Plan for the Perfect Year
“The New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, ready to be written.” – Melody Beattie Hello! Welcome to the January 2020 edition of TotalWellbeing, your guide to the 8 dimensions of wellbeing. This month we are looking to help you get 2020 started on the right foot. We know, New Year’s resolutions can be a little cliché, and are often forgotten about as the year goes on, but this isn’t just about the New Year, it’s about a new you and learning how to build great new habits while breaking bad old habits. Wellbeing shouldn’t be something that you only think about once a year, it’s a lifelong drive to be well and happy. To get you started, or to help you keep going strong, use the resources like these helpful articles or this free webinar, to start 2020 with a bang! Remember you can always catch past issues of TotalWellbeing on our newsletters page. This newsletter is aimed at providing helpful information about various aspects of your wellbeing and then connecting it all back to important and relevant parts of everyday life. If you have any thoughts, questions, or content you would like to see covered here please get in contact with us. You can email us directly by clicking here. To your total wellbeing, The MINES Team Happiness as a Choice Are you a person who can act on tough questions? Questions like: What am I grateful for? What choices do I have? What actions can I take to improve my life? What are my primary strengths? How can I live a more balanced life? People who can act on these questions likely also describe themselves as happy. “Happiness is neither a mood nor an emotion. Mood is a biochemical condition, and emotions are transitory feelings,” says Dan Baker, Ph.D., director of the Life Enhancement Program at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Ariz., and author of What Happy People Know. “Happiness is a way of life, an overriding outlook composed of qualities like love, optimism, courage, and a sense of freedom. It’s not something that changes every time your situation changes.” Check out this article for a complete look at skills to master your own happiness including: appreciation, choice, personal power, leading with your strengths, and more. Remember that if you or a household member are looking to set goals and enhance your wellbeing and happiness, we can help. Your EAP comes with 4 free telephonic wellness coaching sessions per year to help you achieve your goals. Please call us at 1-800-873-7138 to get connected right away. Also, PersonalAdvantage has a ton of great resources and FREE webinars this month to help you focus on your wellbeing while also being productive at work and home.
Seven Ways to Beat the Burnout Blues You may be experiencing burnout if you feel bored, fatigued, apathetic, impatient, and constantly irritated with your co-workers. Don’t panic, there’s hope. Some of the secrets to long-term job happiness are revealed in the 7 tips below: Change positions within your company — See how your skills can be applied in new ways within your company and seek out new opportunities to contribute. Find like-minded people — Finding people with a similar sense of humor, interests, and experience as you can help you see things in new ways and find fresh ideas that work with your lifestyle. Seek out short-term projects — Short-term projects can be a great way to explore new things and work with new people. Kind of like a test-drive for new hobbies you may like to take a deeper dive into. Get more education — Nothing like fresh skills and new knowledge to open new doors. Keep on learning — Stop. Learning. The more you learn, the more exposure you have to opportunities in the world you may have never even knew existed. Have pride in your job — Doing your job the best you can and having pride in your contribution can help you enjoy your job, endure rough patches, and beat burnout even in the worst of times. Don’t wait — If you start to experience burnout, don’t wait until it affects your work and you start looking for a new job. Instead, try making positive changes in your present job. Talk to your supervisor and discuss changes that could reenergize you! Check out this article for a full breakdown of these 7 tips. Remember that if you or a household member are experiencing burnout and want to talk to someone about it, we are here to listen. Please call us at 1-800-873-7138 to get connected right away. Also, PersonalAdvantage has a ton of great resources and FREE webinars this month to help you focus on your wellbeing while also being productive at work and home.
Question of the Month Did you set any goals last year for 2019? If so, how did you do? What went right and what didn’t go so well and why? What can you do this year to make 2020 a successful year for yourself?
Supporting Your Intellectual Wellbeing Resolutions aside, the New Year is a very convenient time to start something new. What not make it something that is going to strengthen your mind, let you learn new things, and bolster your overall intellectual wellbeing? While there are tons of stuff you could do that would fit this mold, here are a couple suggestions to get you started thinking about what fits your interests, goals, and lifestyle. Brain games – Challenge yourself. Memory, puzzle, and brain teaser games can help you learn to look at problems from a different angle and improve your logical thinking patterns. Dancing or martial arts – Complex movement patterns. Anything that requires complex movements and pattern memorization can help create new pathways in your brain and help both hand-eye coordination and memory. Study a new language – The cognitive processes involved in learning a new language, as well as the act of translating one language into another, requires your brain to create new ways of communication across hemispheres. This not only helps cognition but can help prevent or slow the onset of dementia related symptoms and diseases. Brain support – Sleep, eat well, lay off the substances. What ever you decide to do to stimulate and develop your intellectual wellbeing, it’s critical to give your brain what it needs to thrive. Good sleep, and plenty of brain supporting nutrients like vitamin K, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and beta carotene to name a few, are a great way to support your cognitive functions. It’s also important to not fill your brain with the bad stuff too. So make sure to avoid overloading yourself with sugar and highly processed foods, and limit or avoid alcohol and certain drugs as well. For more resources on supporting your intellectual wellbeing, log in to PersonalAdvantage today.
If you or a member of your household needs assistance or guidance on any of these wellbeing topics, please call MINES & Associates, your EAP, today for free, confidential, 24/7 assistance at 800.873.7138.
This Month’s Focus Free Webinar: Mindful Meal Planning MINESblog: New to TW? Check out our past Blogs! Workplace Goals for the New Year Important Links Visit our BLOG MINES and Associates Current Training Catalog Balanced Living Magazine LinkedIn MINES Archives Contact Us Email MINES
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The tag line on the cover directly implies that performance is impacted by “the desire to know and why your future depends on it.”

