environment when the regulators aren't at the office has been a major challenge: "To get permits and plans approved with the City [of Los Angeles] has been difficult at minimum and at times a nightmare." Steve Eimer at Related Companies adds that this issue will probably get worse as these permitting departments' revenue from taxes shrinks due to the pandemic, putting them under further strain.
2020 Allen Matkins View From the Top: Top 10 Commercial Real Estate Trends
Commercial Real Estate Trends
Article written by Anton Natsis and published on November 10, 2020 to the National Law Review.A Rapid but Uneven Market Recovery from the Pandemic ...
Commercial real estate must do more than merely...
Commercial real estate must do more than merely...
April 9, 2020 by Vaibhav Gujral, Robert Palter, Aditya Sanghvi, and Brian ...
Article posted to McKinsey & Company website on April 9, 2020 by Vaibhav Gujral, Robert Palter, Aditya Sanghvi, and Brian ...
14
Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends-Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends
jplist-topic-real-estate jplist-topic-commercial jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-coronavirus jplist-topic-business jplist-topic-invest jplist-topic-rent jplist-topic-remote jplist-topic-office jplist-topic-space
0
506192
506192
Commercial real estate must do more than merely adapt to coronavirus
Commercial Real Estate Trends
Article posted to McKinsey & Company website on April 9, 2020 by Vaibhav Gujral, Robert Palter, Aditya Sanghvi, and Brian Vickery. COVID-19 is a ...
Forget Commercial Real Estate Predictions for...
Forget Commercial Real Estate Predictions for...
March 25, 2021 by Eric Hayden
News article retrieved from Forbes.com. March 25, 2021 by Eric Hayden, Forbes Councils MemberA global pandemic, contentious politics and ...
15
Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends-Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends
jplist-topic-commercial-real-estate jplist-topic-buy jplist-topic-sell jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-predictions jplist-topic-buildings jplist-topic-tenants jplist-topic-rent jplist-topic-remote
0
506185
506185
Forget Commercial Real Estate Predictions for 2021: Let's Talk About 2031Instead
Commercial Real Estate Trends
News article retrieved from Forbes.com. March 25, 2021 by Eric Hayden, Forbes Councils MemberA global pandemic, contentious politics and natural ...
A Commercial Real-Estate Investor Pivots to...
A Commercial Real-Estate Investor Pivots to...
March 24 2021 by Inta Pacheco
Article from the WSJ. Written by Inta Pacheco and published on March 24, 2021.Colony Capital Inc. has made one of the biggest pivots in the ...
16
Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends-Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends
jplist-topic-commercial jplist-topic-real-estate jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-assets jplist-topic-invest jplist-topic-building jplist-topic-sell jplist-topic-remote jplist-topic-office
0
506132
506132
A Commercial Real-Estate Investor Pivots to Digital-Related Assets
Commercial Real Estate Trends
Article from the WSJ. Written by Inta Pacheco and published on March 24, 2021.Colony Capital Inc. has made one of the biggest pivots in the ...
2021 Brings Commercial Real Estate Opportunities
2021 Brings Commercial Real Estate Opportunities
January 6, 2021 by Al Brooks, Head of Commercial Real Estate, Commercial ...
Article from Chase J.P. Morgan website. Written by Al Brooks; published on Jan 06, 2021.The year 2020 was unlike any other, primarily ...
17
Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends-Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends
jplist-topic-commercial jplist-topic-real-estate jplist-topic-banking jplist-topic-cities jplist-topic-business jplist-topic-remote jplist-topic-investment jplist-topic-rent jplist-topic-default jplist-topic-cost
0
506129
506129
Article from Chase J.P. Morgan website. Written by Al Brooks; published on Jan 06, 2021.The year 2020 was unlike any other, primarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus is likely to affect commercial real estate (CRE) throughout 2021 and beyond.Some asset classes are seeing more negative impacts. "Continuing uncertainty about the pandemic froze transaction deal volume in 2020 and put significant pressure on property types like hotel and retail," said Victor Calanog, Head of CRE Economics for Moody's Analytics REIS.Other property types' performance metrics are holding relatively steady, but Calanog noted that "there is often a lag when economic distress manifests in rent and occupancy declines."Let's take a look at the trends and opportunities you may want to keep in mind for 2021.
Macro Consumer Trends to Watch
Retail RevampedThe shift from brick-and-mortar retail stores to e-commerce has only accelerated during the pandemic, increasing the need for industrial and last-mile logistics facilities. In the third quarter of 2020, e-commerce comprised 14.3 percent of total retail sales, compared to 11.8 percent in the first quarter.1 The crisis forced consumers to change their shopping habits. And with more online retail options for groceries, electronics, medication and more, this increase will likely be permanent.
A Tale of Two Shopping CentersGenerally, grocery store-anchored shopping centers have remained stable-people still need to buy food during a pandemic-but traditional malls have suffered. Some major retailers and mall operators have filed for bankruptcy, and their woes are likely to continue as e-commerce expands. Cities may benefit from rezoning these properties into other allowed uses, such as residential.
A Return to Urban Apartments and OfficesAt the beginning of the pandemic we expected a potential long-term exodus from cities to the suburbs. As we've seen, many jobs can be done remotely. However, most employees still benefit from working on-site with their co-workers. This is especially true for young employees beginning their careers, many of whom moved in with their suburban families to save money. It's hard to learn the ropes, bounce ideas off colleagues or find a mentor from your laptop at home. Because major companies are often located in urban areas, employees-especially younger workers-may return to the city quickly as offices reopen.
The Need for Affordable HousingThe pandemic and its corresponding economic downturn brought renewed attention to the affordable housing crisis. Although measures to preserve current affordable housing via eviction moratoriums and rent control vary from city to city, they are important. But we must do more to reduce the growing homeless population. That means rethinking how we build affordable housing to decrease construction costs. Modular design can play a beneficial role, as can public-private partnerships. We should also consider constructing more buildings with a mix of affordable and moderate-income tenants.
Rent Payments Remain High OverallRent collection statistics-with the exception of several malls-appear steady so far for high-quality assets across property types, with distress appearing idiosyncratic, related to specific tenants and how their business was impacted by the pandemic," Calanog said.The National Multifamily Housing Council's Rent Payment Tracker found 93.6 percent of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by the end of November 2020, a slight decrease from the 95.2 percent paid in November 2019 and similar to previous months 2. Increased unemployment benefits, Economic Impact Payments and other legislation passed in response to the pandemic may have played an important role in keeping these rent payment percentages high.
Opportunities Ahead
As with any economic downturn, investment opportunities arise."High-quality multifamily assets remain viable, and affordable housing performance metrics are rock-solid-with vacancies barely budging and national rents continuing to rise every quarter. The boost in e-commerce activity appears to be benefiting logistics and life science industrial properties," Calanog said.Beyond specific asset classes, we believe these trends may also pick up steam in 2021:Properties with new purposes: Once COVID-19 hit, our homes became our offices, schools and gyms. Why not rethink the way other properties are used? While some traditional malls, for example, have been converted to warehouses, there are many more that can be repurposed. Traditional malls can also become affordable and workforce housing. Likewise, hotels can serve as extended-stay lodging or quiet office space for people working remotely throughout the pandemic; in the future, they could be repurposed as affordable housing.Sustainability makes sense economically: The country is quickly moving toward alternative energy. One study published in Energy & Environmental Science predicts that 80 percent to 85 percent of the US will run on alternative energy by 2030. The cost of going green is also dropping. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 2020 Utility-Scale Solar Data Update showed that the median installed cost of projects in 2019 was down 20 percent from 2018 and down by more than 70 percent from 2010.Technology on the rise: Overall, the commercial real estate industry has been slow to adopt digital solutions. But simplifying property management can reduce staff time and costs, provide more payment alternatives, and decrease payment times-all of which can help your bottom line. It's time for the industry to embrace and integrate technology with digital treasury solutions, rent payments and vendor invoicing.
Tackling the Upcoming Year
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the affordable housing crisis and accelerated the growth of e-commerce, trends that will carry over into 2021. As remote work continues, you should focus on keeping your resiliency protocols and internal controls high while looking toward future opportunities.
2021 Brings Commercial Real Estate Opportunities
Commercial Real Estate Trends
Article from Chase J.P. Morgan website. Written by Al Brooks; published on Jan 06, 2021.The year 2020 was unlike any other, primarily because of the ...
What to expect from commercial real estate in 2021
What to expect from commercial real estate in 2021
December 7, 2020 by Sarah Paynter, Yahoo Finance reporter
Article from December 7, 2020 and written by Megan Paynter, Yahoo Finance reporterIf offices, hotels and other commercial properties ...
18
Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends-Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends
jplist-topic-real-estate jplist-topic-buildings jplist-topic-business jplist-topic-relocate jplist-topic-remote jplist-topic-investment jplist-topic-cities jplist-topic-skyline
0
506127
506127
Article from December 7, 2020 and written by Megan Paynter, Yahoo Finance reporterIf offices, hotels and other commercial properties survive, their luck should change by the end of next year, according to industry experts.
Hotels, offices and retail storefronts are expected to trail a broader economic recovery next year; so investors are pinning their hopes on a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. More commercial properties will go belly-up during the first half of 2021 before commercial real estate begins to stabilize in the second half of the year, experts say. Meanwhile, warehouses and distribution centers, the one bright spot in the industry, is expected to become even more valuable.
"As monumental as 2020 has been, 2021 could be even more influential, as the critical decisions and investment leaders make now could bear fruit over the next 12 months," said Kathy Feucht, global real estate leader at Deloitte, a London-based professional services network.
To weather the tail end of the pandemic, commercial real estate investors plan to reduce costs by 25% on average in 2021, according to Deloitte. But cutting costs might be short-sighted - to keep up with new demand for ventilation, health-related amenities and digital proptech, operating costs could actually increase $19.40 per square foot in 2021, according to Deloitte.
Emergence of 'dark stores'
More retailers went bankrupt in 2020 than during the Great Recession - especially department stores and apparel retailers. As brick-and-mortar retailers burn through cash reserves and consumers shop online, even more retail properties will go empty and landlords will default on their loans in the first half of 2021. Experts predict there will be 20% less retail real estate by 2025, according to the CBRE Group, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate services and investment firm.
But once the coronavirus vaccine is distributed in the U.S., shoppers are expected to leave their couches and return to experience brick-and-mortar stores.
"As we look to 2021 and beyond the pandemic, we believe people will desperately want to connect and gather and experiential retail will once again thrive," said Terry Montesi, CEO of Texas-based Trademark Property Company.
Malls and urban retail in places like New York City and San Francisco have the worst outlook. Vacant storefronts will be replaced by health care and wellness centers, grocery stores and other alternative stores, and some retailers have pivoted to help meet demand for e-commerce.
"We are seeing a demand for 'dark stores,' where retail sales aren't fueled by pedestrian traffic, but by curbside pick-up and same-day delivery," said Claudio Mekler, CEO of Miami Manager, a private investment firm based in South Florida that owns community shopping centers in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
Office spaces face extra hurtle from shift to remote work
Most office spaces stood empty in 2020. Investors expect workers to slowly re-enter offices after the pandemic subsides. But companies have adjusted to work-from-home policies, and office demand could be permanently cut by 15% because of the shift to remote work, according to CBRE.
But the office market should reach bottom and begin stabilizing during 2021. By halfway through next year, 85.7% of companies plan to return to the office, according to CBRE. The expansion of the economy and the population should create a full recovery by 2025, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a Chicago-based commercial real estate services company.
"We anticipate greater pressure on office real estate, as some tenants look to tighten their footprint to respond to greater numbers of employees who are likely to work from home and/or hybrid models even after the pandemic recedes," said Darin Buelow, global location strategy leader at Deloitte Consulting.
Office supply is only getting more plentiful, as sublease opportunities and new construction hit the market. Vacancies will hurt landlords' ability to negotiate, driving down rent prices and creating more competition for upgrades in air quality, digital technology and flexible lease options.
"Hopefully the drop mirrors the financial crisis of 2009, when it took us 13 months to reach the bottom - meaning we all know the market direction at the moment, so the quicker we reach the bottom, the quicker we can get to recovery," said Eric Cagner, executive managing director at Newmark Knight Frank, a U.S.-based commercial real estate services company.
Southern markets like Raleigh, Nashville, Tampa, Charlotte, Phoenix, and Dallas are expected to perform better, while tech-heavy cities like San Francisco, San Jose, Austin and Seattle will have a stronger uphill battle but may see lots of growth, according to CBRE.
"Most firms recognize there is always going to be a need for office space. Maybe it will be less dense, maybe it will be more flexible to work a couple days a week from home. There may be a hybrid situation where firms will continue to use office space and more flexibility," said Ariel Bentata, founding and managing partner, investments at Florida-based investment company Accesso Partners LLC.
Hotels are still in trouble
Hotels are in for a tough year in 2021. While hospitality companies are expected to recover over 50% of revenue in 2021, the industry isn't expected to recover until 2023 - and the most upscale hotels, which often cater to business and group travel, will take even longer, till 2024 or 2025, according to CBRE.
The slow recovery may not be enough to help hoteliers pay their mortgages - $30.9 billion in outstanding hospitality loans will come due in 2021, which could cause record numbers of hotels to go under - though many have been granted forbearance, according to New York-based data, analytics and tech company Trepp.
In the worst markets, big cities like San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and New York, 40%-50% of pre-COVID-19 revenue is expected in 2021. But drive-to destinations like Jacksonville, Virginia Beach, San Bernardino, Memphis and Oklahoma City could see up to 75% recovery in 2021, according to CBRE.
"We're noticing that travelers want to be far away from dense populations, but also don't want to travel too far to make that happen. The pandemic has increased travelers' preferences for socially distant destinations over busy, major cities," said Gavin Royster, Director of Development, Charlestowne Hotels.
Warehouses are the unexpected champion
Warehouses were the unexpected champion of commercial real estate this year, and their success is expected to continue next year as logistics companies try to catch up with demand for e-commerce orders. Experts expect 250 million square feet of additional demand for warehouse space in 2021, compared to only 211 million square feet annually over the past five years, according to CBRE.
"Industrial should continue to be active as customers demand rapid delivery of more products and manufacturing activity picks up with on-shoring deployments in 2021," said Buelow.
Eager investors will have a hard time finding deals on industrial real estate opportunities, but for investors fortunate enough to already own warehouses, high rent prices and low vacancy rates will be a lucrative opportunity - especially in the south, where U.S. population growth will drive demand in those areas, especially in Texas with a forecast of 9% population growth in the next five years.
Apartment buildings will be solid performers
Though initial reports suggested that apartment owners would struggle to collect rent during the pandemic, multifamily properties like apartment buildings held up well amid the coronavirus pandemic, compared to previous recessions. And these property types are expected to continue with solid demand in 2021.
"Housing is a fundamental need, so there's always demand, especially at more attainable price points - and take advantage of historically low interest rates," said Jon Morgan, co-founder and managing principal of Interra.
While rent prices in urban areas like New York City dropped causing an overall stagnation in U.S. rent prices in 2020, rent prices have already stabilized in most of the U.S and are expected to rebound in 2021, according to Yardi Matrix, an Arizona-based commercial real estate data company.
What to expect from commercial real estate in 2021
Commercial Real Estate Trends
Article from December 7, 2020 and written by Megan Paynter, Yahoo Finance reporterIf offices, hotels and other commercial properties survive, their ...
Hong Kong Commercial Property Investment Spikes...
Hong Kong Commercial Property Investment Spikes...
April 20, 2021 by Michael Gerrity
Article written by Michael Gerrity on April 20, 2021. Retail, Industrial properties remain key investment focus in Q2 According to new ...
19
Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends-Commercial-Real-Estate-Trends
jplist-topic-real-estate jplist-topic-commercial jplist-topic-property jplist-topic-investment jplist-topic-land jplist-topic-remote jplist-topic-relocate
0
506124
506124
Hong Kong Commercial Property Investment Spikes 23 Percent in 2021
Commercial Real Estate Trends
Article written by Michael Gerrity on April 20, 2021. Retail, Industrial properties remain key investment focus in Q2 According to new research by ...
Trends Shaping Corporate Wellness Programs in 2021
Trends Shaping Corporate Wellness Programs in 2021
Published by Linchpin on March 11, 2021
From article: Trends Shaping Corporate Wellness Programs in 2021 published by LinchpinCorporate wellness programs are put in place to ...
20
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504653
504653
Trends Shaping Corporate Wellness Programs in 2021
Corporate Wellness
From article: Trends Shaping Corporate Wellness Programs in 2021 published by LinchpinCorporate wellness programs are put in place to ensure that the ...
Employee Wellness Trends For 2021
Employee Wellness Trends For 2021
Published by medikeeper
From article: Employee Wellness Trends For 2021 published by medikeeper In order to be successful, wellness programs have always had to ...
21
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504652
504652
Employee Wellness Trends For 2021
Corporate Wellness
From article: Employee Wellness Trends For 2021 published by medikeeper In order to be successful, wellness programs have always had to adapt to new ...
Top 5 Workplace Wellness Trends for 2021
Top 5 Workplace Wellness Trends for 2021
Published by allwork published by January 13, 2021
From article: Top 5 Workplace Wellness Trends for 2021 published by allwork The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted employee perks and ...
22
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504651
504651
Top 5 Workplace Wellness Trends for 2021
Corporate Wellness
From article: Top 5 Workplace Wellness Trends for 2021 published by allwork The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted employee perks and benefits. ...
Top 8 Workplace Trends to Watch For In 2021
Top 8 Workplace Trends to Watch For In 2021
Published by Human Resources Today published by March 1, 2021
From article: Top 8 Workplace Trends to Watch For In 2021 published by Human Resources TodayWhat a year! 2020 has changed and shaken up ...
23
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504649
504649
Top 8 Workplace Trends to Watch For In 2021
Corporate Wellness
From article: Top 8 Workplace Trends to Watch For In 2021 published by Human Resources TodayWhat a year! 2020 has changed and shaken up everything: ...
9 Workplace Wellness Trends to Watch Out for in...
9 Workplace Wellness Trends to Watch Out for in...
Published by Human Resources Today
From article: 9 Workplace Wellness Trends to Watch Out for in 2021 published by Human Resources TodayThe ongoing pandemic is changing many ...
24
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504643
504643
9 Workplace Wellness Trends to Watch Out for in 2021
Corporate Wellness
From article: 9 Workplace Wellness Trends to Watch Out for in 2021 published by Human Resources TodayThe ongoing pandemic is changing many things for ...
HR Trends that will Reshape Work in 2021
HR Trends that will Reshape Work in 2021
Published by Human Resources Today
From article: HR Trends that will Reshape Work in 2021 published by Human Resources TodayThe past year has been quite challenging for HR ...
25
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504640
504640
HR Trends that will Reshape Work in 2021
Corporate Wellness
From article: HR Trends that will Reshape Work in 2021 published by Human Resources TodayThe past year has been quite challenging for HR teams. Covid ...
7 Corporate Wellness Trends for 2021
7 Corporate Wellness Trends for 2021
Published by Wellness Workdays on January 13, 2021
From article: 7 Corporate Wellness Trends for 2021 published by Wellness WorkdaysThe past year has certainly brought on new wellness ...
26
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504639
504639
From article: 7 Corporate Wellness Trends for 2021 published by Wellness WorkdaysThe past year has certainly brought on new wellness challenges in the workplace and beyond, but 2021 brings exciting new trends for employers to consider. Improving your employee well-being program increases engagement, morale, productivity, and keeps your workforce healthy, in turn reducing the number of sick days. As we head into 2021, here's what you can expect to see in corporate wellness:
Increased flexibility during the workday
Employees want their employers to trust their ability to manage responsibilities at work. Many employees are no longer confined to the four walls of the "office," and with their new remote workspace, many want the freedom of flexibility during the workday. Being able to choose when work is getting done helps employees feel in control and more productive.
