It seems that the feeling of being overwhelmed has taken over our society. And why is that?
We live in the greatest country in the world, we enjoy some of the finer things in life, technology is supposed to be making our lives easier, yet at the end of the day many of us feel like we have not accomplished what we have set out to do. We feel overwhelmed. I know I do, and I’m my own boss…
Work environment, society, family, and many other factors in our lives put stressors on us that are, sometimes, beyond our scope of understand or even coping with.
I can’t speak for anyone else; I am not a social scientist or a psychologist to be offering expert advice. But I can speak from personal experience, and I know that many of you who are reading this may feel the same way.
For me, work environment, social issues, and family are closely intertwined, as they are for most of us. Let’s see how that works. In today’s world we are looking at factors that affect our work-life or profitability. Inflation, rising gas prices, higher interest rates, and for many supply chain distribution issues, and other areas of the economy are chipping away at our profit margins. These aspects of our current life which we cannot control have a direct effect on our families. This may call for personal budget cuts like going out to dinner less or taking the kids on vacations closer to home, or no vacation at all. So now our family life is affected, and we are overwhelmed.
For those who have employees, we are now adding our stressors on to them. Your sales force needs to produce more to keep the company within budget, or your support personnel may be taking on additional responsibilities because at this point you cannot afford to hire more people. These employees are now overwhelmed with work, and they need their jobs so they can’t quit, but believe it or not, they will produce less. It’s called quiet quitting… We’ve previously spoken of this new phenomenon happening across all businesses, large or small.
So, what’s the solution? While we cannot control the stressors being put on our businesses by today’s external issues, which are overwhelming us like never before, we can do things for our employees and ourselves that can alleviate their, as well as our, stress. That’s where mental health awareness comes into focus. For us, our employees, and our families. Mental health can run the gamut, but our focus is the workplace, where our awareness of this very prevalent issue can help us to mitigate the stressors that seem to govern our daily lives. PTO (personal time off) is so important that by just offering your employees a periodic mental health day will ensure a happier and more productive employee. This awareness could lead us to instituting a cost-effective benefits program. And how is this done? Ask us, we will be happy to assist.
As for us, the businessowners, we need to adhere to the same principles. Whether it’s taking a day off to read or take your kids to the playground, going to the beach or lake, or just working on that project around the house you never seem to finish, periodic PTO must be at the top of our priorities. Because feeling overwhelmed is not an option for our wellbeing and the wellbeing of our families.