Crina and Kirsten Get to Work

The ”Good Enough” Job

Is your job your singular focus or simply a way to fund your passion? Is your career the thing that defines you, or do you identify as something different...something unrelated to your work? Do we put too much pressure on our careers to deliver happiness? Ease? Meaning? Joy?
SHOW NOTES
Today on Crina and Kirsten Get to Work out hosts talk about the concept of good enough as an important part of ease, meaning and joy.
Pascal Bruckner said, “unhappiness is not only unhappiness,; it is, worse yet, a failure to be happy.”  This quotation acknowledges the expectation that we all be “happy” and when we are not, we have somehow failed, missed the point or missed out generally.  The point of this show is to explore that possibility that “good enough” can actually contribute to ease meaning and joy. 
Some people, like Kirsten, experience work as deeply meaningful – although stressful.  Crina’s son works when he needs money.  These are two very different approaches to work.  Is it realistic for everyone to “pursue their passion?  Do you really have to find a dream job so you never work a day in your life?  Can it actually be about something more than the money – or is it just a matter of paying the bills?
Our hosts posit that putting pressure on ourselves to create the perfect job probably takes away from ease, meaning and joy at work – and at the same time, is there something more than just a paycheck?
Rather than dig into the research, our hosts dig into the history.  The idea that we love our work is a relatively new phenomena.  Historically, work was never supposed to be enjoyable.  In fact, author Sarah Jaffe, whose book Work Won’t Love You Back hits stores in January of 2022, argues that the “love your work” mantra is a myth of capitalism.” She says that in the 1970s, just when manufacturing began to die and labor movements began to lose ground, bosses started handing down aphorisms like, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
When we carry the belief that we must find meaning and fulfillment from work, we can be disappointed – and we can neglect other parts of our lives.  If our jobs are our sole source of fulfillment, we not only create unrealistic expectations, but also miss out on other parts of our lives.
Enter the idea of the "good enough" job – relatively enjoyable paid work that meets your financial needs while leaving you with enough time and energy to pursue your passions and callings outside of work.   Maybe you love the people you work with, or the work that you do – or even the mission of your employer – the point is that there is something in the job you find enjoyable.
The "good enough" job embraces the reality that not everyone’s call is this work, the "good enough" job leaves you time to focus on other meaningful aspects of your life – art, music, volunteering, reading, relationships etc.   The "good enough" job is more flexible because you have less investment.  It is easier to leave a "good enough" job to do something else because your interests have changed or to move somewhere else.  Because there is less energy and connection and commitment to the "good enough" job, it is less likely to hold you back from other parts of your life.  Consider, friends, the "good enough" job!
 
Good Reads:
Fredi Founders Discuss The Fallacy Of "If You Love What You Do, You'll Never Work a Day in Your Life." Why Wellness, Not A 'Dream Job', Is The Key To Fulfillment At Work
In Praise Of 'Good Enough' Jobs — What A Girl Gotta Do
Why Young People Want Comfortable, "good enough" jobs
The Research We've Ignored About Happiness at Work

Burnout

Burnout feels like depletion, exhaustion, disconnection, negative emotions and reduced capacity...sound familiar?  You’re not alone! In fact burnout is so pervasive that over seventy-five percent of the workforce is currently, or has previously experienced it.  
 
SHOW NOTES
Burnout is a  real diagnosis - and defined as “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed” by the World Health Organization.  This relatively new diagnosis is defined as a “syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: 1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; 2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and 3) reduced professional efficacy. Burnout refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
 
Christina Maslach (creator of the Maslach Burnout Inventory) first identified the syndrome - and it came out of her work with healthcare workers and their families.  Here are her inventory questions:
 
How often are you tired and lacking energy to go to work in the morning?
How often do you feel physically drained, like your batteries are dead?
How often is your thinking process sluggish or your concentration impaired?
How often do you feel emotionally detached from co-workers (or customers) and unable to be sensitive to their needs?
 