Activity during meetings
In a pre-Covid world, many employees were utilizing the office gym during the workday. In place of hitting the gym at lunch, we will start to see more recurring walking meetings or scheduled virtual fitness classes being added to the calendar. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes of exercise per day. Offering 30 minutes during the day for your employees to be physically active is a worthwhile investment for your company.
A broader approach of what health means
Last year brought on stressors and challenges that could not have been predicted. Stress from all areas of life, at work and at home, negatively impacts mental well-being. This year, we will see wellness activities centered around stress reduction and mental health, with initiatives such as virtual health coaching, mindfulness classes, yoga and individual therapy.
Financial wellness
Speaking of taking a broader approach to defining health, financial wellness, an often neglected but important subject matter, is at the top of the list for desired wellness programming this year. For many people, their primary source of stress has always been money. The American Psychological Association recently reported that 70% of Americans list the economy and their work as the main sources of stress. Expect wellness programs to discuss more than just nutrition and exercise this year, with a welcomed addition of topics like budgeting and saving money.
Direct wellness dollars to an LSA
Even prior to the pandemic, many employers were turning to Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs) to encourage employees to adopt healthy habits. LSAs allow you to set aside money for your employees' wellness for expenses such as exercise equipment for their home gym, nutrition counseling with a registered dietitian, gym memberships and therapy. We will be seeing more of this in 2021.
Activity-based HSA contributions
More employees will be getting compensated for being physically active and other healthy habits this year. When employees take part in healthy behaviors each day such as sleeping eight or more hours, exercising for 30 minutes, or eating five fruits and vegetables, they may be rewarded for completing these activities with employer contributions to their HSAs.
Staying connected with co-workers
Social distancing doesn't mean social isolation, even at work. It is important for remote workers to stay connected to boost employee morale and productivity. This year, expect to see more coffee chats, lunch and learns, and happy hours with teammates, keeping the workplace connected and having fun!
No one could have predicted the impact the pandemic would have on the world. It has highlighted the importance of accessible financial, mental, emotional, and physical well-being programs. While it is a good idea to keep an eye on future trends, offering a wellness program with a solid foundation of traditional topics, such as nutrition and physical activity, is still a priority. If you're looking for help with your organization's wellness program, contact us. We can make sure your employee wellness initiatives make sense for your employees.
7 Corporate Wellness Trends for 2021
Corporate Wellness
From article: 7 Corporate Wellness Trends for 2021 published by Wellness WorkdaysThe past year has certainly brought on new wellness challenges in ...
How To Launch a Corporate Wellness Program
How To Launch a Corporate Wellness Program
Published by Healthie
From article: How To Launch a Corporate Wellness Program published by HealthieHealth issues have been an exceedingly huge concern in the ...
27
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504635
504635
From article: How To Launch a Corporate Wellness Program published by HealthieHealth issues have been an exceedingly huge concern in the workforce. Have you ever heard of the phrase, "if the employees aren't healthy and happy nor are their customers"? It's not easy to keep a successful business running without your employees doing their job efficiently every day. This is why companies have implemented corporate wellness programs to promote the importance of worker health and safety. Yet, there is a huge debate surrounding whether or not these programs are successful.
Corporate wellness programs are specifically designed to encourage a holistic approach to employee wellbeing by establishing influential ways to educate and benefit them surrounding the values of health and permanently setting health and wellness goals for these individuals. As a wellness professional, adding "corporate wellness packages," can offer a variety of advantages and incentives for your practice.
Creating a program that employees actually want to attend, can be challenging. This is where you come in. Having the education, dietitians know how to create evidence-based health promotion programs that do work.
Some ways to incorporate corporate wellness services:
Lunch + Learn presentations for small groups
A larger company-wide wellness lecture
Corporate pantry makeovers
Small kitchen-demos utilizing foods and appliances on-hand for employees
Short, one-on-one nutrition counseling for corporate employees
There isn't just a single program that is "one size fits all" for anyone in such a diverse workplace. Taking initial steps to understand the demographics and challenges to the corporate team will allow you to tailor your presentation and services accordingly. Curating a program that is general enough for the team, but specific enough to resonate with the majority of their challenges, will help you run a successful corporate wellness program.
There are a few things to keep in mind when giving an in-person educational session with respect to your own corporate wellness program:
1. Do your background research to determine the best wellness services to offer
In your initial consult, you want to better know what and who you are working with. Before any program you are hosting, you want to be able to resonate with your audience members and know the challenges and needs for that corporate team.
Some important details to know:
How big is the team you are presenting this program to.
The age range of the employees
Where is this team located
Know about their department layout. Will you be hosting your program in a cafeteria, a conference room, outside?
What are the specific challenges that this team is handling
What topics might interest the employees
Is this mandatory or optional for all the employees
It is vital for any dietitian going through this process to gain insight concerning the main message you're trying to portray to your audience members. This is your overall big idea. Moreover, what do you want the impact of your program to be? You want to educate these individuals about the values of health and, at the same time, promote your services.
Practice is key when it comes down to delivering the most time effective program. Your focus may be on meal and nutrition plans, weight loss programs, healthy eating habits, or exercise plans. Yet, you want to make sure that these plans are tailored to everyone in your audience.
You really want to sell who YOU are. Tell a personal story! When you can resonate with your audience, that's when you get their full undivided attention. It will also give them motivation to change directions concerning their lifestyle.
2. Curate a few wellness service offerings that could benefit the team
Based on what you learned about the team, their environment + their challenges - what services will best help them achieve their desired outcomes? You want to tailor your message to each attendee at your program.
You can even offer to have the team coordinator send out a survey on different discussion topics or services to learn what will be of interest for the team
It's necessary to reach everyone you are speaking to so they feel that they are important in the presentation. Every individual in a business has his or her own health differences. Customization is your answer to reach all of your audience members, and eventually help to sustain them in the future.
3. Determine your corporate wellness service rates in advance
Talking about your price rates with your potential customers is always an inevitable and awkward question. Before committing to presenting a corporate wellness program, you need to decide if you want to charge for your services. Many people underestimate the value of knowledge that dietitians have. Not everyone knows the amount of hard schooling and work you went through to get to the point where you are now. As well as this, people also undervalue your certifications. It's important to know your worth before settling on a price that might not suit the extremities of your services.
On the other hand, employers may be willing to pay a lot of money to have a Registered Dietitian administer an educational program because employers know, from experience, that having a healthy staff will create more productivity. More productivity equals more money. They do say "a healthy employee is a happy employee!" Managers are enticed by both the lower healthcare costs and the employees' consistent positivity throughout the day. A customer can't be happy if the company's members aren't. Hence, having this program lead by a professional can be essential for a business to grow.
Takeaways:
You don't want to give away your services for free. Long term, this can hinder the success of your business by conveying that you're not serious about your job to both your existing and potential clients. It can also show that you might not be confidant in the knowledge you've gained surrounding your career. This can demonstrate that you and your services have minimal value.
Be faithful in setting your prices. Don't be taken advantage of because you feel bad saying no. Do what's good for you, and if they can't accommodate you, then turn them down!
Your time is valuable. Know your budget and don't undersell your services.
Actual benefits can sometimes be hard to quantify, so don't be discouraged in setting a price. Yet, if you're having trouble figuring out how to price your services, talk to the HR person who deals with this regularly. We stress again, however, please don't give away your services for free!
4. Pitch your services, and up sell your add-on offerings
When you're pitching your services to the team coordinator, you want to make sure you are properly selling yourself. Although you love your job already, act extra involved and passionate about the work that you do and how much time you set aside for each and every one of your clients.
But how can I find corporate wellness opportunities worth my time? Just like any job, internship, or career path, everyone knows how much networking plays a role.
Leverage your friends and family members who work in companies - you can use them as a benefit and get a contact in their HR department.
Leverage existing clients that are loyal to your services - ask them if they have a contact that is worth sharing to extend your services. You want these customers to sell your brand to their friends and family.
Look locally - You have customers near and far from you, however, you always want to remain active in your community. Consumers may be finding you through word-of-mouth, through print ads in your neighborhood and around town, or through the Internet. The Internet has become a widely used medium to advertise your businesses on.
Strategically advertise in your building - if you have multiple floors in your building, you can take advantage of it by handing out flyers or business cards to the businesses located on each floor. You can even put someone in charge of giving out flyers in the lobby.
Reach out to companies who do corporate wellness events. Pitch your nutrition services to the contractors. You ultimately want to leverage a subtle list of networkers to help you grow your practice.
Besides networking, it's important to also sell your add-on offerings. Especially if you're just starting up your business, you need to coax each of your audience members. One of the most important parts of upselling focuses on creating a close relationship built on trust between you and your client, and then only offering add ons afterwards if necessary such as promo codes and discounts.
Here are some ways to upsell your business:
Creating weekly or monthly sales challenges.
Bundle your offerings. Offer a package deal on multiple products and/or services, and this will encourage customers to spend more. You can get very creative with your package deals. You can implement upgrades into these packages as well.
Limited time discounts can be beneficial for dietitians. Social media marketing recently generated a lot more upselling from businesses offering limited time discounts. You offer a discount off the add-ons for a limited time. This entices your audience to ACT quickly.
Provide an ongoing service. In the world of nutrition, there are a lot of opportunities for you to offer ongoing services. For instance, if you're a virtual RD, meaning your practice is sustained via technology, you can offer ongoing texting for any questions you have throughout your day pertaining to dieting, exercising, or whatever the case may be.
5. Deliver A Compelling Corporate Wellness Presentation
Compelling corporate wellness presentations are hard to come by. Providing realistic and actionable nutrition advice in your presentation will help you better able to resonate with participants and the team as a whole.
Create an engaging presentation to give your audience members an option in comfortably voicing their own opinions and stories. To create an even more dynamic flow between you and the team, you can tell a personal story about an adversity you went through and overcame that is related to the topic you are sharing. Storytelling creates a deeper and more organic relationship. Give them motivation to change their current lifestyle if needed. As a dietitian, it is especially important to be able to connect with your customers to understand their wants and needs. You want to try to manifest the same idea when speaking in front of a large group. Explain, in the most promising and captivating way, how your life-changing services can benefit them. Storytelling is just another creative approach to selling your services. This gives your customers a completely different way to view your brand.
6. Tailor your agenda and create an engaging experience for attendees
After figuring out who your audience is and how much your service rates are, it's time to create an agenda tailored to the audience members you will be speaking with. You want to set clear goals that will actually benefit the company's employees in the long run. To facilitate your corporate wellness program, the seminar needs to keep your audience attentive and engaged for however long your program is for. A lot of dietitians like to stage their program for a hour, but that is up for you to decide.
To boost engagement for the entire length of your program, you want to make sure that all of the employees' in the room have full view of you. You can make a presentation via video that correlates with your message. Many people find that visuals along with a presenter explaining the topics makes the whole process of delivering a message easy. It's helpful to see the information rather than just hearing it. This can suit anyone attempting to make a lesson. When they start their lunch break, it's your time to shine and start listening!
A few ways to keep your customers' engaged:
Be real, be organized, and keep it simple.
Be consistent and give valuable content only.
Collaborate with your audience members.
Appeal to your audience's emotions.
Dietitians, there are some necessities for you to bring. Some of these can include:
Pamphlets and packets with wellness goals tailored to your audience
Your business cards to hand out (your name, email, phone number, and website)
Dry erase markers for you to write with on a white board
Pens/pencils for you to distribute if you have your employees' participate in some part of your lesson
A video either on a Google doc, Youtube, Prezi, or any other site for you to demonstrate goals for your audience
7. Incorporate technology into your program
Research and find a technology channel for the employees you're educating to be able to manage their wellness goals. Wellness tech tools have become widely popular to keep their health in check, but in the easiest, most convenient way.
This is where we, Healthie come in strong. When aiming to incorporate technology into your program, Healthie is an expert app via phone or laptop to enforce your approach.
Some examples of how to leverage Healthie in your corporate wellness program include:
Adding clients into Healthie to create tailored goals
Sync their fitbits and track activity
Complete an online corporate wellness program that you've created
Make it convenient for them to book additional services for you in the future (ie. virtual sessions or ongoing message/food diary support that they can self-pay for - negotiate with the program coordinator, as the company may want to cover these services)
8. Capture potential leads from your corporate wellness program
For companies that prefer a one-time or short-term wellness program, you still have the opportunity to gain leads for your other wellness services. This can be anything from a private individual nutrition counseling to phone consults and more. It's important to check with the program coordinator initially, but most likely they will give you the go ahead to sell your other services. Some ways you can market your business post-program include:
Collecting emails
Making a pitch for your business
Provide a goodie bag with your contact details- this includes business cards, pamphlets, flyers
Offer discounts and promo codes for your initial private consult. Use our link below to help you understand how to use promo codes better.
Prioritizing the health of employees has long show to directly improve productivity of their company. Making a difference in not only other peoples' personal lives, but their work lives, can feel so rewarding.
How To Launch a Corporate Wellness Program
Corporate Wellness
From article: How To Launch a Corporate Wellness Program published by HealthieHealth issues have been an exceedingly huge concern in the workforce. ...
COVID-19 and Mental Health in the Workplace
COVID-19 and Mental Health in the Workplace
Published by Corporate Wellness Magazine
From article: COVID-19 and Mental Health in the Workplace published by Corporate Wellness MagazineThe coronavirus pandemic has upended life ...
28
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504634
504634
COVID-19 and Mental Health in the Workplace
Corporate Wellness
From article: COVID-19 and Mental Health in the Workplace published by Corporate Wellness MagazineThe coronavirus pandemic has upended life as we ...
COVID-19: Who Should Work from Home?
COVID-19: Who Should Work from Home?
Published by Corporate Wellness Magazine
From article: COVID-19: Who Should Work from Home? published by Corporate Wellness MagazineSince the coronavirus outbreak first hit early ...
29
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504633
504633
COVID-19: Who Should Work from Home?
Corporate Wellness
From article: COVID-19: Who Should Work from Home? published by Corporate Wellness MagazineSince the coronavirus outbreak first hit early this year, ...
COVID-19: Is Working from Home Working?
COVID-19: Is Working from Home Working?
Published by Corporate Wellness Magazine
From article: COVID-19: Is Working from Home Working? published by Corporate Wellness Magazine Social distancing measures implemented in ...
30
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504632
504632
From article: COVID-19: Is Working from Home Working? published by Corporate Wellness Magazine
Social distancing measures implemented in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic upended the world of business, forcing many employees to embrace remote work. Although the stay-at-home restrictions have since been relaxed in many parts of the country and several workers have returned to on-site work, many employers have created long-term remote work policies to keep their staff working from home.
Large employers such as Facebook and Microsoft have extended their remote work policies to allow some of their employees to work off-site until next year. Other employers, including Mondelez, Barclays, and Nationwide Insurance are taking it up a notch by implementing a permanent shift to hybrid work models. Nationwide, for instance, says going forward, on-site work will only be limited to its four main corporate offices in Ohio, Iowa, Arizona, and San Antonio, with employees in other locations shifting to remote work.
But some critics have questioned the effectiveness of remote work, and whether it improves employee productivity and the bottom line for business owners or whether it is just a stopgap that will be done away with as soon as the pandemic resolves.
What employers and employees think
PwC surveyed 120 US company executives and 1,200 US workers between May 29 and June 4, 2020, to see if remote work was working. More than 70 percent of the respondents - who were from public and private institutions across tech, media, retail, and financial services - worked exclusively from home while 30 percent had a hybrid work pattern. The survey found that more than 73 percent of the executives considered remote work a success for their business, and more than 55 percent will adopt a long-term remote work policy.
Most of the employee respondents and executives reported an overall positive experience with remote work, citing improved focus and productivity, better workflow, better work-life balance, and lower stress levels as benefits of remote work. More than 44 percent of employees reported feeling more productive while working from home, with more than 98 percent adding that they'll like to adopt remote work for the rest of their careers.
On the flip side, employers say remote work has had a positive impact on business success, also citing improved employer productivity and cost savings. The cost-benefit of remote work may win many more companies over, with research showing that an employer can save about $11,0000 per year for every person who works remotely half the time. According to the survey, more than 83 percent of employers, many of whom were previously hesitant about remote work, are now open to telework arrangements.
For many employees, the flexibility that comes with remote work is the key element in successful remote work. Workers say working from home allows them to structure their work schedules to times of the day that they feel most productive, with less fewer distractions to deal with compared to an office environment. Employees also report feeling more motivated as working from their home office allows a degree of autonomy. With employees working without supervision typical of the office setting, working from home may help to foster trust from employers, which further increases employee productivity.
Before transiting to a remote work model
Despite these countless benefits, employees still face some challenges with remote work. For most workers, unplugging from work is a major impediment to efficient remote work. Without defined work hours, people may have a tough time defining personal and professional time, making workers vulnerable to burnout. Further, the lack of physical interactions with colleagues may impact negatively on people's wellbeing. Others cite the lack of required technology as a top issue hindering the success of remote work.
Employers also have their reservations about remote work. Some fear it may be difficult to manage employees who work from home, as may be the execution of employee development and skill enhancement plans. Further, employers feel that information security issues could be heightened by remote work. These problems may hinder the successful implementation of telework policy if managers do not set up measures to address them.
First, employers must recognize that remote work is not a one-size-fits-all model; flexibility for one worker may mean something different for another. Consequently, managers need to tailor work schedules based on the individual needs of an employee. Some tasks may be more challenging to execute remotely, potentially exposing these workers to higher stress levels and lower productivity levels if they are forced to work from home. On the other hand, while some jobs can be comfortably done remotely, it helps to model an employee's work pattern based on what they find most effective for them. Some employees may prefer to work from home all the time, and others may prefer a hybrid arrangement, allowing them to work from home for some days in a week.
For those who work remotely, employers should adopt the right technology to ensure work runs efficiently. In the PwC survey, many respondents chose to continue working on-site despite being able to work remotely because their employers did not set up the required systems and infrastructure for remote work. Employers should provide their remote workers with access to the right materials, resources, technology, and support services to do their jobs effectively.
Finally, employers should focus on employee wellbeing. Many employees new to remote work may find it challenging adapting to telecommuting. To mitigate this, employers should create a clear division between personal and work time, as unclear work hours may heighten stress for remote workers and undermine their productivity. This clarity helps workers to unplug effectively and devote time to other activities.
Besides, working from home may leave may workers isolated, and lack of physical interactions may hurt their mental wellbeing. Managers need to create a sense of community within the remote workforce through virtual coffee breaks, regular virtual meetings, and frequent "check-ins" to maintain a worker-centric work culture.
Remote work: The new normal
The pandemic has undoubtedly revealed the need to revisit the work model, as it pushed millions of workers to adapt to remote work. As the economy reopens, many employers are considering making a permanent shift to remote work to leverage its numerous benefits. Although traditional office settings won't be eliminated, the pandemic has indeed accelerated trends that will culminate in the new normal for work.
COVID-19: Is Working from Home Working?
Corporate Wellness
From article: COVID-19: Is Working from Home Working? published by Corporate Wellness Magazine Social distancing measures implemented in the wake of ...
How COVID-19 will Disrupt Corporate Wellness
How COVID-19 will Disrupt Corporate Wellness
Published by Corporate Wellness Magazine
From article: How COVID-19 will Disrupt Corporate Wellness published by Corporate Wellness MagazineThe coronavirus pandemic has affected ...
