November 2nd, 2022, is ‘Stress Awareness Day’, designed to raise the issue of stress in the daily lives of people and the health impact. There is also an emphasis upon the positive aspects.
Looking into the importance of marking stress for Digital Journal is David Homer, Managing Partner & Executive Sponsor of the Kyndryl Wellbeing KIN.
According to Homer: “Our mental, physical and social wellbeing all interact and impact one another as we move through life, and while we aim to strike a balance, sometimes the stresses of life can get the better of us.”
Outlining the objectives of the event, Homer says: “Stress Awareness Day aims to increase public awareness and help people recognise, manage, and reduce stress in their personal and professional lives, so as we can restore that balance.”
With his own company’s efforts, Homer summarises: “At Kyndryl, we put people at the Heart of Progress by creating and living-out a culture of empathy, empowerment and understanding through clearly expressed values that are defined through The Kyndryl Way. Building a successful workforce starts with an inclusive, safe environment, where all feel that they can bring their authentic selves to work, express themselves without facing stigma.”
There is more going on at Homer’s workplace and he continues his best practices analysis: “At Kyndryl we have our “Kyndryl Inclusive Network” (KIN) for Wellbeing, which is a passionate community of Kyndryls from all areas of the business, all walks of life with a wealth of experiences and stories, who are coming together to drive wellbeing as “everybody’s business”. We have our “Wellbeing Ambassadors” who are open to candid conversations and can signpost to our range of internal and external resources, which are available 24/7. Appointing these in-house advocates and offering tailored resources provides employees with the tools to address stress early, before it becomes chronic”.
Also commenting on the stress awareness event and its importance is Andrew Filev, CEO and founder of Wrike.
Filev looks at the impact of modern working lie on people: “This year’s Stress Awareness Day has never been so relevant, especially given our increasingly hybrid landscape. While some individuals have embraced the flexibility that comes with this, many are finding it increasingly difficult to switch off and restrict working hours. This can lead to feelings of overload and burnout. In fact, new research has revealed that at least 70 percent of knowledge workers are suffering from stress at work.”
Filev continues with the human factors: “Feeling stressed at work can have a huge impact on the mental health of an individual and can quickly become a collective issue, with burnout having a drastic impact on overall productivity and talent retention.”
Drawing together the human element with workplace changes, Filev finds: “With the number of full-time, office-based employees continuing to decline, it’s critical that organisations are setting out detailed support strategies to help staff adjust to remote working. At the heart of this will be making mental health a priority through promoting the importance of finding a new normal work-life balance and ensuring that employees are fully aware of the resources available to them. Modern technologies – such as collaborative work management tools – can also help by enabling employees to manage work and time on a daily basis, limiting overtime whilst maintaining transparency and productivity. Research suggests that 94% of workers feel that a single source of truth would reduce their stress levels at work”.”