Leslie describes three types of curiosity. “diversive curiosity” is the restless desire for the new and the next. Think scrolling through your cell phone apps such as facebook, twitter, emails, wordpress, and news feeds, while spending very little time on any one piece. The value of “diversive curiosity” is that it helps the exploring mind find the new and the undiscovered. Its ultimate value is helping us be curious enough to learn futher about a subject, to do a deeper investigationThe second type of curiosity is “epistemic curiosity.” It is a “quest for knowledge and understanding, it nourishes us. This deeper, more disciplined and effortful type of curiosity” is the focus of the book ( prologue, p.xx).

The third type of curiosity is “empathic curiosity.” This is “about the thoughts and feelings of other people. It is distinct from gossip or prurience, which we can think of as “diversive curiosity” about the superficial detail of others’ lives. You practice empathic curiosity when you genuinely try to put yourself in the shoes – and mind – of the person you are talking to, to see things from their perspective… (p.xxi).”

The relevance for psychology of performance in business is far reaching. Given the complexity of our business environments, advances in science and technology, and the exponential growth of knowledge. Organizations and individuals who are not curious will become obsolete or become further and further behind compared to those who embrace epistemic curiosity and life-long learning.

Leslie does us the same service Malcom Gladwell and other synthsis writers do by diving into the scientific literature behind the statements in the book. One area that is concerning is the role of core subject knowledge and the ability to be curious. Schools who teach process skills without content knowledge produce students who are less capable of the creative, cross-discipline insights and thinking required to solve the complex and diverse problems we are faced with. This body of research is counter to what has happened in many schools across the country. One has to have information in order to know whether one wants to be curious and learn more about it.  Leslie’s handrail was “knowledge loves knowledge.”

He adds an interesting case study related to Disney and Pixar concerning then-CEO of Disney Michael Eisner and co-founder of Pixar, Steve Jobs. Leslie looks at an interesting quote from Jobs stating that as Pixar was the creative organization producing one money making film after another while Disney was the distributor, Eisner only spent a little over two hours at Pixar rather than learning how Pixar was doing what it did and taking it back to Disney. Finally, after Eisner and Jobs left, Disney bought Pixar. If someone is out-performing you as an organization or individually, being curious as to how they are doing that could be a good process to go through rather than avoiding it, resting on the status quo, or other reasons for not learning more.