31
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504631
504631
From article: How COVID-19 will Disrupt Corporate Wellness published by Corporate Wellness MagazineThe coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone in so many ways. For many employees, the health crisis ushered in significant changes to the workplace, with a major shift to remote work. Further, with the heightened health consciousness and the increasing priority workers have placed on their health in the wake of the pandemic, another aspect of work that the crisis will impact is corporate wellness.
More than 70 percent of workers have described the pandemic as the most stressful time in their professional careers. From getting pay cuts, experiencing financial stress, losing a loved one to the disease to the challenge of juggling remote work with home responsibilities, the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on employees' mental and physical health.
These changes have pivoted corporate wellness, with a new focus to meet the health needs of the increasingly remote workforce. Consequently, employers need to modify their corporate wellness offerings, with more attention to three key areas:
More Virtual Wellness Offerings
With most employees now working from home and potentially adopting remote work in the post-pandemic era, the pandemic has revealed the need for HR leaders to offer virtual wellness programs. Corporate wellness programs will now include more online health solutions, such as virtual fitness classes, webinars, and mindfulness exercises to meet the needs of the large remote workforce.
Best Buy, for instance, has a 16,000 square-foot on-site fitness center that serves its over 1,400 employees, with up to 15 weekly group exercise classes. However, with the patchwork of stay-at-home restrictions, the company quickly adjusted to making these offerings available online. Best Buy created a "Wellness Zone" on its Facebook page to host daily live group exercise classes, with the videos available to workers for on-demand viewing. Personal trainers also offer individualized workouts, connecting with employees via Zoom and Microsoft Teams. According to the HealthFitness program manager for the company, more than 1,000 employees now connect daily to participate in the workout sessions.
The pandemic has also led employers to leverage mobile applications and platforms that offer wellness solutions. Many employers partnered with wellness platforms, such as Wellbeats and Grokker, to provide personalized wellness solutions, including on-demand fitness classes, yoga classes, cooking video classes, and other health packages.
Employees will also likely have more access to telemedicine or telehealth services in the future. While telemedicine has been around for some time, the pandemic revealed its importance, as stay-at-home restrictions and suspension of non-COVID-19-related medical care precluded hospital visits. Even after the pandemic resolves, telemedicine will remain a more convenient option for employees seeking non-emergency care while also limiting exposure to health risks.
Greater Focus on Mental Health
Employee wellness programs in the COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 era will shift focus to offering more mental health initiatives to support employees in these unprecedented times. Although mental health programs have been a component of workplace wellness, the pandemic has revealed the need to take it up a notch in the workplace.
The pandemic and the consequent loss of lives and economic devastation has had a toll on people's mental health. Many adults now report increasing indulgence in alcohol and drug abuse to cope with the stress associated with the pandemic, and those already suffering from mental health issues are finding it increasingly difficult to manage. Further, the public health measures to rein in the coronavirus spread, such as the stay-at-home orders and quarantine rules, may also accelerate the mental health impact of the pandemic.
Employees, therefore, need these mental health programs now more than ever. A key approach many employers are adopting is to make work more flexible. Many employers have extended their remote work policies to allow for more flexibility and a healthier work-life balance for their workers.
Another effective approach to improving workers' mental health is building a strong community. Employers need to check-in frequently with their workers and build an online community where workers can regularly interact from their various home offices. Effective communication also requires adequate training of HR leaders to be able to identify and handle behaviors that suggest mental health problems.
Further, employers will likely increase access to employee assistance programs (EAPs) that will offer mental health support and resources to employees. These programs will provide mental health support for remote workers struggling to cope with remote work and mental health treatment services for workers struggling with alcohol and drug abuse as an escape from the health crisis. These programs also provide access to resources, including counseling and therapy sessions, to employees with mental health concerns.
Greater Focus on Population Health Management
As the pandemic wore on, studies identified people with chronic diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and heart disease, as one of the most at-risk groups of COVID-19 infection and complications. This heightened health consciousness and pushed many people to pay closer attention to their health.
Likewise, workplace wellness of the future will pay more attention to chronic disease. More focus will be on preventing, managing, and improving chronic disease in the workplace. Employers will increase healthcare benefits and access to medical services, particularly for these at-risk groups. Employers may also modify wellness offerings to offer more proactive initiatives, including on-site fitness classes, gym memberships, exercise breaks, tobacco-cessation programs, and food wellness programs.
Further, employers now see the need to offer more in-office and home health screenings to identify people with or at risk of chronic conditions. The need for these screenings may also see a surge in wearable technology. More employers will invest in providing wearable devices and mobile platforms that allow employees to track their health and take proactive steps to mitigate their health risks.
As immunity became the buzzword during the pandemic, employers will also provide workers with resources and tools to help them adopt lifestyle and diet choices that promote immunity.
Final Thoughts
The coronavirus pandemic has revealed gaps in corporate wellness that employers can bridge to improve employee health and wellness. With many workers working remotely and struggling with the economic and mental toll of the pandemic, employers will pivot wellness programs to empower them to better cope with the health crisis and reduce their health risks amid the pandemic and beyond.
How COVID-19 will Disrupt Corporate Wellness
Corporate Wellness
From article: How COVID-19 will Disrupt Corporate Wellness published by Corporate Wellness MagazineThe coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone in ...
The Impact of COVID-19 on Employment Law
The Impact of COVID-19 on Employment Law
Published by Corporate Wellness Magazine
From article: The Impact of COVID-19 on Employment Law published by Corporate Wellness MagazineThe coronavirus pandemic shook up the ...
32
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504630
504630
From article: The Impact of COVID-19 on Employment Law published by Corporate Wellness MagazineThe coronavirus pandemic shook up the corporate world for nearly all of the year. The global health restrictions during the pandemic led to an unprecedented downturn for businesses that will alter the way businesses are done going forward. In April 2020, for example, US unemployment rates hit unprecedented levels not seen since data collection began in 1948. Every state in the US also reported record unemployment rates, higher than the figures they had during the Great Recession. For those still employed, they either faced furloughs, pay cuts, or were burdened by the perceived job insecurity and health risks of going to work.
In response to these dire circumstances, employers remodeled their businesses to adjust to the pandemic-induced "new normal" while employees upped their expectations and demands for a safe and healthy workplace. More than nine months into the health crisis, many of these changes are gradually being drafted into law, as several states are revising their employment laws to reflect the needed changes to the workplace in the months and years to come.
Changes to Federal Regulations
The federal government implemented several changes to existing laws on employee health, unemployment insurance, taxes, and workplace benefits to minimize the impact of the health crisis on workers and their employers and prepare the workforce for future pandemics. The pandemic led lawmakers to reinforce and stiffen existing laws that empower employers to protect their workforce. For instance, laws regarding COVID-19 testing and vaccination in the workplace have been tightened to help employers protect their employers and secure their businesses.
On December 16, 2020, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance to reaffirm that employers can impose a vaccine mandate as a condition to return to work or as a prerequisite for employment. Likewise, the EEOC allows employers to mandate COVID-19 testing as a precondition to returning to work.
However, this rule remains limited by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that allows employers to accommodate employees who cannot comply with these mandates because of a disability or a sincerely held religious belief, as long as such accommodation does not jeopardize the viability of the business.
New federal laws were also issued to protect employees who may be unavailable to work if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 or have to be away for other reasons still related to COVID-19.
In March 2020, Congress passed the Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to provide paid sick leave benefits for workers in private-owned businesses with less than 500 employees and government-owned companies with more than one employee, as part of the COVID-19 stimulus package.
The FFCRA allows eligible employees up to two weeks (or 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee's regular pay rate if the employee is unable to work because he or she is quarantined or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking treatment. The Act also provides that covered workers receive up to two weeks (or 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee's regular pay rate because he or she is taking care of an individual subject to quarantine or a child whose child care provider or school is closed due to COVID-19-related reasons.
Further, FFCRA allows up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee's regular rate of pay for an eligible employee. In this case, the employee must have been employed in the business for at least 30 calendar days and is unable to work because they have to care for a child whose school is closed or child care provider is unavailable for COVID-19-related reasons.
The Act, which is administered and enforced by the US Department of Labor's Wages and Hour Division (WHD), was issued as a temporary ruling due to sunset on December 31, 2020. Congress, however, did not extend the rule. This now leaves the decision to provide such paid leave benefits at the discretion of the employer.
Consequently, employers will not be required to provide the leave benefits from January 1, 2021, but will still enjoy the FFCRA tax credits on the paid leave benefits through March 31, 2021. However, the qualifying reasons for which covered employees may take leave, as well as the cap on the amounts paid, and the leave duration remain unchanged. Further, an employer cannot get federal reimbursements for leave taken by an employee in the first quarter of 2021 if the employee has exhausted their leave bank in 2020 or has taken leave from a previous employer.
Existing and Expanded State Employment Laws
Several states also issued regulations to protect employers from the spread of the coronavirus in the workplace and protect businesses from the harsh economic realities induced by the pandemic.
Following the issuance of the FFRCA, states like California and New York issued paid sick leave laws that required employers to provide eligible workers with paid leaves for reasons related to COVID-19. New York State issued a regulation that required business owners to provide at least five days of job-protected, paid sick leave to workers who need to be away from work because they are under mandatory quarantine order or isolation due to COVID-19 infection.
Colorado also issued a paid COVID-19 sick leave that will expire on December 31, 2020. The rule requires all private employers in the state to provide paid leave to employees for COVID-19-related absences. However, new sick leave requirements under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) will take effect from January 1, 2021, requiring employers with at least 16 employees to offer paid sick leave to their employees. The HFWA will impose sick leave requirements on all Colorado employers beginning January 1, 2022. The state's COVID-19 sick leave rules subsets on December 31, 2020, unless extended by additional legislation.
Effective this week, California issued AB-1867 that requires that employers with at least 500 employees nationwide provide up to 80 hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) to employees who commute to work.
Valid reasons to be eligible for SPSL include being in a federal, state, or local quarantine for COVID-19 or having health concerns related to COVID-19. The amount payable by the employer depends on the covered workers' schedule.
The state also issued SB-1159, or the COVID-19 Workers' Compensation Program, which will take effect immediately through January 1, 2023. The program creates a rebuttable presumption that any COVID-19-related illness an employee has is from their workplace, making an employee eligible for compensation benefits.
California's lawmakers also enacted laws that require employers to take responsibility for their employees' safety at work. On November 30, 2020, California's Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the state's Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration's proposed emergency regulations, which require employers to implement stringent restrictions to combat COVID-19 transmission in the workplace.
The Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) apply to all California employers except those with only one employee, those whose employees work remotely, or whose employees are covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases Regulation. The regulation requires all covered employers to implement a COVID-19 prevention program that includes strategies to identify, monitor, and eliminate COVID-19 workplace hazards, as well as preventive measures, such as the use of face masks, contact tracing, and social distancing.
The Bottom Line
As the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the corporate landscape, it is also slowly changing the laws that define the business world. In the months and years to come, employees and business owners would readapt to new, stricter regulations to safeguard workplace safety and protect them from the economic implications of the pandemic.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Employment Law
Corporate Wellness
From article: The Impact of COVID-19 on Employment Law published by Corporate Wellness MagazineThe coronavirus pandemic shook up the corporate world ...
Employee Burnout Increasing During the Pandemic
Employee Burnout Increasing During the Pandemic
Published by Corporate Wellness Magazine
From article: Employee Burnout Increasing During the Pandemic published by Corporate Wellness MagazineEmployee burnout has been a common ...
33
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504517
504517
From article: Employee Burnout Increasing During the Pandemic published by Corporate Wellness MagazineEmployee burnout has been a common problem in the workplace for decades; however, the coronavirus health crisis has deepened the burden. Even with most employees working remotely, burnout remains an ever-increasing challenge in the "new normal" of work. As a result, employee wellbeing has become a major concern for business owners in the wake of the global pandemic.
The World Health Organization in 2019 included workplace burnout in the International Classification of Diseases, defining it as a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. And the year 2020 has been described as one of the most stressful years for businesses, increasing the global burden of employee burnout.
According to Monster, a global employment platform, about 69 percent of remote workers said they experienced burnout symptoms in a survey conducted in July last year. This is up from 20 percent from a similar survey two months earlier. Another survey by Flexijobs revealed that employees are now over three times more likely to report poor mental health during the pandemic.
These statistics are not surprising, as many employees are now having to deal with pay cuts, furloughs, and increasing job demands by business owners who want to recover quickly from the financial devastation of the lockdown.
In addition to these concerns, remote workers find juggling work in the home office and the demands of their private lives a major source of stress. Employees who work on-site also experience the anxiety of contracting the infection in the workplace, in addition to dealing with pandemic stress.
Workplace burnout, while often overlooked, impairs the growth of any business. Poor employee wellbeing may lead to physical and mental health problems down the line, which places more strain on workplace productivity and costs. Therefore, the challenge for business owners and HR professionals is to pivot workplace wellness strategies to improve employee wellbeing and limit burnout. Some of these strategies include:
Create Flexible Schedules
Letting your workers have some control over their workday takes a lot of stress off work. Creating flexible workhours provides workers with adequate time for personal activities, which helps them enjoy a healthier work-life balance.
Encourage work from home options for your employees. HR managers may need to evaluate what works best for each employee and design work patterns accordingly. While some employees may find on-site work much more productive, others may be more productive working from a home office.
Creating flexible schedules for remote workers also means encouraging clear boundaries. Having clearly-defined work and personal hours helps workers sign off safely after work to attend to personal activities. This reduces stress and gives them time to recharge without feeling guilty about it.
Business owners should also encourage frequent breaks and virtual tea breaks to allow workers to ease off and unwind between assignments.
Create Fair Workloads
Several businesses laid off workers in the wake of the pandemic and are operating at lower staff capacities, so it is tempting to assign more workload to the small number of workers available. This, however, will rebound with poor outcomes, as heavy workload ultimately lowers productivity, increases stress, and limits output.
In addition to maintaining optimum staffing, HR needs to ensure a fair distribution of job responsibilities, to optimize productivity and prevent burnout. Communicate tasks clearly to employees and assign them with reasonable deadlines and at appropriate intervals. Overloading your employees will only drain them physically and mentally and yield poor results.
Further, HR should ensure responsibilities are assigned to those who are capable of executing them. If you assign tasks to someone with inadequate knowledge to handle them, you also need to provide adequate training and resources to guide them in completing the tasks. Assigning employees inappropriate tasks is a surefire way to cause burnout.
Keep Communication Lines Open
It's bad enough that many workers have been working in isolation for months, as coronavirus restrictions get tough in many parts of the world. Business leaders need to open the lines of communication to reach their employees and build a healthy community. Initiate regular check-ins to know how your employees are doing and how well they are coping in these unprecedented times.
Also, working in a home office is a lot different from working in traditional office settings where collaborations are easy and fast. Your workers may be having difficulties understanding your goals for a task or how best to execute it, which is a common reason for employee burnout. Do not keep your remote workers in the dark. Communicate frequently and exhaustively about their job tasks, with regular updates about any changes that may be needed.
Also, business owners should leave no room for uncertainty. One of the major concerns employees have at this time is the future of their employment and finances. Instead of allowing gossips and speculations to create more uncertainty and fear among your employees, be open with them about plans to make the business thrive. Your employees may also provide useful feedback and suggestions to help your business grow amid the pandemic.
Offer Mental Health Support
Employees have been faced with many setbacks in the last year, with the surging cases of the new coronavirus strain increasing uncertainty and anxiety. Given this context, employers need to provide mental health support for their workers now more than ever. This time, however, mental health offerings should go beyond the traditional in-office initiatives. Consider adding virtual mental health solutions that remote workers can access.
Some creative solutions for mental health support include access to mental health resources, including webinars on stress management and other mental health issues, free subscriptions to mental health apps and platforms, and access to virtual exercise and meditation classes.
Employee assistance programs (EAPs) may also offer access to licensed mental health professionals and counselors to help employees cope with pandemic stress and burnout. These are also important for workers dealing with alcohol and drug abuse to combat pandemic stress.
Help your Employees Prevent Burnout
The coronavirus pandemic has stretched the corporate world beyond its limits, plunging business leaders and workers into the most stressful time in the careers. These unparalleled times have led to economic downturns, workplace maladjustments, and uncertainties that continue to stress employees. Employers, therefore, need to pivot workplace strategies to create an environment in which employees are not only productive but also insulated from workplace stress.
Employee Burnout Increasing During the Pandemic
Corporate Wellness
From article: Employee Burnout Increasing During the Pandemic published by Corporate Wellness MagazineEmployee burnout has been a common problem in ...
Employee Engagement Strategies During COVID-19
Employee Engagement Strategies During COVID-19
Published by Corporate Wellness Magazine
From article: Employee Engagement Strategies During COVID-19 published by Corporate Wellness MagazineIt is no longer news that the ...
34
Corporate-Wellness-Corporate-Wellness
jplist-topic-Corporate-Wellness
0
504516
504516
Employee Engagement Strategies During COVID-19
Corporate Wellness
From article: Employee Engagement Strategies During COVID-19 published by Corporate Wellness MagazineIt is no longer news that the coronavirus ...
Covid: How to deal with social anxiety as...
Covid: How to deal with social anxiety as...
Published by BBC on April 12, 2021
From article: Covid: How to deal with social anxiety as restrictions ease published by BBC Primark's open, the gym is back and beer gardens ...
35
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504462
504462
Covid: How to deal with social anxiety as restrictions ease
Return to Work
From article: Covid: How to deal with social anxiety as restrictions ease published by BBC Primark's open, the gym is back and beer gardens are ...
After a Year of Remote Life, New Anxiety Emerges:...
After a Year of Remote Life, New Anxiety Emerges:...
Published by wttw on March 11, 2021
From article: After a Year of Remote Life, New Anxiety Emerges: Returning to Work published by wttw One year ago, the World Health ...
36
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504449
504449
After a Year of Remote Life, New Anxiety Emerges: Returning to Work
Return to Work
From article: After a Year of Remote Life, New Anxiety Emerges: Returning to Work published by wttw One year ago, the World Health Organization ...
Dreading going back to the workplace? You might...
Dreading going back to the workplace? You might...
Published by The Conversation on September 10, 2020
From article: Dreading going back to the workplace? You might be feeling separation anxiety from your home published by The ConversationAs ...
37
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504433
504433
Dreading going back to the workplace? You might be feeling separation anxiety from your home
Return to Work
From article: Dreading going back to the workplace? You might be feeling separation anxiety from your home published by The ConversationAs some of us ...
Back To Office Anxiety? How To Keep Your Fears In...
Back To Office Anxiety? How To Keep Your Fears In...
Published by Forbes on March 16, 2021
From article: Back To Office Anxiety? How To Keep Your Fears In Check published by ForbesReturn-to-office anxiety. It's a thing. As vaccine ...
38
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504420
504420
Back To Office Anxiety? How To Keep Your Fears In Check
Return to Work
From article: Back To Office Anxiety? How To Keep Your Fears In Check published by ForbesReturn-to-office anxiety. It's a thing. As vaccine rates ...
Return To Work Anxiety? You're Not Alone.
Return To Work Anxiety? You're Not Alone.
Published by Forbes on March 16, 2021
From article: Return To Work Anxiety? You're Not Alone. published by ForbesThere are very few experiences in the world that everyone ...
39
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504396
504396
Return To Work Anxiety? You're Not Alone.
Return to Work
From article: Return To Work Anxiety? You're Not Alone. published by ForbesThere are very few experiences in the world that everyone shares. What ...