Does it sound like you?  If you are like most of us - yes, at least some teimes.
 
How does this happen?  When we carry too much for too long and cannot effectively process our emotions, our neurological system gets overloaded - and we are unable to effectively deal with this overload.
 
Who does this happen to?  Well, all of us, but those of us that are anxious or have a low self esteem or poor boundaries are thought to be more likely to suffer burnout, according to a study of Spanish nurses.  According to authors Rachel Montane and Erika Pryor, women of color also carry the emotional burden of discrimination, fear of retaliation - and of course much of the emotional labor of diversity in the workplace..
 
Employers contribute to burnout by unfair treatment, an unmanageable workload, unrealistic deadlines, poor communication and a lack of support.
 
Enter Drs. Emily and Amelia Nagoski, authors of Burnout, who just happen to be identical twins.  They have concluded, based on their research, that the key to preventing burnout is to manage the emotions you are having so that we do not become emotionally exhausted.  They encourage us to process the emotion - actually turn towards it, and feel it.  Scary!!  But we can do it.
 
Here are the twins’ suggestions to deal with, process and get on the other side of our emotions.
 
Engage in physical activity
Try breathing exercises
Make positive connections with people you love and care about (call someone or better yet go for a walk with a friend)
Laugh - a great big belly laugh
Hug for 20 seconds - the full slightly uncomfortable 20 seconds
Cry - they promise it will not go on forever
Be Creative - paint, sing, dance, write
 
The key is to send our body a signal that the danger is over, we are safe.  And how do we know our emotions have been processed and we are “done?”  The twin doctors promise your body will tell you.
 
Be aware of your depletion clues.  Are you sleeping well and enough?  Are you engaging in activities where you do not think of work? Are you taking breaks at work?  Do you have work-life boundaries?
 
The solution to burnout is actually more than self-care.  It is more about managing emotions.
  
While burnout is prevalent, there are things we can do to recognize our vulnerability, determine whether it is happening to us and work to relieve that chronic stress through the processing of emotions.  
 
More good reads:
How to Recover From Burnout & Love Work Again According to Science
 
How to Eliminate Burnout and Retain Top Talent

When Is It Good Enough? Toxic Perfectionism at Work.

While "perfect," is an unattainable standard, many people struggle to accept the inevitable: that striving for the impossible goal of perfection leads to stress, burnout, sickness and feelings of failure.  
 
SHOW NOTES 
 
We know that perfection is the state of being without flaw or defects - and we all know that perfection is not really attainably.  It may be that some of us everyone once in a while achieve perfection, but perfection is not something most of us achieve.  Perfectionism is the refusal or inability to accept anything short of perfect.  Friend, do you see the cognitive dissonance here, the undeniable catch-22?  Perfectionists are trying to achieve the unattainable.  Painful - to the individual who is the perfectionist as well as those around her.
 
We want to make sure not to confuse high achiever with perfectionist.  And there are even some great descriptions for this.
 
Adaptive perfectionist: aka high-achievers: adaptive perfectionism means that a person thrives on doing some, but crucially not all, things well. In the words of Stoltz & Ashby 2007 “adaptive perfectionism is characterised as a normal, healthy type of perfectionism and is defined by deriving satisfaction from achievements made from intense effort but tolerating the imperfections….”
 
Adaptive perfectionists are the women who embrace the reality that it’s simply impossible to achieve complete perfection and instead aim for a high standard of work in those tasks they do well, and that play to their unique strengths.  These women are telling themselves more of the truth about who they are and the circumstances that are in - they are adaptive.
 
Maladapted perfectionism is such a great descriptor because we start off right away knowing this is not a good thing.  The maladapted perfectionist is likely on a path to pain.  These women are very hard on themselves when perfection is not achieved.  And these kinds of unrealistic expectations and responses lead to depression, anxiety and increased levels of stress.
 