Leslie discussed breadth versus depth in knowledge and the need for both. He uses the concept of a “foxhog” (p.152). “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing” (p.151). A foxhog is one who combines deep knowledge of a specialty with broad understanding of other disciplines. Leslie also pays tribute to one of my favorite business people and writers, Charlie Munger, who is exemplary in his pursuit of knowledge outside of his field and in learning useful mental models from other disciplines. From a psychology of performance point of view, Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet have performed at high levels in their field for decades.

In order to improve your performance over your lifetime, be epistemically and empathically curious, be a lifelong learner, apply what you know, and take action!

Please have a day filled with loving kindness and extend compassion and sympathetic joy to everyone you meet.

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D., CEO & Psychologist

The post Psychology of Performance #58: Curiosity and Knowledge appeared first on MINES and Associates.

As usual, “Bridging the Gap” aims to take everything MINES has been going on about for the last quarter and break down the topics and the connections that they have with one another, as well as your life and the lives of those around you, to make sure that the information we share can have the best possible impact on your view of wellbeing, and bring balance into your life every day. The second quarter of 2014 saw MINES introduce a whole host of new resources, inspirational stories, and wellbeing topics. Let’s start with the wellbeing topics first.

In April, we introduced all new wellbeing topics: intellectual and social wellbeing. While exploring these topics we looked at the importance of being mindful of the influence that your friends, family, and society in general have on your cognitive processes. Next, in May we continued our examination of intellectual wellbeing, this time looking at its connection with financial wellbeing. We looked at the complex implications these two topics have on each other on the individual as well as societal levels.Then in June, financial wellbeing carried over and was analyzed alongside social wellbeing. We looked at social circles and our financial statuses effect on one another as we interact in our social lives. Finally, earlier this month we linked physical wellbeing with a completely fresh topic, environmental wellbeing, prompting a look at our physical self and its place in the world around us.

As our readers have come to expect from our blog, last quarter was filled with a wide array of diverse content from all corners of the MINES Team. Dr. Robert Mines chimed in with posts on Overcoming Adversity, Compassion, and the Psychology of Diabetes. Marcia Kent’s ever-inspirational “reFrame” covered hikes up Mt. Kilimanjaro and how to get the most out of all 1,440 seconds in a day. One of our case managers, Heather DeKeyser, also contributed with a compelling look at resilience and its role in our lives as both an internal resource as well as a trait we look for in others to help guide us.

MINES has a whole assortment of thought-provoking, and inspirational content headed your way over the next few months. There are plenty more topics in the pipeline and connections to be made. On our blog you can look forward to many new stories and ideas starting right away with members of our BizPsych team taking a multi-angled look at questions and trends they see while training organizations on generational differences, with much more to come from the rest of MINES.

Whew! That’s about it for now but if you have questions or comments about this or anything else MINES is up to please let us know, we would love to hear from you. You can comment on our posts here or don’t forget to email us and let us know what is on your mind. See you next time!

To your total wellbeing

-The MINES Team

The post Bridging the Gap # 3 appeared first on MINES and Associates.

The Placebo App

A review of a year and a half of Health inSite research and how I think one group is probably more on target than some might think.

I’m going to start out by laying out a couple of concepts for review.

Placebos and psychology

A placebo is defined as “a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient.”  This causes what is called the placebo effect.  A patient is said to have experienced a placebo effect when the intended deception manifests experienced results.  While the research indicates that there is a small range of people that are susceptible to the effect, that range hovers at around 30% of the population.