Tips for managing back-to-work anxiety after...
Tips for managing back-to-work anxiety after...
Published by ABC Everyday on January 17, 2021
From article: Tips for managing back-to-work anxiety after working from home through the COVID-19 pandemic published by ABC Everyday The ...
40
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504384
504384
From article: Tips for managing back-to-work anxiety after working from home through the COVID-19 pandemic published by ABC Everyday
The silver lining to 2020's pandemic for many people has been the ability to take a step back from the rat race, stop commuting and work from home.
But with the economy whirring back into gear and staff being asked to come back into the workplace, return-to-work anxiety is a very real phenomenon.
"It was like starting a new job again and I didn't like that because I really became used to having the autonomy of doing what I had to do on my own, and not having to perform in front of others," says Lucy*, a full-time employee in Adelaide.
She had only just started her job in March and had barely met her colleagues when, like tens of thousands of Australians, she was directed to work from home as COVID-19 started spreading across the country.
But Lucy found herself enjoying her new working conditions, finding a balance between work and life, and managing to increase her output due to a lack of "open-plan office place distractions".
"I was also concerned about catching public transport when we came back, and I wasn't really trusting how well other people returning to the office were practising safe hygiene and doing the right thing by continuously sanitising and things like that," she says.
Being fearful is common
Beyond Blue lead clinical adviser and GP Grant Blashki says such fears are a "common phenomenon" among his patients."On one hand, people are excited and relieved, but then many have trepidation with a mix of concerns," Dr Blashki says.
"Some are fearful about infection, particularly if they are older or have a disability; some have pre-existing social anxiety and have lost their social stamina to interact with people.
"But I differentiate between people who have more serious social anxiety issues, and those who have lost their mojo and are getting ready to adjust.
"Because for some, there's been that silver lining story, when they've enjoyed the time at home and getting out of the rat race with more time for reflection and families, and now they're having to get back on the train."
This includes people like mother and insurance worker Jessica Amorosi, pregnant with her second child, who found working from home gave her back two to three hours each day that she would otherwise spend commuting to the city."It's the work-life balance that I've found most appealing, even if there's a downfall in that you can't go out for Friday night drinks with colleagues after a hard week of work," she says.
"But I'm a mother first, so it's easier to be able to pick up my daughter at a reasonable hour, come home and make dinner, and save all that time."
She says her own employer is taking a more cautious approach to the pandemic and there had not been any "taps on the shoulder yet" to come back.Anticipation is likely worse than reality
Psychiatrist, doctor and Australian Medical Association SA vice president Michelle Atchison says some people may be "very keen to get back into the workplace", while others may feel angry about it.
She says COVID pushed "touch points of anxiety" for a lot of people around their work and daily lives, with mental health presentations across the country increasing by about 30 per cent.
"People got the message that staying away from crowded places is what we needed to do so we did not get COVID, get very sick or die," Dr Atchison says.
"Then they say 'OK, you have to come back to work and be around people', so of course it's something that makes people feel anxious."Tips for dealing with back-to-work anxiety
Talk to your employer about whether you can work from home part time. Dr Blashki says an employer may allow you to come back to work gradually, starting, for example, with a half day, if it suits your role.Do a few trial runs and visit the workplace without having to work. "Often the anticipation of what's going to happen is worse than being there," Dr Atchison says. "The more that you put yourself in the situation you're worrying about, the better your body will be."Speak up if your workplace is stressful or colleagues are problematic. "You need to go through the right processes," says Dr Atchison. "With everything else we've been going through at the moment, we don't need people to also be struggling with a difficult workplace."Try not to self-medicate. Alcohol or other substances might help you feel relaxed about the prospect of returning to work "but it does become its own trap", says Dr Atchison.
Tips for managing back-to-work anxiety after working from home through the COVID-19 pandemic
Return to Work
From article: Tips for managing back-to-work anxiety after working from home through the COVID-19 pandemic published by ABC Everyday The silver ...
Returning to work: Prioritizing mental health
Returning to work: Prioritizing mental health
Published by Journal of Accountancy on September 11, 2020
From article: Returning to work: Prioritizing mental health published by Journal of AccountancyWith the United States leading the world in ...
41
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504371
504371
Returning to work: Prioritizing mental health
Return to Work
From article: Returning to work: Prioritizing mental health published by Journal of AccountancyWith the United States leading the world in confirmed ...
After A Year Of Working From Home, The COVID...
After A Year Of Working From Home, The COVID...
Published by Bisnow on February 28, 2021
From article: After A Year Of Working From Home, The COVID Office Shakeup Is Just Getting Started published by Bisnow Over the last year, ...
42
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504369
504369
From article: After A Year Of Working From Home, The COVID Office Shakeup Is Just Getting Started published by Bisnow
Over the last year, workers have heard the constant refrain: Adaptation is everything. The unprecedented workplace situations and scenarios unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic have accelerated remote work, emptied out traditional offices and even led many workers to relocate.
But talk to talent professionals about the process not of moving out but moving back into offices, and it's clear that few companies have leadership teams or human resources divisions that have grappled with the change that is yet to come.
As much as COVID-19 has shaken up corporate operations, the post-pandemic landscape - where the lessons about efficiency, process, workplace rules and real estate footprints get fully applied - may lead to many difficult conversations, especially with a coterie of workers impatient for a return to their old workplaces and some sense of normalcy.
"That conversation isn't happening enough," said Matt Abbott, head of recruiting services at talent firm The Sourcery. "The next level is some want to get back into the office, but I still see multiple steps in front of that. Companies struggle with internal communication and don't want to deliver news that could cause upheaval."
Weeks of positive vaccine news, especially a general acceleration of distribution, despite many widespread and long-standing operational challenges, have only highlighted a general sense that a return to a new normal is, if not imminent, then at least forthcoming.
A monthly office demand survey by CRE leasing software firm VTS found that while demand for office space isn't exactly skyrocketing back in anticipation of a return to work - demand rose 21% between December and this past January, in line with historical trends and still down 60% from January 2020 - at least it is now no longer correlated with COVID-19 cases.
Now, the analysis suggested, employers are starting to look at near- and long-term factors, such as job growth, expected vaccine distribution, the return of public amenities and potential in-office safety measures.
Joe Du Bey, CEO and co-founder of Eden Workplace, which sells software to help organize and manage office spaces, said his firm also found a spike in interest, with new sales doubling month-to-month from January to February, indicating firms are planning for a return.
"There are plenty of people clamoring to get back to the office," Abbott said. "They see productivity gains and social interaction. They just may have felt like pariahs saying it out loud before."Plotting for a return to the office brings so many steps: setting up security and safety protocols, figuring out vaccinations and if they will be mandated for working in offices, and how remote work and relocated workers may fit into a post-pandemic corporate operational structure.
"It's not as easy as people saying, 'It's clean, now let's go,'" Abbott said.
He said he expects entire industries will be created around operating coronavirus-safe offices that incorporate social distancing and increased safety while also better incorporating remote workers into on-site meetings and events.
Du Bey said that during webinars where workplace managers discuss how they'll use Eden's workplace software, many are talking about setting up A-B days, where different teams alternate when they're in the office, and setting up hub-and-spoke models for office space. Nobody thinks they can enforce a "five-day-a-week, in-your-seat-at-9 a.m." schedule anymore without risking significant attrition, he said.
"Let's assume we get the answers that we're hoping for and the vaccine does prevent transmission, that can facilitate people coming back to the office," said Columbia University assistant professor Laura Boudreau, who specializes in working conditions and productivity. "That means there will need to be accommodations for those who for health or religious reasons can't get vaccinated, and there may be those who don't want to get vaccinated. There's also the issue of child care access for working parents, which will be huge."
Abbott said he foresees many of these issues truly coming to a head in Q3 this year, a period of "upheaval." CFOs, stuck justifying real estate with long leases, will argue that unless it's provable the company is more efficient without this space, offices need to be used. There will also be a misalignment among those who want to stay at home and those who want to return, he said.
One of the true challenges will be the newly remote workforce. What if many team members want to work from home most if not all of the week? There's also the problem with relocated employees.
"They don't tend to be the entry-level employees," Abbott said.
Any hard-and-fast policy will need to apply across the firm, which could lead to attrition for more senior, experienced or in-demand employees.
A December survey by Gartner of 130 HR leaders found that 90% plan to allow employees to work remotely at least part-time, and 65% of companies will offer employees flexibility of where they work. Half of these leaders predict roughly half of their workforce will want to return to the office.
Boudreau said she agreed that it will be very hard to force workers comfortable with remote existence back into the office. She said she sees the return to the office marked by a long period of transition, when corporations work out all these policies and also consider what their real estate footprints and spatial needs will be in the future.
"There's definitely a lot of hesitancy to make longer-term decisions," she said, "We've been working from home for a year, and some love it, some hate it and some have just been so busy juggling things they can't get a sense of what they really prefer. Once people have options again without the stress of the pandemic, it's smart to allow for a gradual transition to happen."
"A lot of humility has been beaten into people by the pandemic," Du Bey said.
After A Year Of Working From Home, The COVID Office Shakeup Is Just Getting Started
Return to Work
From article: After A Year Of Working From Home, The COVID Office Shakeup Is Just Getting Started published by Bisnow Over the last year, workers ...
Three approaches to going back to the office...
Three approaches to going back to the office...
Published by Robin
From article: Three approaches to going back to the office after COVID-19 published by RobinThough summer often brings up images of ...
43
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504368
504368
Three approaches to going back to the office after COVID-19
Return to Work
From article: Three approaches to going back to the office after COVID-19 published by RobinThough summer often brings up images of vacation and ...
5 Questions About Returning to the Office
5 Questions About Returning to the Office
Published by pcma on February 3, 2021
From article: 5 Questions About Returning to the Office published by pcma There are workers who can't wait to go back to go back to the ...
44
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504366
504366
From article: 5 Questions About Returning to the Office published by pcma
There are workers who can't wait to go back to go back to the office, others who worry when they'll be asked to stop working from home, and those who would like to mix it up - some days in the office, some days remote - in a post-COVID world. No matter their preferences, many don't know what their organization's policy will be.
Employers are still figuring that out, with vaccinations getting off to a rocky start and COVID-19 variants making the headlines. Even when it's safe to head back to offices, the question remains: What has this forced WFH experiment shown us about the future of work?
Two experts debated the question "Do Workers Need to Return to the Office After the Coronavirus Threat Subsides?" in a SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) article in November. Chuck Bean, a partner with market research firm The Martec Group, said that research conducted by Martec found that only 16 percent of 1,200 U.S. employees surveyed said they were thriving in a WFH environment.
On the other side of the argument, FlexJobs Vice President of People and Culture Carol Cochran cited research showing that remote work results in increased productivity, decreased real estate costs, happier and more engaged employees, a smaller environmental footprint, and access to a more diversified talent pool, among other benefits. In addition, Cochran said, in a global survey from PwC, 78 percent of CEOs said that they think remote work is "here to stay."
Both experts agreed on this: There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and employers should take a thoughtful approach to adopting a hybrid remote/in-office workforce strategy.
In their latest newsletter, Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy, co-authors of the book No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work, shared their ideas for approaching employees about a possible return to work. They suggested sending out a survey with these five questions:
How many days a week would you like to work in the office?What will make the return to the office easier for you?Are there any extenuating circumstances you're willing to share that might make a return to offices especially hard or scary for you?What types of work would you prefer to do from the office (e.g., large staff meetings, new team meetings, brainstorming sessions, etc.)?What types of work would you prefer to do from home?
Then, they said, share the results. "If you want employees to be in the office five days a week again, and the survey shows that employees want to be in the office two days a week, it's a bad move to simply ignore that information," they write. "Instead, use it as a jumping-off point for honest conversations and productive compromise."
Moreover, they advise leaders to give their people "as much certainty about the future as possible" even though "no one really knows what the world will look like six months from now." That can be a simple matter of leaders communicating what they're thinking, Fosslien and West Duffy said, "even if that just means saying, 'We'll definitely be working from home through June and then we'll re-evaluate."
We've come to accept uncertainty - and it's preferable, the co-authors write, to "actively ignoring the issue."
5 Questions About Returning to the Office
Return to Work
From article: 5 Questions About Returning to the Office published by pcma There are workers who can't wait to go back to go back to the office, ...
COVID-19 impact: Work from home more appealing...
COVID-19 impact: Work from home more appealing...
Published by USA Today on March 25, 2021
From article: COVID-19 impact: Work from home more appealing than return to 'business as usual,' Harvard survey shows published by USA ...
45
Return-to-Work-Return-to-Work
jplist-topic-Return-to-Work
0
504367
504367
From article: COVID-19 impact: Work from home more appealing than return to 'business as usual,' Harvard survey shows published by USA TodayDespite potentially longer hours, most Americans enjoy working remotely and want the option to keep doing so after the pandemic, according to a new Harvard Business School Online survey.
As COVID-19 forced companies to let employees work remotely and presented new challenges such as readjusting their home life and fighting Zoom fatigue from numerous virtual meetings, most of the 1,500 people surveyed say they excelled and even grew in their professions.
"I think it's a combination of factors, like a Jekyll and Hyde, so to speak," said Patrick Mullane, the school's executive director. "We love working remotely in some ways; it gives us more time to focus, spend time with our families, and no long commutes back and forth to work.
"We found out that we can do a lot without having to be face-to-face as COVID really forced that issue," Mullane said.The survey, released Thursday, comes as many Americans continue to work remotely more than a year after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic and as more Americans are getting the highly sought COVID-19 vaccinations.But the survey also showed that while most employees miss their colleagues and other aspects of office life, they don't want to go back to "business as usual" because they want more flexibility doing their jobs, Mullane said.
About 81% surveyed say they either don't want to go back to the office or would prefer a hybrid schedule from now on. Mullane said 27% of employees hope to work remotely full-time, and another 61% would like to work two or three days a week from home.
This mindset is going to be tricky for employers, Mullane said.
"It's hard to know how it plays out," Mullane said. "So while everyone is jazzed about remote work, there will be some challenges to work through."Mullane also believes that most employers who adapt to a more flexible work environment may get an advantage over their competition in attracting talent.
"It could make some (companies) more successful and profitable in the long run," he said.
About 18% of employees say they want to go back to the office full-time. Those include workers who have kids at home and those who are married, compared with those without children and single, respectively, said Michele Reynolds, who helped direct Harvard's remote worker survey.Reynolds said while 70% of those surveyed have enjoyed spending more time with their loved ones, she added that "some may think there's too much family togetherness" and would welcome being alongside their co-workers.
What should the return to the office include?
But those surveyed also said there should be some new workplace conditions. About 51% of employees say they are uncomfortable going back to the office until they're fully vaccinated, and 71% are hesitant to go back until everyone is fully vaccinated.
Also, 54% of employees surveyed expect some form of social distancing in the office, including their colleagues being seated at least 6 feet apart and being required to wear masks.
"It begs the question about how employers are going to make their employees feel comfortable in office settings," Mullane said. "I'm sure there are going to be plenty of discussions with employers asking, 'How do I bring them back safely?'"
COVID-19 impact: Work from home more appealing than return to 'business as usual,' Harvard survey shows
Return to Work
From article: COVID-19 impact: Work from home more appealing than return to 'business as usual,' Harvard survey shows published by USA TodayDespite ...
Employee mental health is plummeting one year...
Employee mental health is plummeting one year...
Published by ebn on February 2, 2021
From the article: Employee mental health is plummeting one year into the pandemic published by ebnMental health is at an all time low for ...
46
Mental-Health-Mental-Health
jplist-topic-Mental-Health
0
504334
504334
From the article: Employee mental health is plummeting one year into the pandemic published by ebnMental health is at an all time low for employees, creating an additional crisis for employers struggling to address the challenges of COVID-19.
Employees reported a 48% increase for risk of depression between November and December, according to the Mental Health Index by Total Brain and the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. Additionally, overall employee focus plummeted 62% during that same time - the highest drop since last February.Between March and November, employees' mental health had steadily improved, as workers adjusted to the challenges and stressors of the pandemic. December marked the lowest levels of employee well-being since the start of COVID-19, the index found.
"We are seeing an unprecedented rise in risk of mental health conditions," Louis Gagnon, CEO of Total Brain, said in a statement. "This is a crisis that should alarm everyone in the business community. Business policies designed to support the mental health of employees are essential."
Despite positive news about vaccinations signaling light at the end of the tunnel, employee negativity increased 9% in December since the start of the pandemic. This single-month increase wiped out 75% of the positive gains made since May, the index found.
Holiday stress, political uncertainty and COVID-related financial challenges all contributed to the decrease in employee well-being, according to the index. Those outside stressors had a serious impact on productivity, with every workplace population experiencing shocking declines. The index found that focus was 92% worse in December for workers aged 20-39, 89% worse for those aged 40-59, and 380% worse for workers 60 and older.
"A year into the pandemic, it is hard to focus and not to be depressed," Garen Staglin, chairman of One Mind at Work said in a statement. "Employers have an obligation to identify new ways to support the mental health of their workforce."In the United States, one in five employees struggles with a mental health disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Poor mental health is predicted to cost employers nearly $6 trillion dollars by 2030, according to the World Health Organization.
It's critical employers address these issues before they spiral out of control, says Kristin Tugman, vice president of Health and Productivity Analytics at Prudential. Managers should learn to recognize warning signs of employees who may be struggling: personality changes, irritability, fatigue, reckless behavior and weight loss are common symptoms of mental health disorders.
"It's difficult when someone has an emerging health issue to not jump to the conclusion that it's a performance issue," Tugman says. "Take time to train managers to know what these signs look like and how to address them."
Employers have made strides in offering benefits that address mental health issues: 91% of organizations offer an EAP with a mental health component, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Employers including Starbucks, Lyra Health and Bank of America have all expanded their benefit offerings to include free access to therapy and other clinical tools.Two-thirds of employees hide their mental health condition at work because of fear and stigma, according to a study by Mind Share Partners, SAP, and Qualtrics. Allowing employees to have an open dialogue around mental health and encouraging the use of available benefits can help employees get the help they need, Tugman says.
"It's OK to not be OK. Fear, anxiety, anger, isolation, feeling irritable, feeling anxious - all of that is normal, and we have to be able to have the conversation," she says. "The only way we're going to get at it is to raise awareness, minimize stigma and increase access to care to get people the help they need."
Employee mental health is plummeting one year into the pandemic
Mental Health
From the article: Employee mental health is plummeting one year into the pandemic published by ebnMental health is at an all time low for employees, ...
In 2021, Workplace Attention Likely Will Turn to...
In 2021, Workplace Attention Likely Will Turn to...
Published by Concentra on November 25, 2020
From the article: In 2021, Workplace Attention Likely Will Turn to Behavioral Health published by ConcentraTransforming a year of stress ...
47
Mental-Health-Mental-Health
jplist-topic-Mental-Health
0
504332
504332
In 2021, Workplace Attention Likely Will Turn to Behavioral Health
Mental Health
From the article: In 2021, Workplace Attention Likely Will Turn to Behavioral Health published by ConcentraTransforming a year of stress into ...
COVID-19: Employee Toolkit
COVID-19: Employee Toolkit
Published by Astra Zeneca
We are all experiencing unprecedented challenges to personal and working conditions in our own unique way. This toolkit contains practical ...
48
Resilience-Strategies-Resilience-Strategies
jplist-topic-resilience
0
504318
504318
We are all experiencing unprecedented challenges to personal and working conditions in our own unique way. This toolkit contains practical resources aimed at maintaining your physical and emotional wellbeing. You will find articles and videos packed with tips on areas such as working from home, dealing with anxiety, building resilience and virtual collaboration.