We can have high standards, the question is what happens when reality comes crashing in and our high expectations have not been mer.  Failure is inevitable - and, you guessed it - far more stressful on the maladapted gal than the adaptive gal.  Crina shares a story about her own sense of perfectionism getting in the way of her own fun - she wanted to be excellent and when she was not, she gave up - until, smarty chick that she is - she realized that approach was no way to love and it was far better to have more fun - even if she was not excellent at whatever was fun.  
 
As with most things, none of us neatly fall into one category or another and may see ourselves in both.  What are the indicia of tipping over into maladaptive rather than the sweet spot of adaptive:
Do people tell you you are difficult to change
Do you want to change your body?
Do you notice others’ mistakes?
Do you notice the mistakes you made?
When you try something new that you are not good at - do you give up?
Do you focus on the success or the failure?
Do you procrastinate or avoid tasks regularly?
Mistakes are flaws versus opportunities to learn?
 
Kirsten shares that the legal profession is toxic perfectionism.  Making a mistake can hurt your client - and is malpractice - there is no room for mistakes.  It is the part of practicing law she has most struggled with over her career because it is based on a falsehood - we all make mistakes and that standard of perfection fails to acknowledge the human behind the work.
 
The disturbing news is that perfectionism is on the rise. A 2019 study that evaluated more than 40,000 college students found a 33% rise in perfectionism from 1989 to 2016.
 
But this should be good news for the workplace, right?  We want a bunch of perfectionists doing great work, right?  Surprisingly, no - we do not! A vast meta-analysis of 30 years of studies, conducted at the Georgia Institute of Technology, found there was no relationship between perfectionism and job performance for either group (failure avoiding or excellence seeking) , says researcher Dana Harari, who worked on the meta-analysis. “To me, the most important takeaway of this research is the null relationship between perfectionism and performance,” she says. “It's not positive, it's not negative, it's just really null.” Is that the craziest thing?  Perfectionism does not lead to better work performance.
 
You know our hosts are not going to leave our lady friends hanging!  
Go for the B
Give 80%- As Cinzia BuBois says, “Giving 100 percent should be saved for those special passion projects or for those most treasured people in your life. If you give 100 percent to everything and everyone around you, the quality of your output will go down. You’ll become burnt out, exhausted, and resentful. Not only is 100 percent unrealistic, it doesn’t allow room for learning. Getting an 80 percent always puts you in the higher tiers of anything in life; it’s not perfect, but it’s still rather outstanding. By striving for 80 percent, you allow room for perseverance, flexibility, and diligence, uncorrupted by the fear of failure (or rather, imperfection).”  The Perfectionism Epidemic. We live in a society where failure is… | by Cinzia DuBois | Achology
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. Done is better than incomplete or worse, never started
Realizing failure isn’t the opposite of success, but part of it. No one can learn without making mistakes, and no project, skill, or relationship can grow without learning. We’re not supposed to be perfect the first time around
Recovery activities are critical when you do give it your all - you need to rest and restore and re-energize - you know self-care.
 
To all you fabulous females out there, some of this may be counterintuitive in the workplace, but the data supports that perfectionism is not correlative with performance - and it can cause suffering - to our minds, our hearts and our bodies.  Get yourself a B and carefully choose when you bring the A game.
 
Good reads
Being a perfectionist is good for your career, right?
Obsessed with Perfection: How to Overcome Toxic Perfectionism in a Highly Competitive World
The Trouble with Toxic Perfectionism
The Pros and Cons of Perfectionism, According to Research (hbr.org)
Obsessed with Perfection: How to Overcome Toxic Perfectionism in a Highly Competitive World
Is perfect good? A meta-analysis of perfectionism in the workplace. (apa.org)
 

Thinking About Calling It Quits? Join the Club!

The entire workforce is changing, right before our eyes. As millions of workers are leaving their jobs every month, employers are facing tough questions about how to attract and retain talent. Meanwhile, workers in every single profession are seeking more ease, meaning and joy in their jobs. Welcome to the Great Resignation!
 