Rationality

One might ask, “How is it possible that the effects of a non-drug could be experienced as having the results of an actual drug that has the intended, or actual, impact on a patient?”  This is explained as the product of self-fulfilling prophesy, or a form of expectation bias.  If you recall the previous posting on Thinking Fast and Slow, one of the difficulties we face as human beings is both our difficulty in matching up experience and memory, as well as overcoming biases that tint our understanding of rational data.  In a word, we are not always rational beings and sometimes our understanding of an experience or idea is subject to our memory and cognitive constructs that allow us to think fast.  We respond the way that our mind has told our body it expected to experience the event.  The concept, “Where your mind goes, the energy goes,” has been mentioned extensively by my colleague Dr. Mines in his series on Psychology of Performance, beginning with his first posting.

Hysteria (or mass psychogenic illness)

If you happened to miss the events in Le Roy, NY, where 18 people experienced Tourette’s-like symptoms for an extended period of time, there were many that identified the cause of the experience of these individuals as mass psychogenic illness.  Mass psychogenic illness has been largely attributed to situations in which individuals are experiencing similar physical effects (tics, for example) without any clear physical reasons (e.g., environmental toxins, viral or biological triggers, etc.).  Historically, this has been referred to as mass hysteria.  The complexity of the condition has led many to write it off, but the core assumptions of mass psychogenic illness are sound given what we know about social influence.  Oftentimes in mass psychogenic illness, an index case is discovered in which someone’s conversion disorder acts as a catalyst to the development and spread of the illness through the network.

Assuming that this is the way in which mass psychogenic illness works, index cases could be used to induce behavior change in a network towards a positive outcome. In this way, it is not mass psychogenic illness, but mass psychogenic salutogenesis (widespread generation of health through the influence of the mind over the body within the social structure of a network).

CBT and treatment adherence

Critical to adherence to any health maintenance or treatment protocol plan is the ritualizing of new behavior.  In the chemical dependency field, we’ve known this for a long time.  By creating new routines that positively impact our behavior; we are able to more easily overcome the many triggers that previously caused our substance use.

Triggers are defined in the substance abuse field as events, emotions, or thoughts that trigger the addiction response.  They are a major focus in many treatment protocols and are especially important for recognition in the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) model.  The goal in CBT is to identify why it is that we respond to thoughts, emotions, and events and then to develop, for ourselves with the help of a therapist, ways to counter the effect of those triggers.  In this way, it’s not the abolition or avoidance of triggers so much as a rational understanding of the trigger and building tools to overcome that trigger’s effect on the coached patient/client.

Network theory, social comparison, and braggadocian behavior

If you’ve read all of the links to other blog postings in the Health inSite category, but missed the posting on braggadocian behavior, the concept is very simply that social media has enabled us to engage in bragging around the things that we are doing and that this activity can influence the way that others perceive us – and we do this to intentionally accomplish that change in perception.  This gives us the ability to influence the way that others behave as they engage in responses which may include trying to match our behavior (wittingly or unwittingly)  or rejection of our behavior as a method of coping with one’s own deficiency in the category of behavior being expressed.  This has a powerful impact on the social network in which agents operate as they can directly and indirectly influence the behaviors of individuals that are proximally or distally connected to them.

In their book Connected, Christakis and Fowler explore the significant effects that our social network has on our health and health behaviors.  Social networks, of course, are not just websites like Facebook or Twitter, but all forms of interaction that we have with various people in our lives, including our family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and even the people at the grocery store.  The power of individuals to have an effect across a network based on their location within the network is a clear and well-documented reality.

Suspension of disbelief

As I mentioned in an earlier blog posting on the fourth and fifth wall, suspension of disbelief is critical to the effectiveness of theater.  Without the audience allowing suspension of disbelief, a presentation falls flat in its ability to engage the audience emotionally.  Think back to a PowerPoint presentation that was particularly awful because the speaker failed to actively paint a picture that the audience could connect with.  Similarly, engagement strategies are starting to use these concepts to create thick tapestries of story that immerse the audience in the story-line, and even sometimes ask them to co-create the story, as in the case of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries’ spin-off series, Welcome to Sanditon.