COVID-19: Employee Toolkit
Resilience Strategies
We are all experiencing unprecedented challenges to personal and working conditions in our own unique way. This toolkit contains practical resources ...
Your 2021 Workplace Mental Health Trends Forecast
Your 2021 Workplace Mental Health Trends Forecast
Published by lyra on January 6, 2021
From the article: Your 2021 Workplace Mental Health Trends Forecast published by lyra2020 was marked by ongoing consecutive crises that ...
49
Mental-Health-Mental-Health
jplist-topic-Mental-Health
0
504306
504306
From the article: Your 2021 Workplace Mental Health Trends Forecast published by lyra2020 was marked by ongoing consecutive crises that have left few people untouched. The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically shifted the way we live, work, and connect with others. Amid unprecedented disruptions, uncertainty, and devastation, the need for workforce mental health support has become more urgent than ever. And while 2021 offers glimmers of hope for a return to quasi-normalcy, there is still an overwhelming need to support employees struggling with anxiety, depression, substance use, loneliness, concerns for their children's mental health, and rising stress.
With that in mind, employers in 2021 are increasingly focused on effective solutions to address employee mental health. In fact, Lyra's December survey of 300 human resources and benefits leaders found the following:
86 percent said mental health became a higher priority for their company in 2020.54 percent said their employees now have higher expectations in regards to mental health support from their employers.
With awareness and demand for better mental health solutions at an all-time high, what are the best next steps for employers? Based on our recent employer surveys as well as insights from leading benefits and HR professionals, benefits consultants, and mental health clinicians, these are some of the benefit trends we expect to see shape workforce mental health in the year ahead:
Greater adoption of comprehensive benefits that address the whole mental health spectrum
When HR and benefits leaders were asked how they believed the mental health care system could be improved within companies, 41 percent said they would choose a "new, comprehensive solution that spans existing services of employee assistance programs (EAPs) and health plans, plus gaps beyond traditional solutions."
Higher demand for measurement-based care
Next-generation mental health solutions will continue to deliver innovative new care models. Using a digital provider network means these solutions can now offer a robust technology platform that not only connects providers with clients, but also tools for measuring symptom improvement. Add to this new approaches to outcome-based provider incentives, and we see significant strides in both access to care and positive outcomes. Plus, measurement-based care not only tends to yield better mental health outcomes for members, but lower overall costs for employers.
More tailored mental health support for underrepresented employee groups.
In 2021, we recommend that people leaders focus more deeply on mental health care and support that addresses the needs of BIPOC employees, as well as other underrepresented employee groups, including LGBTQ+ employees, parents, and other caregivers. Among other things, this will mean ensuring access to culturally responsive mental health care providers who are trained to treat race-based stress and trauma, and seeking benefits vendors with a provider network that reflects companies' workforce diversity.
Your 2021 Workplace Mental Health Trends Forecast
Mental Health
From the article: Your 2021 Workplace Mental Health Trends Forecast published by lyra2020 was marked by ongoing consecutive crises that have left few ...
Making the Business Case for Investing in...
Making the Business Case for Investing in...
Published by HR Daily Advisor on March 5, 2021
From the article: Making the Business Case for Investing in Employee Mental Health in 2021 published by HR Daily AdvisorHR executives and ...
50
Mental-Health-Mental-Health
jplist-topic-Mental-Health
0
504281
504281
From the article: Making the Business Case for Investing in Employee Mental Health in 2021 published by HR Daily AdvisorHR executives and buyers are hopeful the end of the pandemic is on the horizon. If everything goes as hoped, the stress-inducing work-from-home routine will come to an end before 2022. Naturally, business leaders are shy of scheduling return-to-work dates, which is both imminent and the cause of remarkable anxiety. For HR managers, this means facing a workforce with more than a year's worth of emotional scars from acute stress. The cumulative impact of stress, grief, and anxiety amid COVID-19 has created an emotional toll that will linger for some time.The employees who came to work in February 2020 will not be the same workers who return to their desks when it is deemed safe. "Return to work" will not be synonymous with "return to normal."
How HR responds to this imminent mental health pandemic will shape corporate culture, employee engagement, and the bottom line now and well into the future. Communicating the business case for, and the return on investment of, a diverse and multipronged approach to mental health support and care will be HR's job.
Decline in Mental Health = Decline in Cognitive CompetencyEmployee well-being and business performance cannot be siloed. Without intervention and support, the workforce of 2021 will be characterized by a lack of focus, poor memory and planning skills, and low productivity. A decline in cognitive competencies is the natural fallout of deteriorating mental health linked to persistent stress and anxiety.
According to the Mental Health Index: U.S. Worker Edition, employee stress levels, already considered high before the pandemic, rose 22%, and anxiety rose 45% since February 2020. Employees' risk of depression is up 145% when compared with before the pandemic. Furthermore, general anxiety is up 80%, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is up 77%, and social anxiety is up 61% since last year.
A snapshot of employees' mental health between November and December 2020 paints an equally alarming picture. Findings from our most recent brain capacity assessments of 500 U.S. workers revealed a 48% increase in the risk of depression in just 1 month-a perilous risk level not seen since the height of the pandemic this past spring. Furthermore, employees' focus dropped 62%, a record low since the inception of the research in February 2020.
Workers were already stressed before the pandemic, but the current situation is causing unprecedented levels of concern. The Mental Health Index data show a complete hijacking of the nonconscious brain by stress, fear, and uncertainty. And the result is a direct hit on employee performance, as documented by decades of research on stress and anxiety in the workplace.
The inextricable link between employee mental health and employee performance and productivity is undeniable. A company can only thrive if its employees are thriving. Following is the case for ramping up employee mental health initiatives.
Declining Employee Engagement
When under stress, people communicate less effectively. This may look like missed deadlines, lost productivity, and a breakdown in corporate culture. According to research by the Anxiety and Depression Disorders Association of America (ADAA), 51% of workers said that stress interferes with coworker relationships. Furthermore, 73% said they avoid social situations, 53% said they become short-tempered, and 43% reported skipping meetings.
Failing Leadership
Ineffective leaders fear making mistakes and are indecisive. According to research by organizational and leadership expert Dick Thompson, PhD, high levels of stress and anxiety affect major brain systems like the prefrontal cortex, which controls higher-level thinking processes such as analysis and decision-making, and the amygdala, which supports emotional response. When both parts of the brain are hampered by stress, leaders often over-analyze, avoid making decisions, or "flip-flop" on decisions. Many leaders are also struggling with how to talk with their employees about sensitive topics such as anxiety and depression.
Loss of Productivity
Employees who struggle with mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, often experience foggy thinking, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, and routine absences. According to research cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 80% of persons with depression reported some level of functional impairment because of their depression, and 27% reported serious difficulties in work and home life. Furthermore, in a 3-month period, patients with depression suffer 11.5 days of reduced productivity.
According to Mental Health America, 35% of employees "always" miss 3-5 days a month because of workplace stress.
Poor Performance
When the brain moves into fight-or-flight mode prompted by anxiety and stress, all energy goes toward short-term survivalist thinking. The brain's capacity for higher-level reasoning, planning, and creativity is compromised.Research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine findsdepression interferes with a person's ability to complete physical job tasks about 20% of the time and reduces cognitive performance about 35% of the time. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers who must take time off work because of stress, anxiety, or a related disorder will be off the job for about 20 days.Increase in Healthcare Costs
Mental health and physical health are interconnected. According to the American Psychological Association, stress is associated with six leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, and suicide. It also causes and/or exacerbates mental health problems like depression and general anxiety. Healthcare expenditures are far greater for employees with mental health issues. According to benefit consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, workers with mental health concerns make six times as many emergency room visits as the overall population and submit two to four times as many medical claims. People suffering from depression submit an average of $14,967 per year in claims compared with $5,929 a year for the total population.Are You Prepared to Make the Case?
We are seeing an unprecedented rise in risk of mental health conditions. At the same time, we are witnessing a sharp decline in cognitive functions. This is a crisis that should alarm everyone in the business community. There is another pandemic going on: the mental health pandemic, for which there will be no vaccine. Increased investment and attention to mental health issues makes good business sense. Are you prepared to make the case?
Making the Business Case for Investing in Employee Mental Health in 2021
Mental Health
From the article: Making the Business Case for Investing in Employee Mental Health in 2021 published by HR Daily AdvisorHR executives and buyers are ...
Employers are increasing support for mental health
Employers are increasing support for mental health
Published by American Psychological Association on January 1, 2021
From the article: Employers are increasing support for mental health published by American Psychological AssociationTwo-thirds of employees ...
51
Mental-Health-Mental-Health
jplist-topic-Mental-Health
0
504277
504277
Employers are increasing support for mental health
Mental Health
From the article: Employers are increasing support for mental health published by American Psychological AssociationTwo-thirds of employees report ...
Future Of Work: How Companies Can Continue...
Future Of Work: How Companies Can Continue...
Published by Forbes on March 31, 2021
From the article: Future Of Work: How Companies Can Continue Supporting Employee Mental Health published by ForbesAccording to the Mental ...
52
Mental-Health-Mental-Health
jplist-topic-Mental-Health
0
504274
504274
Future Of Work: How Companies Can Continue Supporting Employee Mental Health
Mental Health
From the article: Future Of Work: How Companies Can Continue Supporting Employee Mental Health published by ForbesAccording to the Mental Health ...
COVID-19 and employee mental health: What...
COVID-19 and employee mental health: What...
Published by Thompson Coburn LLP on March 31, 2021
From the article: COVID-19 and employee mental health: What employers can do published by Thompson Coburn LLPThe significant impact of ...
53
Mental-Health-Mental-Health
jplist-topic-Mental-Health
0
504272
504272
From the article: COVID-19 and employee mental health: What employers can do published by Thompson Coburn LLPThe significant impact of COVID-19 on employees includes not only the many risks to physical health, including, at the most extreme, death, but also the heavy toll on employee mental health. In October 2020, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reported that mental health illnesses could soon eclipse obesity as the most common pre-existing condition in the United States. Accordingly to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder increased from 11% during the period January to June 2019 to 41.5% during the two-week period January 20, 2021 to February 1 2021.
Implications of COVID-19 for mental health
On February 10, 2021, the KFF published an updated brief, titled "The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use" (2021 KFF Brief) The conclusions set forth in the 2021 KFF Brief include the following:
Adults ages 18-24 are almost twice as likely as all adults to report new or increased substance use (25% vs. 13%) or recent suicidal thoughts (26% vs 11%);Women are more likely than men to report systems of anxiety and/or depressive disorder (47% vs. 38%);Adults in households with adverse economic circumstances due to the pandemic (e.g., job losses or reduced incomes) reported higher mental health symptoms than other households (53% vs. 32%);Essential workers are more likely than non-essential; workers to report symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder (42% vs. 30%), increased or new substance use (25% vs. 11%) or recent suicidal thoughts (22% vs 8%).
Employer response to impact of COVID-19 on employee mental health
Employers are taking note of the rise in mental health issues among employees. Unum surveyed 409 employers from August 12 to August 20, 2020 regarding challenges relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked how concerned employers were about their employees' mental health or wellness needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, 85% responded that they were somewhat or very concerned. Only 7% reported that they were not very or not at all concerned about mental health and wellness issues. Among the employers surveyed, 67% indicated that they anticipated that employee use of existing mental health or wellness benefits will increase in the coming months.
The Unum survey also asked employers an open question about specific plans or offerings that were in place to address the mental health needs of employees. Employer responses included the following:
Flexibility/Work-life balance
Flexible work schedulesReduced work hoursFlexibility to work from homeOn-site space for kids to learn
Counseling/Well-being services
On-site counseling services/therapyAccess to clergyReimbursement for outside servicesGroup classes/webinar/support groupsEmployee Assistance Programs
Facilities
Meditation rooms, relaxation spacesWorkout roomsComfortable work spaces
Enhanced compensation/Benefits
Increased paid time offIncreased breaksExpanded health, life, disability and wellness benefitTelemedicine benefitsEmergency financial assistanceIncreased pay/bonusTargeted assistance, e.g., meal delivery, improved internet access for home workers
Other initiatives
Management communications and manager trainingPeriodic health and wellness check-ins/employee hotlineMorale boosting efforts
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) also reports that employers are focusing on mental health benefits. In May 2020, WTW reported that 92% of employees acknowledged some level of anxiety due to the pandemic with 55% reporting a moderate or high degree of anxiety. Seventy percent of employees indicate some distraction from work due to COVID-19 issues and only 32% indicate they are able to balance working from home with other obligations. In a June 2020 survey titled, Reopening the Workplace: Health, Safety and Wellbeing Employer Survey, 47% of the employers surveyed stated that increasing mental health services would be a top priority in the next six months. About two-thirds of the employers surveyed acknowledged that access to high-qualify mental health solutions in their health plans is a top priority.
WTW suggests that employers should take "bold action" with respect to mental health benefits via a four-prong approach. First, an employer must understand the emotional wellbeing needs of its employees. According to WTW, for most employers, the most prevalent conditions reported to employee assistance programs (EAPs) include stress, domestic relationships, anxiety, depression and financial issues. WTW suggests that an employer can determine the wellbeing needs of its employees by evaluating its workforce on the basis of lifestyle risk, disease prevalence and barriers to care.
Second, an employer must design its benefits plan to respond to the identified needs of its employees. WTW suggests that expanding the role of the EAP to include services relating, not only to crisis-assistance, but also work/life resources, is a first step. This can be accomplished by providing increasing hours for trainings and crisis reporting and adding or increasing virtual psychological and psychiatric therapy options. An employers should also reevaluate its coverage of out-of-network mental health providers to determine whether increased cost-sharing serves as a barrier to quality and accessible mental health services.
Third, an employer should take steps to ensure that its culture is in alignment with values such as promoting the health and safety of employees and fostering a work environment that is diverse and inclusive. WTW suggests that a visible commitment on the part of leadership helps end the stigma sometimes associated with mental illness, making it easier for employees to seek assistance. WTW's 2020 COVID-19 Survey sets forth the following steps that employers have taken to improve their culture relating to mental health:
51% provide, or plan to provide, manager training to recognize anxiety and depression and to understand available referral resources such as an EAP;85% have increased video-conferencing for work and non-work purposes;73% offer flexible work hours to accommodate work/home challenges;26% plan to increase caregiving benefits, such as childcare and eldercare, to address the increased obligations of employees during the pandemic;55% have, or plan to start, employee affinity groups to promote discussions among employees with common interests;11% have measured employee loneliness/social connection;67% will communicate employee benefit plans or programs, including mental health plans or programs.
Fourth, an employer should also measure the effect of actions it has taken to promote the mental health of its employees. For example, an employer can review summary information, to the extent permitted under HIPAA, including registration rates and utilization rates, that will provide a greater understanding of the mental health needs of its employees and how employer efforts may need to adjust to meet those needs.
Available resources
There are a number of resources that employers and employees can tap for assistance with mental health issues. The American Psychiatric Association Foundation maintains a website, titled "Center for Workplace Mental Health," that includes, among other information, a mental health calculator for estimating the costs of depression and alcohol abuse based on workforce demographics, mental health podcasts for employers, a mental health organizational assessment, recommendations for improving access to mental health care, and a "Working Well Toolkit" to educate employers about mental health best practices.
The Department of Labor also maintains a website for employers that includes resources such as guidance from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) on supporting employees with mental health impairments, a JAN toolkit that includes training videos on accommodations for mental health impairments, and an employer's guide to employee assistance programs.
The CDC has a website with general information for employers on mental health in the workplace that includes "success stories" describing actions taken by individual employers to address mental health issues. In addition, the CDC has created a webpage that is designed to help employees deal with job stress and build resilience during the pandemic. The webpage includes information on the symptoms of stress, work-related factors that contribute to stress, tips for building resilience and managing job stress and contact information for organizations that can assist with issues relating to suicide, domestic violence and substance abuse and other mental health issues.
Conclusion
The 2021 KFF Brief concludes with the following statement:
History has shown that the mental health impact of disasters outlasts the physical impact, suggesting today's elevated mental health needs will continue well beyond the coronavirus outbreak itself...As policymakers continue to discuss further actions to alleviate the burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be important to consider how the increased need for mental health and substance use services will likely persist long term, even if new cases and deaths due to the novel coronavirus subside.
Employers are, and will continue to be, on the front lines of the mental health crisis that has been exacerbated by COVID-19. It is critical that employers include in their action plans regarding COVID-19, including "return to workplace" rollouts, a major focus on employee mental health.
COVID-19 and employee mental health: What employers can do
Mental Health
From the article: COVID-19 and employee mental health: What employers can do published by Thompson Coburn LLPThe significant impact of COVID-19 on ...
27 Resilience Activities and Worksheets for...
27 Resilience Activities and Worksheets for...
Published by PositivePsychology on December 2, 2021
From the article: 27 Resilience Activities and Worksheets for Students and Adults published by PositivePsychologyYou may think you're not ...