SHOW NOTES 
 
On this episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work, our pair of pretties riff on what has become known as The Great Resignation.  Yes, people are leaving the workforce in droves, and not returning to the workforce after being laid off due to COVID. There is essentially a mass exodus from the workplace.  
 
So here are some jarring stats:
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, during the months of April, May, and June 2021, a total of 11.5 million workers quit their jobs.   This is significantly more than this time last year - about 40% more.  Sure there were layoffs, but these are quits - folks who leave of their own accord.
A survey of over 30,000 workers conducted by Microsoft found that 41 percent are considering quitting; that number jumps to 54 percent when Gen-Z is considered alone. 
Gallup found that 48 percent of employees are actively searching for new opportunities.
And Persio reported that 38 percent of those they surveyed planned to make a change in the next six months. The Great Resignation Is Here, and It's Real | Inc.com
A recent survey by the search firm Korn Ferry found that over 90 percent of retailers are struggling to fill empty positions, even though nearly one in three offer sign-on bonuses and another third have instituted paid referral programs. The Great Resignation: Why Millions of People Are Quitting (and How Employers Can Earn-- Not Lure--Them Back
As of May, 1.8m of the 5m women who lost their jobs in 2020 have not returned to work.  Women Rush To Entrepreneurship In ‘The Great Resignation’ (forbes.com)
 
We know a little about why they are leaving.  The vast majority spent that time trapped in their home thinking about their current work situation and realized they needed a change.  Stress and burnout are also significant factors as people, particularly women push the eject button.  Some are just dissatisfied with how their employer has handed COVID, others cite unfairness and others just decided being a two income household was too much and made the decision to live with just one income.  And some have been motivated to take the leap and start their own business.
 
If you are one of those employees looking for the door, our hosts have some ideas:
Getting another job before you leave is safer, but staying can be unbearable
Consider having at least 6 months savings and stop spending money
Do the work to understand what you want, what you need, what your values are (listen to the meaning episodes!). Remember that you take yourself with you wherever you go.
Change one variable at a time at your current job 
Give your current job some time to settle, especially if you’re compensated well and it aligns with your values
Lean on your network to find other opportunities
Set up job alerts
Work on your resume
Remember that while it’s a job seekers market, there are still a lot of other people who will be competing with you for the job
 
If you are one of those managers looking to keep your employees, consider these strategies:
 
 Once pay and benefits are fair -- not industry-leading, just appropriate and reasonable -- how you treat people makes a huge difference.
Talk to your employees to determine whether the company’s mission and values align with employees; mission and values
Make sure your employees know what is expected of them
Take the opportunity to recognize and make use of employees; strengths
Be fair and kind to your workers
Invest in internal communication and transparent decision-making
Build trust and team
 
And there is some anecdotal proof that these kinds of measures work.  A study of more than 400,000 people published in Harvard Business Review found that when employees believe promotions are managed effectively, employee turnover rates are half that of other companies in the same industry. 
 
The last 20 months have been a very unusual and upsetting time.  It is understandable that the vast majority of us are reconsidering how we spend our work time - and it makes sense that we are considering a change.  If you are a manager, accepting that reality and being the preferred employer is important if you want to retain your employees.  If you are an employee, plan carefully, but the workplace is your metaphorical oyster (you know, the one with the pearl)  in ways it has never been.

Hold the line, Sister. Your Boundaries Define Who You Are.

Healthy boundaries at work can make the difference between professional fulfillment or burnout. Boundaries are the physical, emotional, and mental limits we create to protect ourselves from over-committing, being used or behaving in unethical ways. 
 
SHOW NOTES
Boundaries separate what we think and feel from the thoughts and feelings of others. How to Define Healthy Boundaries at Work — Melody Wilding
 
Crina talks about capital “B” boundaries that are strong, not subject to negotiation with little flexibility.  Lower case “b” boundaries are more porous, flexible and may change depending on circumstances.  
 