New technology

Recently, an IndieGoGo campaign was started for a new project that would create a placebo app.  You might think to yourself, “How the heck could a placebo app affect someone’s health?”  The app, which leverages the power of mirror neuron activity and the placebo effect by creating positive thought-feelings in the brain, could actually override the systems in the brain that cause us to act irrationally in terms of triggers and cognitive biases by leveraging suspension of disbelief.  Further, the app allows individuals to interact with their social network around their use of the placebo app, creating a unique opportunity for mass psychogenic salutogenesis.  Now all we need are some index cases to start the process toward a tipping point.

It will be interesting to see the resulting data from this project as we would expect that there is a real opportunity for this to be leveraged to significant effect, not only for those directly accessing the placebo app, but also those that end up interacting with those users.  But the rest of the story is still to come.

Whew, that was quite a round-up of research, huh?  Comment or send questions!

For more…

…check out a G+ Hangout from HuffPost on placebos and their effect.

Ryan Lucas
Supervisor, Marketing
To stay ahead on topics related to this, follow me on Twitter @dz45tr

The post Health inSite: Placebo, by any other name, is just as effective? appeared first on MINES and Associates.

In the workplace there are tasks and then there are people; research has shown that people are different. In fact, 75% of people are different from you in their personality types and leadership styles. The challenge is not in completing tasks, it lies in understanding how our personality types work or don’t work together. In our careers and personal lives, it is the people, not the tasks that will challenge us the most. As we develop in our careers, those that seek out the tools and opportunities to increase self-awareness in order to work better with others, are the ones that are progressing. Once you become aware of your own personality type, behavior, and style you can begin to understand how others perceive your words and actions.

As an exercise toward this goal, I recommend completing the Enneagram Personality Test. However, you should read this background about the Enneagram first. There are several recognized batteries for personality and none are perfect, but the Enneagram is highly recognized. Remember, that this test, like any test, is only a snapshot.

Once completed, you may view your personal results. The information may help you develop your style, which in turn may help better equip you as you evolve within your organization.

Ian Holtz,
Manager, Business Development

The post Understanding Your Personality Type appeared first on MINES and Associates.

As the prescription drug epidemic continues to rise we need to do more in the area of prevention. Here are some wonderful resources for prescription drug abuse prevention from our friends at Peer Assistance Services:

http://www.peerassistanceservices.org/prescription/drugabuse_materials.php

Ian Holtz,
Manager, Business Development

The post Drug Abuse Prevention appeared first on MINES and Associates.

1. Spend More Time with Family and Friends
Recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others shows that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year. Make plans to meet up with friends for an evening of comaraderie at a favorite restaurant or take the family to a popular place for family fun. Work shouldn’t always come first!

2. Fit in Fitness
The evidence is in for fitness. Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better.

3. Tame the Bulge
Over 66 percent of adult Americans are considered overweight or obese by recent studies, so it is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. Setting reasonable goals and staying focused are the two most important factors in sticking with a weight loss program, and the key to success for those millions of Americans who made a New Year’s commitment to shed extra pounds.

4. Quit Smoking
If you have resolved to make this the year that you stamp out your smoking habit, over-the-counter availability of nicotine replacement therapy now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids. Even if you’ve tried to quit before and failed, don’t let it get you down. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good. Start enjoying the rest of your smoke-free life!  Locally, there are a variety of free support services, hotlines and smoking cessation classes to help you kick the smoking habit.

5. Enjoy Life More
Given the hectic, stressful lifestyles of millions of Americans, it is no wonder that “enjoying life more” has become a popular resolution in recent years. It’s an important step to a happier and healthier you! Consider a holistic healing centers for products designed to bring balance to your body, mind and soul. Or just get out and try something new! Take up a new hobby or try your hand at skiing. Go to a theater performance, or head to the local spa.

6. Quit Drinking
While many people use the New Year as an incentive to finally stop drinking, most are not equipped to make such a drastic lifestyle change all at once. Many heavy drinkers fail to quit cold turkey but do much better when they taper gradually, or even learn to moderate their drinking. If you have decided that you want to stop drinking, there is a world of help and support available.  There are also a number of treatment-based programs, as well as support groups for families of alcoholics.