54
Resilience-Strategies-Resilience-Strategies
jplist-topic-resilience
0
504261
504261
From the article: 27 Resilience Activities and Worksheets for Students and Adults published by PositivePsychologyYou may think you're not very resilient.The word "resilient" might bring to mind all of the struggles and setbacks that have plagued you in your life.You might be thinking about how hard it is to recover from some of the worst ones. You may be thinking, "I'm not resilient at all. Look at how often I've struggled to get back up!"If you're thinking any of these thoughts, then you are probably one of the most resilient people. You have suffered, you have struggled, you have waded through a seemingly unstoppable tide of difficulty - and you have survived."The human capacity for burden is like bamboo - far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance."Jodi PicoultWe tend to think of resilient people as those who are unaffected by the challenges of life, or who take a setback with a smile and laugh in the face of their obstacles. But this is not resilience.Resilience is the ability to bounce back, again and again, with every obstacle we face.The person showing little emotional distress in difficulty is not necessarily displaying resilience. The person who fails and feels intense negative emotions, yet tries again the next day, is displaying resilience.Put simply, resilience is the ability to adapt and we can all demonstrate resilience. Granted, some people may be more resilient than others, but it is not an immutable trait or characteristic that you either do or don't have. Resilience is a learned ability and one that you can build.Resilience is not the absence of distress or difficulty. Resilience is the ability to adapt and grow following adversity.Some of these resilience activities and exercises may help you develop your resilience, while others might make you realize how resilient you already are.Either way, the outcome is more confidence in your ability to bounce back.Read on if you're ready to learn more about how to boost your resilience and meet challenges with confidence in yourself and your ability to succeed, even after failure.4 Resilience Activities for AdultsWe'll provide several resources for building resilience, but first, let's take a look at what the American Psychological Association has to say about building resilience.According to the APA, there are 10 ways to build resilience, many of which will be applied in the training, exercises, and activities listed later:Making connections and building your social support network;Avoiding the tendency to view crises as insurmountable challenges;Accepting that change is a natural and unavoidable part of life;Moving towards your (realistic) goals;Taking decisive actions that will help you face your challenges;Looking for opportunities for self-discovery;Nurturing a positive view of yourself and your abilities;Keeping things in perspective and in context;Maintaining a hopeful outlook on life;And taking care of yourself (APA, "10 Ways").These ten basic principles of improving resilience can be applied on your own, in a guided therapeutic relationship, or in training and courses on resilience.PositivePsychology.com Realizing Resilience Coaching MasterclassIf you're a helping professional seeking a comprehensive resource to help your clients build resilience, take a look at our Realizing Resilience Coaching Masterclass.In this course, you'll gain science-backed tools to show your clients how to navigate life's ups and downs with poise and resilience, enabling them to improve their overall well-being.The course comprises six modules.1. Positive Psychology 2.0You'll begin by delving into the darker side of the human experience, often triggered by adverse events. In doing this, you'll gain the skills to teach and apply positive psychology principles in a holistic and balanced way.2. ResiliencesNext, you will discover the characteristics that make up a resilient person and the four key elements of resilience. The modules that follow explore these four elements in more detail.3. AttentionIn Module 3, you will learn about the first element of resilience-attention. In this module, you'll develop an understanding of how resilient people direct their attention to positive and negative life events.4. ThoughtsThe second element of resilience you'll learn about regards thoughts. In this module, you'll gain a range of practical tools and exercises to help your clients direct their thoughts in constructive ways based on the best scientific practice and theory.5. ActionResilient people are quick to adopt adaptive coping strategies in the face of negative events. Module 5 will teach you to arm your clients with these strategies.6. MotivationWhat drives resilient people to persist and engage in positive coping in the face of adversity? This final module will answer this question and teach you about the last key element of resilience-motivation.The Realizing Resilience Coaching Masterclass© includes a range of useful materials, including live recordings, a workbook for your clients, 19 PowerPoint presentations, and extended usage rights to save you time developing your own materials.Adult Resilience ProgramThis program is intended for teenagers and adults over the age of 16. It is offered online and is especially helpful for older students dealing with stress or pressure from school, family, and upcoming transitions.This program will help participants:Identify their feelings and develop empathy;Control and regulate difficult or intense emotions;Learn relaxation techniques;Practice mindfulness;Prevent bullying, for both bullies and victims;Resist peer pressure and develop positive relationships;Compromise in difficult situations and avoid conflict;Choose appropriate role models;Set realistic and achievable goals;Learn organizational and focus skills;And develop non-internet-based friendships and relationships.This course is delivered through five sessions of 2 to 2.5 hours and guided by a facilitator. Click here to learn more about this training endorsed by the World Health Organization.Samaritans Resilience TrainingThe Samaritan's organization trains for adults in their "Building Resilience and Wellbeing" course.This course helps participants:Explore the connection between emotional health and resilience, and understand how resilience can positively impact our lives;Assess their own resilience skills;Recognize the indicators of stress and identify sources of support;Learn the Keys of Resilience;Identify practical steps they can take to build resilience;And build a personalized action plan.The course generally takes place over one day and can be delivered at locations throughout the UK.Click here to learn more about this course.Reaching In Reaching Out (RIRO)If you're a parent, coach, therapist, or mental health professional seeking a more structured approach to helping clients or children build resilience, the Reaching In Reaching Out Resiliency Skills Training program can help.It consists of 12 hours of training divided into two parts:Part 1 helps adults build their own foundation in resilience and learn resiliency skills they can model and encourage in their children. These skills include:Identifying and strengthening resilience abilities.Using strategies to stay calm and focused when experiencing stress.Recognizing how thoughts can affect the ability to cope.Challenging thinking patterns that hinder resilience.Generating alternative ways to deal with conflict and stress.Part 2 teaches participants how to apply these skill to children, through:Modeling the skills and fostering resilience in children.Using their own resiliency skills to help them understand their children's or clients' behavior.Incorporating resiliency skills into their work by using child-friendly approaches.This training can be completed in two full days, four half-days, six after-work sessions, or 10-12 brief sessions.To access the RIRO skills training, click here.You can download the printable version of the infographic here.4 Resilience Worksheets for Youth and StudentsThere are many resources out there to help students and youth build resilience, including worksheets that they can work through on their own or with the guidance of a trusted adult. A few of these worksheets are listed below.1. Coloring in for Emotional ClarityThe goal of this worksheet is to help children and students explore their feelings through color.At the same time, it's a good way to help them gain some insight into the feelings they experience in different situations.To guide students through this worksheet, ask students to recall a recent emotional experience. This could be positive, such as an exciting birthday party, or negative - like an argument with a friend.The instructions are simple: have the students close their eyes and try to reconnect with their feelings during that situation, color in the Mandala in a way that represents how they feel.They can use a variety of colors or just one color, as well as their own choice of materials - however it should best represent their feelings.After they have colored each section in, discuss the color(s) with them. Ask them to reflect on why they chose the color or colors they used, and use questions and active listening to open up more dialogue if you feel it will help.This Coloring in for Emotional Clarity worksheet can help students discover and express their own feelings, as well as help parents or teachers, learn about how the student or child is doing with each area of their life. Before issues can be addressed and learned from, they must first be discussed.2. My Gifts - Traits and TalentsCompleting this exercise can help children and students recognize and appreciate the talents, strengths, and positive traits they have. Encouraging kids to see them as "gifts" adds a fun twist to the whole activity as your child creates a creative "gift box".To guide you through this exercise, you will need:Gift box template (find this in the worksheet)ScissorsGlueMarkersCraft items to decorate with (such as stickers, sequins, glitter, etc.)Small pieces of paper with different gifts, traits, and strengths written on them.Begin by explaining that this exercise will focus on who you are inside.The first step is identifying the gifts, traits and talents that students feel they have. These include qualities like:ModestConsideratePatientCreativeCalmGentleHelpfulBubblyKindThere is also space at the end of this page to write down a few qualities or characteristics not already listed, so encourage students to be creative if they think some of their "gifts" or good qualities are missing.The second step is for students to share these traits and talents that they chose. Students should describe why they chose each gift or quality and give examples of how these qualities fit them.Step Three is to give students the gift box cutout provided. Have them cut along the dotted lines and arrange the box, then decorate it with their name, their favorite color(s), or any of the craft items they would like to use.Click the link to download My Gifts - Traits and Talents.3. Learning From My WorkThis exercise helps students learn from how they did on a particular assignment or task and learn how to improve in the future.In order to develop resilience, it's important to be realistic about setting and striving towards goals, learning from one's mistakes, and trying again.This worksheet presents nine dichotomous pairs of statements with a scale in between. The student should be instructed to indicate on the scale how they feel in regards to these two opposite statements.The statements include:"I did better than I thought I would" vs. "I didn't do as well as I imagined""I pushed myself and worked hard" vs. "I could have tried a bit harder""I took a chance by trying out something new" vs. "I stuck to what I knew, because that's what I feel sure of.""I changed my work as I went along" vs. "I stuck to my approach throughout""I listened to others' feedback" vs. "I kept going using my own approach""My work and ideas were my own" vs. "I had help from other sources""I was clear on the task" vs. "I was unsure what I was supposed to do""I'm satisfied with my results" vs. "I'm not content with my results""I was working on a deadline" vs. "It was a continuing project"Use the students' responses on this Learning From My Work exercise to help them discover where they are satisfied with their work and where they could devote more attention. Encourage them to do better next time, and emphasize that their performance is always a work in progress.If they feel they have failed themselves or their teacher, help them to see that failure is a crucial part of life and not the end of the world when we learn from it.4. What Is Hope?This simple worksheet can help students learn to develop hope and build resiliency.
It will guide students through a thought exercise in what hope is, how they tend to think about and experience hope, and how to facilitate greater hope in their lives.
This worksheet includes a series of questions to help students explore this topic, including:
Aristotle once said: "Hope is a waking dream." What do you feel this means to you, personally?Have your own hopes changed throughout your life? How?What are three of your biggest aspirations right now?How has being hopeful, or feeling hopeless, influenced choices you've made?Has anything happened to you that caused you to lose hope?What kind of things, people, or activities give you hope? Where do you feel your hope, or your hopelessness, comes from in life?In what ways do your surroundings give you more or less hope? How have they given you more or less hope in the past?What kinds of things need to occur for you to feel more hopeful about your life?
You can find this worksheet here.
4 Resilience Building Games for Kids in Primary School
Primary or elementary school is an excellent time to begin building resilience. Children are so adaptable already that introducing the idea of resilience is much easier than teaching resilience to adults.
There are many resources out there for helping build resilience in young children, but games are certainly one of the best ways. Listed below are some of the best games for teaching resilience in primary or elementary school.
1. I Love My ClassmateThis is a great game for helping foster kindness in children. Kindness is important on its own, but learning kindness for others in addition to the self is also vital as a piece of resilience.
This game is played with a number of chairs formed into a circle. Make sure there is one less chair than the number of players.
The game is played in the following steps:
The person standing in the center of the circle begins by saying "I love my classmate, particularly my classmate who...", completing the sentence with a piece of information that is true for him- or herself. For example, the player could say something like "... particularly my classmate who has a cat" or "... especially my classmate who plays hockey."As soon as s/he is finished, everyone who this applies to (including the person in the center) moves from their chair to an empty one that is not right next to them.The person who remains in the middle begins a second round of the game.
This game will help children get to know each other if they don't already know each other well, learn about what they have in common with others, and practice kindness towards one another by repeating the phrase "I love my classmate."
Download the instructions for I Love My Classmate.
2. It's Not a Secret...
This game can be played with only several pairs of children and some space. If there is an odd number of children, you can play with them to make an even number.
To play, separate students into pairs of two and designate one of them as student A and the other student B.
Instruct student A to listen to student B for a specified amount of time, perhaps 15 seconds for very young children or a minute for older children.
Instruct student B to finish the sentence "It's not a secret that..." They can finish this sentence with any information about themselves, whether it's their family structure, the classes they like best in school, their hobbies, their pets, their favorite or least favorite things or anything else they'd like to share.
Student B repeats this sentence several times, completing it with a new piece of information each time.
When the time is up, have students A and B switch roles, so A speaks while B listens.
This game is another good way for students to get to know each other and to practice active listening. It may even help strike up a few friendships! Having meaningful relationships and practicing kindness is a great way to build resilience.
Download the worksheet to read more about It's Not a Secret.
3. Shuffle
Shuffle is played with a four-square court or four markers forming a square with an additional cone in the middle. Review rock-paper-scissors with the children before you begin.
The steps of the game are:
Five players can play at a time, with each player occupying either a corner or the middle. All other children should be in a line, ready to play when their turn comes.The game begins when the person in the middle says "Shuffle."At this point, all players must find a new corner or cone to occupy, but no one can go to the center cone.If two players arrive at a corner at the same time, they must play rock-paper-scissors for the corner. The winner stays in the corner, and the loser is "out."The next person in line becomes the person in the middle and begins the next round.
This game helps children learn how to deal with conflict. Meaningful connections are vital to developing resilience, but conflict arises in all relationships at some point. While most conflicts cannot be solved with only "rock-paper-scissors," this teaches children that conflict can be solved. Although they may be disappointed by being "out" of the game, they will quickly learn that, in life as in the game, their turn will come again.
You can read about this game and its other variations at this link: Shuffle.
4. Do The HulaDo The Hula is played in a circle, with all children holding hands.
First, demonstrate how to get your body through a hula hoop without using your hands. Make sure that each child has a space in the circle.
Then, play the game as follows:
Place the hula hoop over two people's interlocked hands so it cannot escape the circle.Tell the children that the goal of the game is to get the hula hoop all the way around the circle without anyone letting go of their neighbors' hands.Start the game, and have everyone cheer on the children that are currently trying to move the hula hoop.Once the game has been played for one round, discuss the group's successes and challenges and try it again.
This game is a great way to show children that when conflict or challenges arise, there are ways to deal with them. Even if they face seemingly insurmountable challenges, together they can find a way to overcome them.
Variations on this game include challenging the group to beat a chosen time, playing with eyes shut, or dividing the circle into two circles and having them compete against each other.
To see more about this game, click Do The Hula.
5 Exercises for Developing Resilience
There are many resources for developing resilience in adults aside from courses. For example, there are several exercises that can help build resiliency skills. A few of these exercises are listed below.
1. The Brief Resilience Scale
The Brief Resilience Scale is an assessment for understanding your current resilience. While this may not build your resilience directly, it can give you a general overview of your current resiliency skills and abilities. In order to increase your resilience, it's important to know where you stand.
Designed to be compact, the scale itself includes only six questions. Each self-report item is answered on a five-point Likert scale, where 5 indicates "Strongly Agree," and 1 represents "Strongly Disagree."
Example items include:
It does not take me long to recover from a stressful event; andIt is hard for me to snap back when something bad happens.
Doing this exercise will help you to recognize where you are in terms of resilience and begin to identify where you can improve from your current state of resilience.
2. Exploring Past Resilience
This exercise focuses on your past experiences with resilience.
Start by thinking about a time in your life that was particularly challenging or demanding, especially one that was emotionally draining or difficult emotionally. Think about how you handled that situation and eventually came through on the other side.
Next, answer some questions to consider the different resilience skills and strategies you applied. For example:
What was your objective at the time?What challenges did you need to overcome?What difficult thoughts and emotions do you recall experiencing at the time?What skills were helpful to you in dealing with the situation? What perspectives or mindsets in particular?
Going through Exploring Past Resilience and answering these questions will help you to realize the resilience skills you already possess, which can aid you in further building on those skills.
Use this exercise to remind yourself that you have already practiced resilience many times before and that you are fully capable of handling whatever comes your way.
3. The Resilience Plan (The 4 S's)
This exercise can help you set goals on improving your resiliency and making sure you keep your resilience-building on track.
First, identify a recent experience in which demonstrating resilience helped you overcome adversity. Working through the sheet, you'll then learn about the 4 S's of resilience and how they helped you cope at the time:
Supportive people - People who gave you advice, or perhaps helped you develop a new, more helpful perspectiveStrategies - Methods and approaches you implemented to deal with difficult thoughts and feelingsSagacity - Wisdom and insights that may have been helpfulSolution-seeking behaviors - Planning, for instance, or searching for useful information.
Next, identify a current challenge you'd like to deal with by applying your resilience plan. The exercise will guide you through the steps of crafting a plan, and the worksheet includes examples and templates to get you started.
Finally, you're invited to apply and evaluate your 4-S Plan so that you can continue developing resilience for the future.
Resilience is like many other skills or abilities, in that you cannot put forth effort once and consider your learning done. To truly build meaningful resilience, it must be a practice rather than a crash course. Use this goal-setting exercise to facilitate your goal striving.
4. It Could Be Worse...
This is an exercise that you can use for yourself or guide your clients through when they are feeling down or excessively worried.
"It Could Be Worse" refers to thinking about three ways that their situation could be worse, specifically for yourself or your client).
For example, if a friend flaked on your plans, you might feel upset or disappointed, which could lead to feeling abandoned or even to feelings of worthlessness. Instead of focusing on what happened in this situation, think about three ways that it could be worse.
For instance, you could think "I could have no friends at all," "I could have no family members to talk to," or "I could have nowhere to sleep tonight."
Spend a few minutes truly imagining each scenario. Think about what you would see, hear, and physically feel in each scenario.
It may seem counterintuitive to imagine things being worse, but thinking through these three ways can actually remind you of what you already have and instill gratitude for the good things in your life.
You can read more about this exercise here: It Could Be Worse.
Integrating the Science of Resilience in Schools: 5 Lesson PlansAs mentioned earlier, school is an excellent place to begin building resilience.
While parents can and should help their children develop resilience, a classroom setting with their peers and a qualified teacher guiding the way can be an excellent place to learn.
A few resources for resilience lesson planning are below.
Lesson Plans for Primary/Elementary and Middle School
Elementary or primary school is an excellent time to begin teaching resilience to children. The earlier children begin building resilience, the more likely it is to "stick." However, resilience is not something that can only be built in young children; children in middle school can also benefit greatly from resilience building.
The PDF from Lynne Namka and Talk, Trust, and Feel Therapeutics in Tucson, Arizona is an excellent source for lesson plans for young students. To access the PDF click here. It covers teaching a growth mindset, stress inoculation, giving effective praise, helping children deal with emotional trauma, and "bouncing back" after a setback.
There are tons of exercises, tools, and lesson plans in this PDF that teachers can use to help young students develop resilience.
Another great resource for lesson plans and suggestions for resilience building in young children comes from Professor Helen McGrath's Bounce Back! program.
"Bounce Back!" is an acronym for some of the foundational principles of resilience, specifically:
B - Bad times don't last, and things get better.
O - Other people can only help if you share with them.
U - Unhelpful thinking only makes you feel worse.
N - Nobody is perfect - not you, not your friends, not your family, not anybody!
C - Concentrate on the good things in life, no matter how small.
E - Everybody suffers, everybody feels pain and experiences setbacks; they are a normal part of life.
B - Blame fairly - negative events are often a combination of things you did, things others did, and plain bad luck.
A - Accept what you can't change and try to change what you can.
C - Catastrophizing makes things worse - don't fall prey to believing in the worst interpretation.
K - Keep things in perspective. Even the worst moment is but one moment in life.
McGrath applies these principles to building these components of resilience:
CourageManaging feelingsHumorRelationship skillsSelf-knowledgeGoal setting skillsOptimistic thinkingHelpful thinking skills (avoiding cognitive distortions)
You can access a slideshow on the Bounce Back! program here to learn how to apply McGrath's resilience building principles and activities to each of these areas.
Additionally, the PDF from Connect with Kids provides a lesson plan for children in grades 3 to 5 called "Resilient Voices." It can be found on page 6 and guides students through listing problems they face in their lives, defining resilience, and building a foundation for resilience. To access the PDF click here.
Another lesson plan that can help students develop resilience can be found in the previous PDF on page 8 or in the PDF from Connect With Kids and the Drug Abuse Prevention Program in New York. To access the PDF click here. There is great information throughout this PDF, or skip to page 4 to see the Resilient Heroes lesson plan.
Lesson Plans for High SchoolWhile it's best to begin early, high school is still a time that is ripe for building foundational skills like resilience.
High school teachers should not be discouraged from incorporating resilience exercises and activities into their lesson plans, as high school students may be one of the groups that need resilience the most!
The website reachout.com provides excellent tools and lesson plans for teaching resilience to adolescents. These plans can be incorporated into classes to help high school students deal with difficult situations, including:
Illness;Changing schools;Transitioning from primary/elementary to middle school/junior high, middle school to high school, and high school to life beyond;Difficult family situations like divorce;Changes in friendship groups;Conflict with peers;Conflict with family members;And a heavy student workload.
The lesson plans you can find here will help students to explore and build seven elements of resilience:
Emotional awareness and self-regulationImpulse controlOptimismFlexible and accurate thinkingEmpathySelf-efficacyConnecting and reaching out
Exercises and activities are provided for each element, with tips for implementing resilience building and encouraging students along the way.
This lesson plan will help students learn about the Seven Resiliencies (insight, independence, relationships, initiative, creativity, humor, and morality) and explore the life of a historical hero, as well as apply the Seven Resiliencies to their own life.
If you are a school counselor, therapist or teacher, you would appreciate this excellent resource which will teach you how to teach resilience to others. Aptly named the 'Realizing Resilience Masterclass©', the course consists of 6 modules that cover positive psychology, resilience, attention, thoughts, action, and finally motivation.
Highly recommended, this online course will enable you to empower others and make an impactful difference in their lives.
Bonus: 5 Shame Resilience Theory (SRT) Exercises
Aside from the benefits and advantages we know resilience can bring, there is another type of resilience that can greatly enhance the quality of life.
The Shame Resilience Theory was developed by author and researcher Brené Brown. Brown noticed that the fear of being vulnerable hindered meaningful connection with others, and one of the many reasons we fear vulnerability is the feeling of shame.
Shame is an intense and negative feeling of being hopelessly flawed and unworthy of love and acceptance, and it affects all of us at one point or another, but it can be especially gripping for some people.