A boundary is a container around your time, mental and emotional energy, relationships, physical body and material and energetic resources.
 
Where do we see boundaries at work?
How you spend your time
What you agree to do - or not do
How you spend your energy
What do you need for your physical space
How you want to communicate in the office
 
Our job descriptions and our fte status are significant boundaries at work.
 
Boundaries are important because they allow you to be more of you. They walk hand in hand with our self-worth.  They allow us to maintain our energy and resilience.  They guide healthy relationships.
 
We see boundaries in action at work when we do not allow others to speak to us in a rude or condescending manner, when we protect our space - a closed door, separation from a co-worker in a meeting, setting priorities in your work.
 
Boundaries between work and our personal lives are also important.  Workers tend to fall into three categories as they define their work and personal boundaries - separators, integrators and cyclers.  Separators are 9 to 5ers (or whatever the hours) - folks who clock in and clock out and work and personal do not bleed into each other.  Integrators tend to go between work and personal all of the time - these are the folks who cannot tell you how much they work because they are meshing their work and personal lives to a significant degree.  Cyclers are those folks who spend a significant amount of their energy and time on work in big chunks - firefighters who work for a week and then are off for a week.  Understanding how you separate work and personal is helpful in analyzing your own boundaries and whether those are respected.
 
Our hosts conclude with examples of boundaries gone bad in the workplace.
 
More good reads:
Kossek inpress10 Managing Work-Life Boundaries in the Digital Age.pdf (bc.edu)
How to set clear work boundaries — and stick to them | (ted.com)
The Successful Woman’s Guide to Setting Boundaries – Without Being a Bitch - Women Igniting Change

Finding Meaning at Work Part 2: Crafting Your Job

You will find meaning and purpose in your work when you are able to craft, change, modify and align your daily tasks to match your values. In fact, some say that finding meaning at work is more about what you do with what you have, instead of what you start with.
SHOW NOTES
In this episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work, our hosts tackle part II of this two-part series on meaning in the workplace.  In Part I, Crina and Kirsten discussed the importance of meaning at work and that meaning arises when we find alignment with our values.
Identifying our values allows us, hopefully, to match those values to those of our employer.  This is where our internal work on values can overlap with the external world – in this case our employer. 
The good news is that meaning is more about what we do with what we have instead of what we start with.  Some folks may be in a job that completely aligns with their values – maybe a teacher who values teaching and children and being of service and her employer supports her in those values.  Not that she loves everything she does, but her internal values coincide with her external work experience.
So, what do we do when that is not the case?
There are a number of ways to modify our internal and external worlds to align with our values and create meaning.
Amy Wresniewski. professor of Organizational Behavior at the Yale School of Management, with the assistance of her colleagues, introduced the concept of job crafting.  In studying the work of a group of janitors at a hospital, she discovered the janitors experienced the same job in different ways – and fell into two distinct groups.  One group saw themselves as just janitors, did not think they were highly skilled and would describe their job as cleaning.  The other group talked about their work in relation to patients and visitors’ care. In fact, most of how those in this second group described their job was not even in the job description.  They discussed tasks such as changing the art on the walls of patients who were in a coma or cleaning the floor extra times in the rooms of patients who did not have visitors, or guiding visitors to where they were going.  This second group viewed their work as providing a safe and clean place for people to get healthy and heal or as ambassadors for the hospital.  She called what the second group was doing job crafting.
Wresniewski describes job crafting as “[w}hat employees do to redesign their own jobs in ways that foster engagement at work, job satisfaction, resilience and thriving.” (Berg, Wrzensniewski and Dutton, 2010) Job crafting can be changing the task you perform – adding or dropping responsibilities – like the janitor cleaning the floor of a lonely patient several times a day.  It can also be in creating certain types of interactions – who do we want to work with and how?  We can choose who we brainstorm with, sometimes who we work with on a project and even sometimes who we serve so that these people add meaning to our work.  Job crafting can also be changing your mindset about what you are doing, which is also something the janitors did – realizing their job was not cleaning floors, but providing a place for people to heal and get well.
People who job craft tend to have more satisfaction, commitment, happiness and better performance in and with their jobs.  It is a really good way for people to find meaning at work.
Employees will likely job craft– often not even being aware of it.  Managers and supervisors should recognize this and support it.  We know it has an incredibly positive effect in the workplace when employees find meaning in their work – and job crafting is one significant way employees find meaning in their work.  Leadership can consider:
 
