The year 2020 has been one we’ll never forget. What started off as a typical new year, albeit with news of a strange virus across the globe, we in North America continued in a relatively standard fashion. The world shifted and changed, and we collectively found ourselves in unknown territory.

If there is one word to describe this year, it would be stress. While coaching individuals from diverse professions and life circumstances, this is the word that keeps resurfacing.

This article endeavours to unpack what we’ve been through personally, professionally, and as a collective whole in just a few words. It provides practical recommendations for dealing with stress and fostering resilience as we cross the line from one year into the next.

Our collective experience

COVID-19 dominated the news and social media as the entire world encountered the pandemic in ever-increasing waves, causing fear, stress, and anxiety to go through the roof. We began spending more time at home and facing social isolation. When in public, we wore masks to protect one another from illness, although controversy caused even more stress. Frontline workers became our heroes.

Black Lives Matter (BLM), indigenous treatment, and Black Indigenous People of Colour (BIPOC) came to the forefront of our hearts, minds, and reality. Diversity and inclusion conversations became commonplace. Events revealed the cracks and fissures in our worldview and economy.

The world saw natural and human disasters spanning across every continent. Meanwhile, both north and south of the border, politics became an all-consuming preoccupation as we collectively watched the world change before our eyes.

We’ve been through so much together. And that’s the unusual thing. We’re all in this together but in isolation.

Personal Experience

As everything changed, we all began looking for ways to deal with stress. People openly spoke about mental health, including anxiety and depression. Burnout went from taboo to common language overnight. 

Self-care became even more critical in our pursuit of health, preventing the physical symptoms of stress, and protecting the immune system. We looked for new ways to cope through mindfulness, self-care, and building resilience.

Professional Experience

Workplace wellness became vitally significant as workplaces sent employees home or necessitated laying staff off. Work-From-Home employee wellness topped the list of priorities for managers in these environments.

Employer-sponsored workplace wellness programs aimed to support employee well-being, including their emotional well-being, stress management, and resilience. Preventing burnout and stress leave took on new meaning for people at all levels.

Corporate development shifted toward supporting employees’ physical, emotional, and mental health while helping them perform well. While working remotely, productivity and employee engagement were paramount for organizations to remain stable and even thrive in the new reality.

Ways To Decrease Stress & Build Resilience

Personal Wellness

Sleep. Adequate sleep is essential for our physical and mental health and general well-being. Create a daily sleep ritual with quality sleep hygiene, including going to bed at a regular time, keeping your wake time consistent, keeping your devices outside of the bedroom, and making your bedroom a cocoon of comfort with black-out curtains and a cool temperature.  

Exercise. Improve how you feel during the day and how you sleep at night by implementing daily exercise. Choose what works for you, and when possible, take your workout outside to enjoy the benefits of nature. Consider walking, running, hiking, biking, stretching, or following online exercise videos.

Healthy eating. Nutrition is an essential component of well-being. Follow leading experts and incorporate fruit, vegetables, protein sources, nuts, seeds, legumes, and lots of herbs and spices.

Mindfulness. Simple mindfulness practices can induce calm, focus, and a sense of peace. Enjoy the many mindfulness videos on Youtube, including the ten free videos on my channel.

Connection. While connecting with others may look differently, maintaining meaningful relationships is essential to our self-care and community. Go for a walk with a friend in nature, spend quality time playing games or engaging in common interests, and carve out time for phone calls or video calls.

Pet connection. Pets can offer meaningful relationships, whether you live alone or with others. Walking a dog, feeling a cat rest in your lap, or even just seeing the loving eyes of a devoted pet can make you feel connected, loved, and provide physical touch.

Boundaries. Reflecting on our relationships and why we overcommit can help us learn to say no. Time is precious, and making boundary decisions based on our values rather than shame or guilt can transform how we feel.

Creativity. Recreation restores us by making us feel alive. Creativity fosters joy, gratitude, and a sense of well-being. Try listening to uplifting music, engaging in an art form you enjoy, or walking in nature while taking in its beauty.

Gratitude. Fostering gratitude amid stressful times can make you feel more grounded, less stressed, and more resilient. Consider keeping a gratitude journal to record three things you are grateful for each day.  

Professional Wellness

Mindfulness. Harnessing the power of mindfulness while working can help you decrease stress, feel calmer, and create greater focus and clarity. Whenever you feel stressed at work, stop to focus on your breath for a few moments. Before going into a meeting with your boss, colleagues, or clients, take one minute to focus on your five senses. 

Foster trust. Create an open dialogue between managers and employees at all levels. Create interconnection by checking in regularly to offer support not only for projects but also regarding their physical and mental health. Creating a safe place for dialogue is one way to help prevent burnout and foster a culture of wellness.

Corporate culture. Conduct a corporate culture analysis of your workplace to better foster employee engagement, greater productivity, and employee well-being. By exploring opportunities at a systematic level, you can positively affect everyone in the organization while bettering your bottom line. 

Work-life balance. Help employees feel a sense of balance by encouraging healthy daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms. Clearly identify expectations around regular hours and disconnecting from phone, email, and texts outside of those hours. Include policies around weekend and evening expectations, and encourage taking vacation days for regular health maintenance. Provide funds for home office improvements so employees can focus on their work in a relaxed and productive environment. Offer funding for self-care, mindfulness, and other stress management resources.

Burnout prevention. Learn the symptoms of burnout so you can stay on top of the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms of stress. Take our free Burnout Assessment, and use it in your workplace to ensure employee well-being.

Workplace wellness. Provide training and learning opportunities to foster well-being. Consider stress management, self-care, burnout prevention, boundary-making, executive coaching, or resilience training. Promoting employee wellness leads to greater loyalty, retention, productivity, job satisfaction, and engagement. Happy, healthy employees create healthy, innovative organizations.

Happy, healthy employees create healthy, innovative organizations.

Personal & Professional Wellness Resources

Articles offering practical applications

• 15 Self-care Strategies Backed By Science here.

• Reduce Stress And Increase Concentration With Mindfulness here.

• Great Sleep Helps Prevent Burnout here.

• Build Resilience Amid Crisis here.

• Learning To Say No here.

• The Symptoms of Burnout here.

• Burnout Is On The Rise. What You Can Do About It here.

• 5 Wellness Challenges in a Work From Home World here.

• 10 Work From Home Wellness Solutions here.

Mindfulness Videos

• Focus on your five senses (short version) here.

• Mindful walking here.

• Mindfulness for eating here.

• Focus on your breath here.

• Mindful active listening here.

• Mindful driving here.

• Focus on your five senses (long version) here.

• Prepare for sleep mindfulness meditation here.

• Mindfulness at work here.

As you close out this year and look toward the next, offer yourself the grace of self-care and work-life balance. Please take care of yourself personally, professionally, and communally. The world needs you.

About the Author

Bonita Eby is a Burnout Prevention & Organizational Culture Consultant, Executive Coach, and owner of Breakthrough Personal & Professional Development Inc., specializing in burnout prevention and wellness for organizations and individuals. Bonita is on a mission to end burnout. Get your free Burnout Assessment today.