Shame resilience is a specific kind of resilience to this intensely negative feeling, and building it can do wonderful things for our self-confidence, empathy, and human connection.
According to Dr. Brown, there are four elements of shame resilience:
Recognizing shame and understanding our shame triggers (physical sensations like elevated heart rate or shaking).Practicing critical awareness, of ourselves and of our environment and the way things work.Reaching out to others and sharing ourselves and our stories (building a social support network).Speaking shame to keep it from flying under the radar (Graham & Graham, 2015).
When we recognize shame and understand our triggers, practice critical awareness, share with others, and keep shame out in the open, we lay the groundwork for a type of resilience that will greatly improve our connections with others, our self-esteem, and our overall well-being.
There are a few exercises that can be especially helpful for building shame resilience. A few of these are listed below, but many more are out there if you're interested in learning more.
Self-Compassion ExercisesDeveloping self-compassion can be an excellent way to combat shame and build resilience to its effects.
Dr. Kristin Neff is the pioneer of self-compassion research, and her website offers several guided meditations and exercises to increase compassion for the self.
1. How Would You Treat a Friend?
For example, a simple exercise that can set you on the right path is "How would you treat a friend?" This is a quick and easy exercise that anyone can do. All you need is a piece of paper, a pen, and a willingness to answer honestly.
To give this exercise a try, use your paper and pen to answer these questions:
First, think about the times when a close friend feels really bad about him or herself or is really struggling in some way. How would you respond to your friend in this situation (especially when you're at your best)? Please write down what you typically do, what you say, and note the tone in which you typically talk to your friends.
Now think about the times when you feel bad about yourself or are struggling. How do you typically respond to yourself in these situations? Please write down what you typically do, what you say, and note the tone in which you talk to yourself. Did you notice a difference? If so, ask yourself why. What factors or fears come into play that leads you to treat yourself and others so differently?
Finally, respond to this prompt: Please write down how you think things might change if you responded to yourself in the same way you typically respond to a close friend when you're suffering.
To see this exercise on Dr. Neff's self-compassion website, click here.
2. Self-Compassion Break
To practice the self-compassion break, you must first call to mind a situation in your life that is causing you stress or pain. Think about this situation and how it makes you feel, both emotionally and physically.
When you have it in mind and get a handle on the associated feelings, say the following things to yourself:
"This is a moment of suffering." This will activate mindfulness."Suffering is a part of life." Saying this helps you realize that you have this in common with all other human beings on the planet - suffering is an unavoidable part of life. You can follow this up by putting your hands over your heart or using whatever soothing self-touch feels right to you."May I be kind to myself." Alternatively, you can use other phrases that may apply better in your current situation, such as "May I forgive myself." or "May I be patient."
Here is the Self-Compassion Break exercise.
3. A Letter of Self-Compassion
Writing a self-directed letter can help you express your emotions and, recognize that you are your own most important source of support. It gives you a chance to exercise self-kindness and keep in touch with yourself in a more understanding, forgiving way.
All you need to start journaling is paper, a writing instrument, and a willingness to write honestly.
At the end of the week, or once a month, take a quiet moment to sit down and practice if you're hoping to turn your letter-writing into a habit.
To help you along, this exercise suggests following a few steps:
Think of an aspect of yourself or your life that you often criticize, or dislike. This might be something that you feel self-conscious about, or which makes you feel inadequate. Examples include aspects of your job or your relationship. You'll write about the feelings this evokes, as well as any thoughts or images that come to mind when you think about it.Next, you'll write a letter to yourself from the perspective of a good friend or loved one. Rather than writing about your own thoughts on the issue, try to imagine what they would say to you instead. Try to write from a place of genuine understanding, empathy, and unconditional acceptance. What are some of the ways they would show you compassion, support, and care?When you've finished, set it aside for 15 minutes. Return to it after this, re-reading what you've written and really allowing yourself to absorb what you've written. It may not come naturally, but try to open yourself up to the kindness, support, and compassionate feelings throughout the letter.
The Letter of Self-Compassion exercise can be found in our Toolkit.
4. Taking Care of the CaregiverThis exercise is intended specifically for those in a healthcare profession or those who take care of a family member.
People who spend so much time providing care for others often have a greater need for self-compassion and self-care.
The beautiful thing about this exercise is that you can practice it, however works best for you - the only requirement is that you do something for yourself that will meet your needs and help you recharge. This could be getting a massage, taking a long and leisurely walk, going to a yoga class, or spending time relaxing and doing nothing at all.
If you just can't find the time to do any of these in a specific moment of need, practice "on the job" self-care. When you're feeling overly stressed or overwhelmed in your caregiving, use soothing words or touch, or take a quick self-compassion break. Only you know what will work for you in the moment, but above all, give yourself permission to be human-with all of the flaws and pain that come with being human.
To read more about taking care of the caregiver, click here.
5. The Daring Way
This isn't so much an exercise as it is a program, one that requires committing time and energy in order to engage and reap the benefits. The Daring Way is an experiential methodology, facilitated by certified professionals and appropriate for individuals, couples, families, teams, and organizational leaders.
The focus of this training is on helping people build shame resiliency skills and become braver, more vulnerable individuals who accept their worthiness and live a fuller, more authentic life.
To learn more about The Daring Way, visit thedaringway.com.
27 Resilience Activities and Worksheets for Students and Adults
Resilience Strategies
From the article: 27 Resilience Activities and Worksheets for Students and Adults published by PositivePsychologyYou may think you're not very ...
How to Help Employees Improve Their Resilience in...
How to Help Employees Improve Their Resilience in...
Published by bravo
From the article: How to Help Employees Improve Their Resilience in The Workplace published by bravo Leading a workforce is no small feat. ...
55
Resilience-Strategies-Resilience-Strategies
jplist-topic-resilience
0
504259
504259
How to Help Employees Improve Their Resilience in The Workplace
Resilience Strategies
From the article: How to Help Employees Improve Their Resilience in The Workplace published by bravo Leading a workforce is no small feat. You wear ...
Building Resilience: Helping Workers Handle...
Building Resilience: Helping Workers Handle...
Published by SHRM
From the article: Building Resilience: Helping Workers Handle Stress for the Long Haul published by SHRMAthletes often talk about ...
56
Resilience-Strategies-Resilience-Strategies
jplist-topic-resilience
0
504258
504258
From the article: Building Resilience: Helping Workers Handle Stress for the Long Haul published by SHRMAthletes often talk about resiliency when they've bounced back from a defeat or a less-than-ideal training day. But resiliency is also sorely needed in the workplace, especially in these times of uncertainty, anxiety and economic worries amid the pandemic.
What Is Resiliency?
Resiliency isn't quite the same as stress management. Stress management tends to be reactive, the damage control needed when a crisis hits. Resilience is more proactive, teaching people to build ability and skills so they're prepared for the next crisis, and the one after that.
As a manager, you can explain to your workers that resilience training means learning how to deal with challenges and setbacks in a different way than they may have learned before. Becoming resilient, experts say, doesn't just help you get through a stressful time, but can also empower you to learn how to stay resilient for the long haul, and in the process experience personal growth and improve your life.
"Typically, resilience is defined as the ability to bounce back, but I think it's more than that," said Brenna Sniderman, executive director of the Center for Integrated Research at Deloitte Services LP in Philadelphia, which focuses on developing fresh perspectives on critical business issues. "It's the ability to ... emerge from a crisis in a better position." Sniderman is coauthor of the report, "Bridge across uncertainty," which discusses how crisis leadership with a human focus can support business resilience.
"The word I hear most often associated with resilience is empowerment," said Paula Davis-Laack, founder and CEO of the Stress & Resilience Institute, a Milwaukee-based training and consulting firm. "Learning to be resilient puts you back in the driver's seat. You can be taught skills that develop resilience muscles."
While levels of resilience vary from person to person, everyone starts with some, said Dr. Gail Gazelle, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and executive coach for physicians. She wrote Everyday Resilience: A Practical Guide to Build Inner Strength and Weather Life's Challenges (Rockridge Press, 2020) and views resilience as ''a deep well of resources that we all have within us.''
Among the ways to build resilience:
Rethink reactions to stress. Urge workers to stop ''catastrophizing" when something negative happens at work, said Davis-Laack, whose forthcoming book is Teaming Up Against Burnout from Wharton School Press. To help workers do that, a manager needs to be more transparent in everyday interactions. For instance, instead of messaging a worker to, "Come see me in my office," try, "Please come by to talk about questions I have on your report."
As a manager, you should also aim to be more transparent about the company, its status, its expectations of workers and its future plans, Davis-Laack said.
She added that managers can encourage workers to take three steps to reduce catastrophizing about a situation:
Write down the worst-case scenario.Write down the best-case scenario.Identify the most likely scenario.
Sniderman tells managers: "Make sure your workforce feels comfortable coming to you with questions." That builds feelings of psychological safety, in turn building resilience. That kind of support, she said, ''shouldn't end with the crisis itself," but needs to be ongoing.
Encourage connections. Staying connected is crucial for resiliency, and a manager can help foster those connections. Davis-Laack recalled a lawyer who got promoted, then felt her colleagues cooled toward her because she was now "the boss." Then the lawyer's mentor retired, and she felt her support network was gone. "Having people you can reach out to for support is one of the most fundamental cornerstones of resilience," Davis-Laack said.
One way managers can foster that connection is to recognize and talk about small wins-not just the annual awards or the goals that took many years-and celebrate those small victories regularly, she added.
Simple, brief check-ins with workers during the workday, "showing an interest in who they are versus what they do, is a powerful way to ensure resiliency on a personal and professional level," said Joanne Heyob, senior vice president of operation strategy and design for WD Partners, a strategy, design and architectural firm in Columbus, Ohio.
Pay attention to self-care and well-being. It's difficult to feel resilient when you are exhausted, depressed or anxious. Managers should destigmatize the use of well-being programs, including mental health offerings, Sniderman said.
Stay in the moment. Learn and practice mindfulness, said Phillis Morgan, founder of Resilient at Work, a consultancy in Alexandria, Va., that helps organizations tackle workplace conflict and stress. Try one of the several mindfulness apps out now.
Focus on strengths. Pointing out a worker's strengths and accomplishments builds resiliency. Gazelle said workers at all levels need this-from the physicians she coaches to a shelf stocker at the market. One of Gazelle's doctor clients had a backlog of 350 charts to complete. Gazelle found out that the doctor's manager berated her for the backlog, while dismissing her excellent care for patients. Once the doctor's manager took suggestions from Gazelle and focused on the doctor's strengths-and asked what she could do to help with the charts-the doctor got the resilience she needed to tackle the backlog.
Building Resilience: Helping Workers Handle Stress for the Long Haul
Resilience Strategies
From the article: Building Resilience: Helping Workers Handle Stress for the Long Haul published by SHRMAthletes often talk about resiliency when ...
Building Resilience at Work: Quick Tips for...
Building Resilience at Work: Quick Tips for...
Published by Quantum Workplace
From the article: Building Resilience at Work: Quick Tips for Leaders published by Quantum WorkplaceBusiness is always changing. And while ...
57
Resilience-Strategies-Resilience-Strategies
jplist-topic-resilience
0
504257
504257
Building Resilience at Work: Quick Tips for Leaders
Resilience Strategies
From the article: Building Resilience at Work: Quick Tips for Leaders published by Quantum WorkplaceBusiness is always changing. And while change is ...
10 Truths about Resilience
10 Truths about Resilience
Published by limeade
From the article: 10 Truths about Resilience published by limeadeAccording to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the ...
58
Resilience-Strategies-Resilience-Strategies
jplist-topic-resilience
0
504250
504250
From the article: 10 Truths about Resilience published by limeadeAccording to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress - such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, finances, or stress at work.
With so much going on in the world, resilience is more important than ever. It sets the tone for a person's life in and out of work. It's a defining factor in how people address challenges and rebound from hardship.
10 TRUTHS ABOUT RESILIENCE IN THE WORKPLACE
Managers have the unique opportunity to help their employees develop resilience through intentional action. This requires trust, communication and the right tools. To help you get started, we've compiled "truths about resilience" to help you and your team understand and develop resilience in the workplace.
Consider sharing these insights with your coworkers, direct reports and leaders today:
1. Resilience can be taught
Just like any skill, resilience can be practiced and refined over time. Any source of stress - be it financial, emotional or physical - is an opportunity to practice resilience.
2. Resilience comes from many places
There are many ways to build resilience. Find a way to work one of the following activities into your daily routine, and encourage other employees to do the same:
MeditationJournalingSelf-care (sleep, nutrition, exercise)TherapyOptimism and positivity training
3. Resilience means adapting
An individual who demonstrates resilience is one who can cope and adapt in the face of many situations, including traumatic or stressful circumstances. Resilience is not stoicism. It's a healthy way of learning to express one's frustrations, fears or anxieties, coupled with the ability to "get back up."
4. Resilience can be measured
Use a well-being assessment to measure resilience. Prompts like "I give up easily" or "When I get negative feedback, it affects me for days" allow respondents to track their level of resilience. Well-being assessments address topics of change and disappointment and are a starting point for understanding your own resilience or the collective resilience of your team.
5. Resilience training makes a difference
Consider implementing a well-being program that offers structured activities around building employee resilience. Resilience training might include learning the following:
The difference between acute and chronic stressYour tendencies and emotions during conflictHow positive thinking helps you bounce back from circumstances outside of your control
6. Relationships are key
Relationships that create love and trust, provide role models and offer encouragement to help support a person's resilience. Regardless of your role, you have the opportunity to build resilience in your coworkers by treating them with love, respect and authentic care.
7. Resilience is personal
Developing resilience is a personal journey. People do not all react the same to traumatic and stressful life events. An approach to building resilience that works for one person might not work for another. It's crucial for managers and leaders to use varying strategies based on the individual.
8. Resilience may require outside help
If you need help developing resilience, you're not alone. A licensed mental health professional such as a psychologist can help. Just as you'd hire a professional to build a home, trained mental health professionals are equipped to help you build resilience.
9. Resilience brings better business results
According to Limeade Institute research, resilience is associated with better outcomes with regard to turnover, improved performance, and the cost of attracting and retaining talent.
10. Resilience brings multiple positive outcomes
Becoming more resilient not only helps you get through difficult circumstances like stress at work, but it also empowers you to grow and even improve your life along the way.
Resilience is an incredible asset that brings health and positivity to many aspects of life. We hope these thought-starters inspire you to double-down on resilience in the workplace. As you manage this process of change, consider investing in a solution that provides actionable activities and growth tracking along the way.
10 Truths about Resilience
Resilience Strategies
From the article: 10 Truths about Resilience published by limeadeAccording to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the process of ...
Resilience in the Workplace: How to Be More...
Resilience in the Workplace: How to Be More...
Published by PositivePsychology on February 22, 2021
From the article: Resilience in the Workplace: How to Be More Resilient at Work published by PositivePsychologyHave you ever found yourself ...
59
Resilience-Strategies-Resilience-Strategies
jplist-topic-resilience
0
504249
504249
From the article: Resilience in the Workplace: How to Be More Resilient at Work published by PositivePsychologyHave you ever found yourself wondering what makes someone successful at work?
Chances are, like many people you imagine that the key to success at work is intelligence or going above and beyond the demands of the role such as working extra long hours or taking on extra commitments.
However, in modern workplaces characterized by staff cutbacks, deadlines, rivalry and organizational change, success relies on an individual's capacity to cope and even thrive when faced with stress.
Broadly speaking, resilience is the ability to 'bounce back' when encountering the challenges that are an inevitable part of life. The workplace presents a different range of stressors to employees. What is resilience in the workplace? Why is it even important? Can individuals even become more resilient anyway?
The exciting thing about resilience is that it is a skill. Like any skill, with practice, resilience can be learned. This article describes resilience in the workplace and provides helpful tips about how people can be more resilient at work. It will define exactly what is meant by 'resilience in the workplace', describe some examples of developing personal resilience at work and then explore ways to enhance resilience.What is Resilience in the Workplace?
Research Done
Consider a workplace that is undergoing radical change. One may expect that the effects of this ongoing stress would be detrimental to staff. After all, their livelihood may be at stake. A research study by two management consultants studied this very phenomenon.
Over a period of twelve years, S. Maddi and D. Khoshaba studied employees of a large US telecommunications company during a time when this industry was being de-regulated. The company was constantly changing and jobs were at stake. However, what the research showed was most surprising.
During the twelve-year period in which the study took place, almost 50% of the employees lost their job and a further two-thirds experienced significant stressful life events (including divorce, mental health issues like depression and anxiety, and heart attacks). Despite this, one-third of the workers not only survived the tremendous challenge they faced, they actually flourished!
In their book, called 'Resilience at work: how to succeed no matter what life throws at you' Maddi and Khoshaba (2006) report that of the individuals they studied, the employees who retained their positions rose to the top, whilst those who were unfortunate enough to lose their job either started their own companies or took 'strategically important' employment in other companies.
Resilience is Dynamic
What does this study show about resilience in the workplace? Put another way, what can we learn from this study? Well, resilience is an active, dynamic process. According to the Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing (2006):
'the good news is that although some people seem to be born with more resilience than others, those whose resilience is lower can learn how to boost their ability to cope, thrive and flourish when the going gets tough'. So, resilience can be enhanced!
The personality trait of hardiness has been found to buffer or lessen the negative effects of stressful events or adversity (Jackson, Frito, & Edenborough, 2007). It is possible to learn habits and strategies to increase hardiness. Furthermore, by developing effective strategies for reducing vulnerability to stress and the impact of adversity, it is possible to strengthen and develop personal resilience.
In order to understand what constitutes resilience in the workplace, perhaps the most accessible way to think about it is to consider what resilient employees do when faced with workplace adversity that sets them apart from the rest of the pack. What is it that these employees do differently?
Resilient Employees
Resilient employees build strong connections and relationships with others (Davis Laak, 2014). These high-quality relationships can be characterized by a number of features. Connections are characterized by effective communication in which an individual listens actively and is responsive to their colleague and their emotions (Davis Laak, 2014).
In positive workplace relationships, a resilient worker will do what they can to help another person to achieve success in the workplace. The resilient worker is a team-player who aims for a win-win with their fellow employees.
Social support plays an important role in workplace resilience (Jackson, Firtko, & Edenborough, 2007). It is beneficial to develop personal as well as professional networks, which can be a source of guidance and support during times of stress or simply to provide a nurturing relationship.
It is also helpful for employees to have contact with colleagues outside of their own immediate work setting. These people can provide validation to the worker, and can potentially be accessible to the individual when accessing support within their own work situation would make the employee vulnerable (Jackson et al., 2007).
Resilient employees nurture the work networks they have developed, consistently building trust with others. However, a surprising finding in the research was that resilient employees don't take the work environment too seriously. They introduce an element of 'play' to the workplace, which further fosters positive emotions amongst employees.
Modern workplaces are certainly typified by stress. Technology and access to the Internet mean that, for many, work is a constant presence. No longer does one establish a career which they then stay in for the duration of their working life. Resilient employees are able to manage stress effectively so it is not overwhelming and detrimental (Davis Laak, 2014).
By actively engaging in self-care and nurturing themselves after a stressful incident, however minor, resilient employees avoid 'burnout'.
Another characteristic of a resilient employee is that the individual is true to their 'real' self (Davis Laak, 2014). They are authentic and behave in a way which is in alignment with their values and beliefs. If you like, they 'practice what they preach'. They show grit.
What is Grit?