Giving autonomy and support to employees
Encouraging employees to identify their values and create plans for themselves at work that align with those values
Communicating company values and goals so employees can see how they fit into achieving those goals and living those values
Allowing and encouraging task reassignment that fits values, such as holding a job crafting “swap meet” where people talk about whether given values and strengths of each employee, certain tasks can be traded.
Recognizing and celebrating and supporting employees who take the ownership in their work necessary to job craft.
 And here are some good reads:
 Job Crafting - Amy Wrzesniewski on creating meaning in your own work
The 4-Hour Meaning Week. 4 power-hours of super-meaning per week… | by Taylor Foreman | The Startup | Jul, 2021
Help your employees find purpose--or watch them leave
Igniting individual purpose in times of crisis
The Why Of Work: Purpose And Meaning Really Do Matter
Positive Workplace What is Job Crafting? (Incl. 5 Examples and Exercises)
 
 
 

Finding Meaning at Work Part 1:Harnessing Your Values

A key to finding meaning at work lies in your ability to align your daily tasks with your values. It doesn’t matter what kind of work you do, it only matters that you, personally, know what you care about and express those values in your job. When you find meaning, or purpose, at work you are more productive, healthier, resilient, and more fun to be around! 
 
SHOW NOTES
 
In Part I of a two part series on finding meaning at work, our hale and happy hosts spend some time diving into what meaning is, why it is important and the backbone of meaning - identifying your values.
 
What are we talking about when we say meaning?  Meaning is the connection between two or more things or ideas that together fulfill a higher purpose, create esteem or admiration, have a positive impact, transcend our instincts or our view of what we can achieve or makes sense (aka lofty goals).  This is according to Kirsten and The Meaning of Life (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
 
Meaning is not happiness, it is not good character.  It is the connection between ourselves and one of those “lofty goals.”  Sometimes we find meaning because we are providing for our families, or helping someone else, being of service, discovering something new, solving problems, protecting the environment etc . . .
 
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
 
“People who live their purpose at work are more productive than people who don’t. They are also healthier, more resilient, and more likely to stay at the company. Moreover, when employees feel that their purpose is aligned with the organization’s purpose, the benefits expand to include stronger employee engagement, heightened loyalty, and a greater willingness to recommend the company to others.” Help your employees find purpose--or watch them leave
 
Simply put - meaning is good for us and good for the workplace. Meaning at work makes us:
 
2.5 times more likely to be free of dementia
22 percent less likely to exhibit risk factors for stroke
52 percent less likely to have experienced a stroke
 
And if this wasn’t enough, individual purpose benefits organizations, too… People who find their individual purpose congruent with their jobs tend to get more meaning from their roles, making them more productive and more likely to outperform their peers.  Igniting individual purpose in times of crisis.
 
HOW DO WE FIND MEANING:
 
Ideally, work is a place where you can express your values - it is a calling.  There are external factors - the work and the workplace that affect this and well an internal factors.
 
As always, the good and bad news is that we have more ability to affect change when it comes to our internal experience.  
 
Identify Your Values
Values are the things that are most important in our lives.  When values and goals are aligned, we are much more likely to motivate ourselves towards action and success.  
 
