Who Wants Less Work Stress in 2021?

For almost any lines of work, 2020 has arguably been the most stressful year most of us can remember. The reasons have, of course, varied by industry, geographic location, position, and seniority. But one thing most of us have in common is that some sort of process (or cluster of processes) in how we undertake our work have been changed, and we’ve had to adapt to that. The people around us have, too, and we’ve witnessed some of them doing better than others.

For many leaders there’s been added layers of challenge around lay-off versus retention decisions. There’s also been an impetus to be more communicative with workers, due to many working remotely (avoiding the adage of “out of sight, out of mind”), and helping — of freeing — workers to rebalance their job demands with a new set of resources. These resource changes have, in some cases, included more time flexibility, and perhaps a reduced need for formality (has anyone else worn pajama pants under the desk on a zoom call?); balanced with distractions at home in many cases, and almost certainly less of a network of support from work. What have those resource changes looked like for you?

When all’s said and done, many people are more tired, worn out, and have shorter fuses than this time last year, and are desperately hoping for 2021 to be different — even if there’s still huge uncertainty ahead. As a speaker, researcher, and consultant on work stress, I examine issues of job design, and the structure and management of job demands and resources. Everything I have learned, or discovered in this line of work has taught me that these must be considered as a bedrock to more popular, or easily implemented “fixes” to stress at work. Right now, perhaps a balance of both is in order.

To this end, I invite you to a webinar for business leaders and managers on Thursday Dec 17th 4–5pm EST on “Protecting Your Workforce in 2021”. Some underlying, as well as covid-related strategies will be discussed, and there’ll be time for Q&A. It’s complimentary, and you can register here:

https://www.easeworkstress.com/event-details/protecting-your-workforce-in-2021

I hope to see you there, and please do share the link with others you know — particularly people in positions of leadership — who may be interested.