Grit is that fighting spirit that sets some employees apart. It can be defined as 'having the passion and perseverance to pursue your long-term goals' (Davis Laak, 2014). However, if grit means that an employee is striving to achieve challenging goals, this will almost certainly mean that they will encounter obstacles. When this occurs, workers have the chance to show resilience, as resilience is needed to overcome these hurdles.
How resilient employees perceive their occupation and day-to-day tasks also sets them apart. These workers perceive their work as meaningful (Davis Laak, 2014). It is hardly surprising that those who feel like their toll is in an endeavor to achieve a valuable outcome are going to be better equipped to bounce back when work is particularly stressful.
Examples include medical practitioners, who see their work as leading to health outcomes for patients rather than 'fixing' a medical problem. Having a positive focus at work is a component of resilience.
Of course, it is not that resilient employees do not experience stress. Stress is an unavoidable aspect of life, and workplaces present a multitude of stressors. However, a characteristic of resilient workers is that they will monitor their own thoughts when they are under stress and duress (Davis Laak, 2014).
By acting mindfully, the employees who display resilience notice particular patterns in their thinking that may be impeding their chance at occupational success (Davis Laak, 2014). This awareness promotes a capacity to cope with stress and unexpected challenges.
Modern workplaces are typified by change. The climate of work imposes on employees a need to be flexible and adaptive. Resilient workers are seen to be more able to manage inevitable changes and deal with novel scenarios. They are also more skilled at dealing with setbacks and have the capacity to move on after they encounter a stumbling block.
5 Examples of Building Personal Resilience at Work
How can an individual build their personal resilience at work? In order to address this question, think back to Maddi and Khoshaba's study of the employees of the telecommunications company in the US. How is it that under such duress, many of the workers were able to thrive? How did they develop resilience?
Resilience is a multi-dimensional construct, and consists of a cluster of factors: behaviors, thoughts, actions, attitudes, and skills. In their study, Maddi and Khoshaba identified three variables associated with the individuals' ability to bounce back from the immense stress they faced. These were commitment, control, and challenge.
"Simply put these attitudes are commitment, control, and challenge. As time gets tough, if you hold these attitudes, you'll believe that it is best to stay involved with the people and events around you (commitment) rather than to pull out, to keep trying to influence the outcomes in which you are involved (control) rather than give up, and to try and discover how you can grow through the stress (challenge) rather than to bemoan your fate" (Maddi & Khoshaba, 2006). Let me explain further.
By committing themselves to their work, the employees were more able to dedicate themselves to the tasks at hand. This enabled the workers to make sense of what exactly was going on for them. Having a sense of control empowered the employees to enable them to behave in a way which had an influence over the changes that were happening. They also viewed change and stress as an inevitable part of life.
How can an individual build their resilience in the workplace? Jackson and colleagues (2007) argue that personal resilience can be strengthened and enhanced by developing a variety of effective strategies that reduce vulnerability and susceptibility to stress.
It can also help employees to develop and nurture skills for reducing the impact that adversity in the workplace has on them. This may include, but is not limited to, practicing mindfulness, developing mental agility, and taking regular breaks from work to 'detach'. Jackson et al. suggest the following:
1. Positivity
By taking a positive stance at work, employees are more able to adapt to adversity and also hold on to a sense of control over their work environment. Putting energy and motivation into work, or, having 'vigor' - as described by Shirom (2004) - is also associated with building personal resilience. It is the 'opposite' of burnout, which is characterized by emotional exhaustion, physical tiredness, and cognitive fatigue or 'weariness'.
Vigor is characterized by having the capacity to put in the maximum effort at work and thus further build personal resilience (Shirom, 2004).
2. Emotional Insight
Another example of building personal resilience at work is by developing and strengthening emotional insight. Insight is closely related to emotional intelligence. Individuals with a level of insight have a level of awareness about the full range of emotions they experience, from 'negative' through to 'positive'.
They will also consider the ramifications of their own reactions and behavior and the effects their own actions have on others. Psychologically resilient individuals can be described as emotionally intelligent (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004).
3. Balance
Individuals can build personal resilience at work by achieving a healthy work-life balance. This is especially challenging in the world we are living in. Technology can mean that employees may have access to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In order to be able to bounce back from stressful situations, i.e. to be resilient, workers need to have the energy that can be easily depleted if a healthy work-life balance is not in place. Workers need time to relax, unwind and recuperate.
4. Spirituality
Having a sense of spirituality has been linked to developing resilience at work. This may be related to reducing vulnerability and the impact that adversity in the workplace has on the individual. Finding meaning in work, and feeling that this work is contributing to a greater good, can buffer against the effect of stress.
It may also be because spirituality may lead employees to view even stressful situations as having positive aspects, or 'purpose', and appreciating potential benefits.
5. Reflection
Becoming more reflective is another way individuals can build resilience at work. In other words, being in tune with one's emotions and emotional reactions can serve to buffer against the effect of stress. Being aware of possible 'triggers' to stress can provide individuals with the opportunity to prepare and gather resources so they are better able to 'bounce back'.
If an employee knows that a particular circumstance will be especially challenging, they can then implement coping strategies, such as seeking support.
Why is Resilience so Important?
Resilience is a critical life-skill that has roots in the key to humankind's survival. The ability to cope with stress and unexpected challenges, and even to thrive in such situations, is adaptive. This is not news to anyone! What about the workplace? Why is resilience so important in the work environment?
For starters, workplaces are embedded with stress. Occupational stress affects personal and performance outcomes (Rees, Breen, Cusack, and Hegney, 2015). Furthermore, workplace stress is correlated with high levels of depression and anxiety, and burnout (Rees et al, 2015).
As early as 1978, the effects of a stressful workplace were reported by Pines and Maslach, who introduced the term 'burnout' to describe a state whereby employees experience physical and emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of low personal accomplishment.
Burnout has a heavy toll on workplaces, both productively and economically. Burnout is associated with increased rates of absenteeism and reduced productivity - not to mention the negative impact it has on employees. Psychologically resilient employees are better able to cope with stress, and less likely to suffer from 'burnout'. Clearly this is of benefit to the employer!
Resilience has been associated with various positive states, including optimism, zest, curiosity, energy and openness to experience (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). These positive emotional states are of tremendous value to the workplace. In addition to the more immediate value of positive states, Fredrickson (2004) put forward the argument that positive emotions lead to 'thought-action repertoires' which then result in an urge to think/act in a certain direction.
To put this simply, the experience of positive emotions (fostered by resilience) can expand activity, open an employees' eyes to a range of possibilities, and increase the likelihood of more creative solutions for workplace behaviors (Fredrickson, 2004).
Positive emotions also serve as a 'buffer' against workplace stress (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). How? Well, positive emotions enable individuals to make positive appraisals of what otherwise may have been a stressful situation.
Also, those who experience positive affect are more likely to use problem-focused coping which is of great benefit in the work environment. When individuals feel more positive, they tend to also interpret seemingly ordinary events and experiences as positive. Thus, positive emotions foster positivity in the workplace.
Resilience is not only important for its impact on psychosocial factors such as burnout, adaptive workplace behaviors and buffering against workplace stress. Resilience has also been implicated in physical wellbeing. Tugade and Fredrickson (2004) found that "the psychological mindset involved with resilience is reflected in the body as well".
Naturally, if employees have better physical wellbeing, they will have a greater capacity to undertake their work, and - in turn - be better placed to further adapt to adversity! It is a win-win situation.Resilience in the Workplace TrainingSo, it is clear that resilience is highly important in the workplace. How can businesses encourage resilience in the workplace? What can be done?
Well, workplace training has been found to be effective. Studies support the positive impact of resilience training. But what does that exactly entail, and is resilience in the workplace training really beneficial to employees and businesses?
Resilience training has been found to have a positive impact on mental health and subjective wellbeing (Robertson, Cooper, Sarkar & Curran, 2015). Research suggests that resilience training may play an important part in public health and health prevention (Joyce, Shand, Bryant, Lal & Harvey, 2018). This is because resilience training has the power to protect the long-term health and wellbeing of employees.
Resilience training varies according to the content of the material presented, and the way in which the training is delivered. Resilience training may take a variety of forms - including online training, group-based training, one-to-one training and a combination of group-based and one-to-one training (Robertson et al., 2015).
The length of resilience in the workplace training varies widely, from a single 90-minute session to 13 weekly sessions. In a systematic review of resilience training in the workplace, the authors identified four broad categories of outcomes that were measured:
Mental health and subjective wellbeing outcomesPhysical/biological outcomesPsychosocial outcomesPerformance outcomes
Robertson et al. (2015) reviewed 14 studies, and they found that 12 studies reported a beneficial effect of resilience training. However, a limitation of their review was that only 6 studies directly measured resilience (of which, three showed a significant, positive effect).
The authors also found that resilience training was especially effective for positive mental health and subjective wellbeing outcomes (including stress, depression, anxiety, and negative mood/affect/emotion).
An example of a resilience training program was developed at the University of Pennsylvania, called the Pennsylvania Resilience Program (PRP). This particular program aimed to enhance protective factors associated with resilience in the workplace, including optimism, self-efficacy, problem-solving, self-regulation, flexibility, emotional awareness, empathy and the development of strong relationships (Robertson et al., 2015).
What does a resilience training program look like? Resilience training may consist of skills-based coaching, developmental/executive coaching or mindfulness and compassion-based practices (Robertson et al., 2015).
Researchers in the field of resilience have turned their attention to evidence-based therapies from which to develop resilience training. For example, research training has been developed from ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy), Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (Joyce et al., 2018).
A more novel approach to resilience training has seen workers utilize technology to self-regulate stress responses (Robertson et al., 2015).
Studies have supported the role of mindfulness training on psychological resilience, therefore making it a helpful intervention in resilience training in the workplace (Joyce et al., 2018). Mindfulness-based resilience training typically involves the teaching of cognitive strategies, mindfulness training, provision of psycho-educational material, and goal setting (Joyce et al., 2018).
The findings from one study of resilience training were reported by Joyce and colleagues (2018). Their resilience training was delivered to 29 full-time firefighters. The training, called "Resilience @ Work" (RAW) consisted of 6 internet-based sessions. The training was mindfulness-based and was delivered to the participants online. Compared to baseline measures, participants were found to have increased resilience after the RAW training.
This finding was valuable, as many resilience training programs are delivered via multiple face-to-face sessions. Most commonly, resilience training is delivered to groups over a 10 - 11-week period. This mode of delivery is disruptive to business and is extremely costly both in time and in resources.
The success of Joyce et al.'s intervention offers promise for more cost-effective resilience training options available to workplaces.
At face value, it appears that resilience training is an effective way to increase employees' capacity to deal effectively with stress and overcome challenges. However, it should be kept in mind that the effectiveness of training - like any educational program - is moderated by the nature of the training.
How to Build Resilient Teams
There is a range of possible ways to develop resilience in work-teams. Resilient teams are able to withstand and overcome difficulties whilst sustaining performance and cohesion of the team, or even strengthen the team. Some ways to build resilient teams, described by Alliger and colleagues (2015), that can be applied for any type of team, are described below:
1. Checklists and Guides
Some common challenges and stressors can be anticipated at work. To develop resilience in team-members, checklists and guides are a helpful way to provide employees with a resource they can turn to when dealing with the challenge. The resource can be a 'go-to' guide for staff.
The resource might include tips for troubleshooting, guidelines for escalation (if necessary) and the key questions to consider in difficult situations.
A good idea is also to document 'standard operating procedures' for the workplace. As well as providing invaluable information for new staff, having these procedures written down and accessible means that the team can maintain their basic work tasks as efficiently as possible. Therefore, when unexpected challenges arise, the staff have freed up some capacity to deal with the stressor.
In any team, experts may at times need to be called upon. A valuable resource is a table/spreadsheet that contains the names and contact details for people who are in the position to support the team when particular challenges arise.
2. Training
In order to develop the resilience of any team, it is worthwhile to conduct team resilience training (as was described in the previous section), such as facilitated group sessions. The benefit of training for a team is that it helps the team members develop a group understanding, which promotes cohesion of the team and promotes positive team coordination.
Some tasks that are physical in nature can be practiced, by handling simulated challenges. This sort of training has been used extensively in training of medical professionals. It is also good for team-members to consider any resilience behaviors that they displayed during the simulation, and an observer may also be involved to provide feedback to individuals.
Obviously, due to practicalities and safety reasons, it may not be possible to 're-create' a challenge. In this circumstance, cognitive tasks may be helpful. For example, the person in charge of training could provide the team with a scenario for a possible event (i.e. an emergency) and ask them to think about the problem and discuss what they would do in the scenario. Again, feedback is helpful throughout this process.
3. Debriefing Sessions
After any challenge or stressful event, it is valuable for a workplace to offer its' employees 'post-challenge' debriefing. These sessions will encourage reflection about the experience. It is also helpful to facilitate team discussion about the challenge and how employees coped. This also facilitates team members supporting one another. This process can also include action planning for the team.
As well as being a helpful process following a particularly stressful event, team debriefing can also be a valuable thing to do after a period of time when there has been a string of low-level chronic challenges, which tend to deplete teams and are draining.
4. Work Culture
Finally, the culture of a team is a key to promoting resilience. This forms the basis for "team resilience". It is the responsibility of a team-leader, or supervisor, to create the right atmosphere for his/her team. They can facilitate the development of positive work culture by consistently demonstrating behaviors (described shortly) and also reinforce the behaviors in employees.
A culture of resilience includes team members being encouraged to:
Speak up, and ask any questionsOpenly share bad news, and report early warning signs of potential problemsMaintain composure during 'emergencies' and times of heightened stressIn case of needing further support, seek out expertise rather than simply relying on another worker's rank or seniorityKeep an eye on one's work colleagues, and be there to offer support throughout the challenge - before (to minimize the impact of the stressor), during (to manage the heightened stress) and after the stressor (to 'mend' once the stress has passed)Be able to express when there is a need in the workplace to switch to and from 'emergency' modes of operating.Lastly, but importantly, once the challenge has passed, to encourage resilience team members to thank others for their help, and discuss any other challenges.
By putting these strategies into place, a resilient team can slowly but surely be developed.
Developing Resilience for Social Work Practice (book)
Louise Grant and Gail Kinman edited this handbook, which was published in 2014. It is designed for social work students and practitioners, to provide them with tools and strategies they can use to maintain wellbeing in an emotionally demanding profession. It aims to help students and practitioners alike to build the skills which will help develop emotional resilience.
Whilst traditionally in social work resilience has been studied in relation to those who have survived trauma, especially children, it is now understood that social workers also need a range of skills in order to effectively manage the emotional demands of their job. In other words, social workers need to be resilient!
This book is an engaging text that provides social workers and students with practical tools and strategies which can be used by the reader to manage their own wellbeing and to develop resilience.
The book is grounded in theory and practice. The interventions and strategies introduced are evidence-based, and because it is written by practitioners, the audience is in a position where they are more likely to relate to the issues and themes introduced. A feature of this text is the case-studies included throughout, which really bring the book to life for its' readers.
Included in the text are a range of topics relevant to social work students and practitioners. For example, some of the issues explored include boundaries, personal organization, and time management. The book also looks at the role of critical reflection and reflective supervision in developing resilience.
It explores Cognitive Behavior-based strategies, and the chapter on mindfulness can also help readers develop skills for coping with a highly stressful work environment. It covers peer support, peer coaching, and how to increase self-knowledge, develop coping skills and stress resistance. Finally, the book presents an integrated approach to resilient individuals and organizations.
Louise Grant has spent the last seven years teaching both qualifying and post-qualifying social workers. She is the principal lecturer at The University of Bedfordshire. From her experience, Louise has developed an awareness of the complexities of social work practice, its' demanding nature and what is required to achieve wellbeing and develop emotional resilience in practice.
Gail Kinman is a psychologist, with a particular interest in the area of Occupational Health Psychology. She is involved in a variety of research projects. However, her most significant focus is on the wellbeing of people who work in emotionally demanding professions.How to be Tough at Work During LayoffsPerhaps one of the most stressful situation workers can encounter is when layoffs are imminent. At this time, more than ever, the need to be resilient is tremendous.
Even workplaces that are generally quite friendly become super competitive when staff are being made redundant. Staff may begin gossiping, and engage in self-promotion - even at the expense of others.
However, although this situation is undoubtedly extremely challenging, Lynze Wardle Lenio has come up with some suggestions for things that employees can do to survive a layoff, or, to cope if they are in the unfortunate position of losing their job:
1. Prepare
Preparation is the key to dealing with so many stressful situations. After all, if we mentally prepare by planning for the 'worst-case scenario' this can help us develop coping strategies. It helps employees to cope with the stress of layoffs if they are ready to 'bounce back' should they actually lose their job.
It can help employees to have a plan of action, a 'plan B'. It is always a good idea to have a back-up plan! It is also helpful for staff to ensure they are up-to-date professionally in case they need to look for a new position. This may involve updating profiles, such as 'LinkedIn' and other social networks. It is invaluable to have personal and professional connections when seeking employment.
It is also a good idea for employees to review their skills in order to be competitive. This may also involve taking part in additional training or certification or completing professional development.
If the employee is fortunate enough not to lose their position, these extra qualifications and skills look impressive on the CV regardless!
It is wise during times of layoffs for workers to be financially cautious... 'just in case'. It is sensible to avoid spending money on unnecessary 'extras' or big-ticket items. At this time, Wardle Lenio advises employees to be especially responsible with their money and using credit cards carefully.
2. Maintain Positive Relationships at Work
Even if under extreme pressure in the workplace, it is advisable for employees to avoid toxic workplace discussions and gossip. Even if stressed, it is probably also better to avoid talking at any length about layoffs to your superiors.
Engaging in 'worry talk' at work will only strengthen the experience of stress and anxiety. It is best for workers to continue fostering positive engagement with colleagues and aim to protect their professional network.
It can be helpful for employees to remind themselves of the reason they are at work... in other words, to do their job. They should do their best to try not to waste time at work worrying about something that may not even happen. At work, an employee's first priority needs to be doing the job they are being paid to do!
3. Prove your Worth
At this time, employees may be under scrutiny. It is therefore worthwhile for employees to prove that they 'earn their keep' and that they are a valuable asset to the business. By making hard-work and dedication to performance their number one priority, this will actually help reduce stress in the workplace.
It is great for workers to make success their focus - to ensure that they work thoroughly and conscientiously, and to make sure they meet any deadlines. Furthermore, employees can prove their worth by going the extra mile and taking the initiative to complete extra work.
If it is at all possible, workers are wise to make the hard work they are doing known about! During layoffs, it is worthwhile for employees to prove that they are a valuable employee.
Many reasons lie behind why layoffs are made, and many are out of our control. However, workers can give themselves the best chance of retention by being the best employee they possibly can. It is best to prepare thoroughly, maximize relationships in the workplace and in the professional network and, finally, to work hard. At the end of the day, this will put employees in good to stead to achieve the career goals they have for themselves.
Resilience in the Workplace: How to Be More Resilient at Work
Resilience Strategies
From the article: Resilience in the Workplace: How to Be More Resilient at Work published by PositivePsychologyHave you ever found yourself wondering ...
Resilience: A Strong Workforce Needs It
Resilience: A Strong Workforce Needs It
Published by Center for Workplace Mental Health
From the article: Resilience: A Strong Workforce Needs It published by Center for Workplace Mental HealthOur fast-paced culture results in ...
60
Resilience-Strategies-Resilience-Strategies
jplist-topic-resilience
0
504248
504248
Resilience: A Strong Workforce Needs It
Resilience Strategies
From the article: Resilience: A Strong Workforce Needs It published by Center for Workplace Mental HealthOur fast-paced culture results in people ...
No results found