7. Get Out of Debt
Was money a big source of stress in your life last year? Join the millions of Americans who have resolved to spend this year getting a handle on their finances. It’s a promise that will repay itself many times over in the year ahead.

8. Learn Something New
Have you vowed to make this year the year to learn something new? Perhaps you are considering a career change, want to learn a new language, or just how to fix your computer? Whether you take a course or read a book, you’ll find education to be one of the easiest, most motivating New Year’s resolutions to keep. Local YMCA’s offer great recreational training for beginners of all ages. Most local colleges and universities offer distance and adult education programs.

9. Help Others
A popular, non-selfish New Year’s resolution, volunteerism can take many forms. Whether you choose to spend time helping out at your local library, mentoring a child, or building a house, there are many nonprofit volunteer organizations that could really use your help.  Or if your time is really in short supply, maybe you can at least find it in you to donate the furniture, clothing and other household items that you no longer need, rather than leaving them out by the curb to fill up our landfills.

10. Get Organized
On just about every New Year resolution top ten list, organization can be a very reasonable goal. Whether you want your home organized enough that you can invite someone over on a whim, or your office organized enough that you can find the stapler when you need it, these tips and resources should get you started on the way to a more organized life.

Ian Holtz
Sales Executive

The post Top Ten New Years Resolutions appeared first on MINES and Associates.

There is no single formula for attaining a balanced life. It is a personal decision how one combines their career, spouse/significant other, children, friends and self into an integrated whole. The key is to develop creative solutions as you approach the challenges of balancing the responsibilities and joys of your multiple roles. Some of the same skills and strategies you use at work such as planning, organizing, communicating, setting limits and delegating can be used effectively on the home-front for achieving a satisfying, fulfilling well-balanced life both personally and professionally.

1. BUILD A SUPPORT NETWORK

Ask for help and allow yourself to be helped and contributed to. Get your children involved–work together as a team. Recruit friends, family, neighbors, bosses, work colleagues, etc. and ask for their support. Create back-up and emergency plans; always have a contingency.

2. LET GO OF GUILT

Guilt is one of the greatest wastes of emotional energy. It causes you to become immobilized in the present because you are dwelling on the past. Guilt can be very debilitating. By introducing logic to help counter-balance the guilt you can stay better on course.

3. ESTABLISH LIMITS AND BOUNDARIES

Boundaries are an imaginary line of protection that you draw around yourself. They are about protecting you from other people’s actions. Determine for yourself what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior from other people. Boundaries and limits define how you take charge of your time and space and get in touch with your feelings. They express the extent of your responsibilities and power and show others what you are willing to do or accept. Without limits it’s difficult to say “no”.

4. DETERMINE YOUR OWN STANDARDS

Get rid of the notion of being a perfectionist. Wean yourself off it by making compromises–figure out where the best places to make the compromises are without short-changing yourself, your spouse, your children, your boss, etc. Live by your own standards rather than someone else’s. Standards are about YOU and refer to the behavior and actions you are willing to hold yourself to.

5. CREATE TIME FOR YOURSELF

Being a good parent, partner and professional means being good to yourself first. Use your mind to make some affirmations for yourself. Find ways to relax, relieve tension and minimize stress. Taking some time off for yourself will not only benefit you, but it will benefit your family tremendously!

6. GET ORGANIZED.

Set priorities, work smarter not harder, delegate (and really let go!). Create lists and save them for re-use. Keep a main calendar centrally located to post everyone’s activities.

7. BE FLEXIBLE

Forgive yourself when things don’t get done. Understand that with children things change at a moment’s notice. Be ready and willing to assume responsibility for any of the tasks that need to get done at any time. Never get too comfortable, because as soon as you seem to get things under control, they change! Also, realize that in order to achieve success many women have had to give up their original goals and substitute new ones with different but equal challenges. Negotiate for what you need.