According to Simon Senik values need to be actionable  Here is his terrific TEDTalk: Honesty is NOT a Value | Simon Sinek Values are not nouns, but actions.  He gives these great examples:
 
Honesty vs “tell the truth”
Innovation vs “allow for experimentation”
Humor vs. “laugh everyday”
Most of us have a sense of our values and can list our values.  However, it is interesting to move past your assumptions and reflect on them from an independent source.  For example, The Values Project is a decades-long effort to get people in touch with their values.  Click on the link to test your assumptions about your values. The Values Project | Let's reveal what matters to you.  Getting clear on your values is the first step to finding meaning at work.

The Best Coworkers are Trauma-Informed

Trauma and toxic stress is pervasive in the workplace. You, your friends, your coworkers are all dealing with some version of trauma from, among other things, adverse childhood experiences, the pandemic, climate change, natural disasters, poverty and racism. While all events impact us individually, it’s important to recognize the signs of trauma and normalize trauma-informed workplaces.
 
In this episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work, our dynamic duo takes on trauma.  The pandemic is a traumatic event, whether we know it or not - although its impacts on us individually are very different.
 
This episode draws from an article advancing a trauma informed approach to work - and while we of course need to be aware of our own trauma, being aware of co-workers’ trauma is important in creating the kind of workplace we all want - one with ease, meaning and joy.  
Here is the article.  TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACH TO WORKFORCE
 
Trauma is physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening experiences with lasting adverse effects on our functioning, mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.  This can be things like a physical assault, verbal abuse, witnessing someone else endure these experiences.  Kirsten and Crina think that toxic and prolonged stress has much the same effect as trauma.  Think the pandemic, racism, political unrest - yes, friends, we have had it all.
 
When we experience trauma or toxic stress, we can feel disassociated, persecuted, depressed, negative and disheartened.  We can experience physical pain and discomfort, nightmares, insomnia, mood swings and panic attacks.  And things we may struggle with in normal times, like anxiety, become more difficult to deal with.
 
Our brains are literally hard-wired to deal with trauma and toxic stress.  When the brain senses danger, the amygdala springs into action, which causes the sympathetic nervous system to fight, take flight, or freeze. Blood and oxygen are diverted to muscles and away from our brains, and a surge of adrenaline enables us to fight or take flight. Cortisol is released to inhibit any pain that might slow us down. All systems not crucial to survival are suppressed. Basically, the “survival” brain overrides the “rational” or “thinking brain” in the cerebral cortex, where rational thought and executive functioning, like problem solving and cooperating with others, take place.  And when your brain sends these signals over and over again, well, it is overwhelming.  Now, imagine that you have to show up and work - or these things are going on at your work - yikes!
 
Most importantly, we need to manage our own trauma and toxic stress - and there are some great strategies for doing so:  get outside, connect with people you love and who are energy giving, simplify your life, love on your dogs and cats, find something to be grateful for - (chocolate?), extend grace and compassion to yourself, and reset your nervous system with yoga, breathing, meditation and movement in general.
 
After addressing what we can do about our own trauma and toxic stress, Crina and Kirsten dive into what about others’ trauma and toxic stress in the workplace.  And there are a lot of folks in the workplace with trauma and toxic stress - in fact two-thirds of us have experienced some kind of childhood trauma.  
 
The first step is to educate ourselves - like this podcast!  The next step is to normalize these experiences.  And provide space for these experiences.  As a co-worker, look for the signs of trauma and stress.  Be curious, listen and if someone does open up to you, try not to problem solve unless specifically asked, be a witness, hold space.  One on one check ins are a great opportunity for this.  
 
If you are in a place to influence the workplace, encourage employees to take breaks, make sure the break room is not just caffeine and sugar, institute scheduled stretching times, consider an educational program for all staff on these issues.
 
As Oprah says, “I'm really proud to say that even in my worst moments, I've always had the good sense to know that however bad things were, they wouldn't remain so."
A TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACH TO WORKFORCE
Signs & Symptoms of Psychological & Emotional Trauma | Cascade Behavioral Health