8. ENJOY QUALITY FAMILY TIME

Spend quality/focused time with your family. Give them your full attention. Develop rituals you can all look forward to. Create relationships with your spouse and children that are not incidental but rather instumental to your success.

9. FIND RELIABLE CHILD CARE

Leave your kids in capable hands. Find someone you feel comfortable and confident in. If you’re feeling ambivalent about working or about leaving your child, etc. do not show it–your child (at any age) will pick right up on it. Feel proud when you’ve found someone who fits into your needs. Get involved with your child’s care providers by communicating frequently and observing interactions between caregiver and your child.

10. ACHIEVE AN INTEGRATED LIFE

Keep things in perspective. Create harmony in your life–a mixture of work, family and friends. Remember, there is no single formula for balance. It is a personal decision how one combines spouse, children and career.

About the Submitter

This piece was originally submitted by Natalie A. Gahrmann, M.A., Success Coach and Workshop/Seminar Leader, who can be reached at coachnatalie@rcn.com, or visited on the web. Natalie A. Gahrmann wants you to know: N-R-G Coaching Associates was founded to guide
professionals who have a career plus kids in creating a life that is more balanced, fulfilling, satisfying and successful. We are dedicated to helping working parents achieve work/life mastery. To subscribe to a free weekly newsletter for working parents, send a blank email to workingparenttips-subscribe@egroups.com.

Sarah Kinnel

Marketing Assistant

The post Balancing Work and Life appeared first on MINES and Associates.

Stress at Work

How to Reduce and Manage Job and Workplace Stress

In this difficult economy, you may find it harder than ever to cope with challenges on the job. Both the stress we take with us when we go to work and the stress that awaits us on the job are on the rise – and employers, managers, and workers all feel the added pressure. While some stress is a normal part of life, excessive stress interferes with your productivity and reduces your physical and emotional health, so it’s important to find ways to keep it under control. Fortunately, there is a lot that you can do to manage and reduce stress at work.

In This Article:

• Coping with work stress
• Warning signs
• Taking care of yourself 
• Prioritizing and organizing
• Improving emotional intelligence
• Breaking bad habits 
• What managers or employers can do
• Related links

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Coping with work stress in today’s uncertain climate

For workers everywhere, the troubled economy may feel like an emotional roller coaster. “Layoffs” and “budget cuts” have become bywords in the workplace, and the result is increased fear, uncertainty, and higher levels of stress. Since job and workplace stress grow in times of economic crisis, it’s important to learn new and better ways of coping with the pressure. The ability to manage stress in the workplace can make the difference between success or failure on the job. Your emotions are contagious, and stress has an impact on the quality of your interactions with others. The better you are at managing your own stress, the more you’ll positively affect those around you and the less other people’s stress will negatively affect you.

You can learn how to manage job stress

There are a variety of steps you can take to reduce both your overall stress levels and the stress you find on the job and in the workplace. These include:

• Taking responsibility for improving your physical and emotional well-being.
• Avoiding pitfalls by identifying knee jerk habits and negative attitudes that add to the stress you experience at work.
• Learning better communication skills to ease and improve your relationships with management and coworkers.

Warning signs of excessive stress at work

When people feel overwhelmed, they lose confidence and become irritable or withdrawn, making them less productive and effective and their work less rewarding. If the warning signs of work stress go unattended, they can lead to bigger problems. Beyond interfering with job performance and satisfaction, chronic or intense stress can also lead to physical and emotional health problems.

Signs and symptoms of excessive job and workplace stress

Common causes of excessive workplace stress

• Fear of layoffs
• Increased demands for overtime due to staff cutbacks
• Pressure to perform to meet rising expectations but with no increase in job satisfaction
• Pressure to work at optimum levels – all the time!

Sarah Kinnel

Marketing Adminstrative Assistant

The post Stress in the Workplace appeared first on MINES and Associates.