Worry comes in many forms.  We worry that the kids may be getting sick (right before a family vacation), we worry about how we are perceived by others, and what the e-mail from your boss is all about (curse you e-mail pre-header pop-up!!!).  Worry is a constant for everyone (and different from anxiety, which is a whole other level), it is one of the things that is hard-wired into the human psyche because it is a call to action.  Without worry our deadlines would likely not be met, bills paid, or precautions taken.  Worry can be a healthy thing.

Worry comes in two types; the kind you can do something with and the kind you can’t.  Worrying about whether or not you will have relevant skills in the job market 30 years from now is an example of the type of worry you can do nothing about – you have no control over what the job market will look like then.  Worrying about whether you’ve got all your figures correctly represented in a presentation you are giving this week is the kind of worry you can do something about.  In fact, that kind of worry shows how much you care about your work and your organization, so give yourself a “high-five” for being a good person before putting your head down to double check your work.

The question is not what to do with the worry you can do something with, it’s what to do with all the worry you can do nothing about.  The worry that makes itself at home in your mind and isn’t easily dismissed or quieted.  The first thing to do with it is name it; worry.  Just like that.  Then to consider if it is constructive worry (something you can control) or unconstructive worry (something over which you have little to no control).  This helps you to apply discernment, leading you to take the action needed to dispel the worry (of note, worry itself is not an action, it is a state of mind).  Once you’ve identified something as an unconstructive worry there are a few things to think about.  This type of worry doesn’t actually have any benefit, it just sucks energy.  And while we are busy worrying away about something we cannot change or control, we are missing out on something else that may be of benefit to us in the present moment.  So, ask yourself if worrying about this will help you in any way?  If you worry about this now, what is passing you by?

The more often you name your worry, and the more often you examine your unconstructive worry, the better you become at putting it aside and living more in the present moment (it takes practice).  The present moment has a lot to offer you, like enjoying your commute (the sunshine, the trees leafing out, or the music on the radio) or a shower/bath (feeling the care you are giving to yourself, the warm water soothing your skin, the smell of your shampoo or the way the bubbles swirl into the drain).  It lets your mind rest and be ready for the next call to action when you do need to step back into the arena of life.

Give yourself the break you deserve.

Change is something that is constant.  Our lives never really stay the same, from altering our commute due to construction, to our beautiful aging bodies, we have a constant parade of change going on in our lives.  So, you’d think a welcome change we are trying to make for ourselves would be easy, right? 

"...when this system feels something costs too much energy, it signals our bodies to resist."

Sometimes. It depends of the size and scope of the change.  Upgrading to a new type of soap isn’t as demanding (energetically speaking) as upgrading to new e-mail software.  And that is at the heart of all change, the energy investment it takes to make the shift.  In addition to the mental investment needed to consciously do something new, we also have a system inside of us (called the limbic system) that is constantly monitoring what it “costs” us to do something.  The structures and interacting areas of the limbic system are involved in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory, so when this system feels something costs too much energy, it signals our bodies to resist.  Not our brain, our body.  It is an autonomous function that does not require conscious thought – it just happens.

"We pay attention to what is happening in our body when we are making changes in our life and use this awareness to our advantage."

What does all this mean?  It means the act of mentally choosing to change a behaviour requires us to re-wire our brains (the neural pathways associated with a specific task or action, like bypassing the sugar bowl at breakfast rather than dipping into it) AND rewire our bodies.  So how do we do that?  We pay attention to what is happening in our body when we are making changes in our life and use this awareness to our advantage.

"...yet as I contemplate my choices there is a subtle tension that arises in the muscles in my upper body..."

I’ll give you an example. I’m often at the mercy of drive-thru food for a mid-day meal.  When confronted with the menu board it’s easy to make poor dietary choices.  However, at many fast food joints there are one or two menu items that offer better nutrition, and yet as I contemplate my choices there is a subtle tension that arises in the muscles in my upper body.  These muscles relax when I contemplate the “usual” calorie loaded choice, and subtly flex again as I consider the less exciting but more nutritional choice.  Some of this is happening in my brain (“I really want that sugar-infused drink with my meal …but know I should opt for water instead) but some of it is the limbic system pushing me towards the usual choice so as to just get on with it and refuel, rather than burn more fuel figuring out how to make the “right” choice.

"...if I connect to what my body is signaling while I am in the midst of making a change, I can see what is going on and instead choose something new..."

Check it out for yourself using a change you are in the midst of making; what does your body do as you make the shift?  This is why it’s important to stay connected with what your body is feeling, and acknowledge the tension, or emotion, that is stored there.  Continuing with my example, if I connect to what my body is signaling while I am in the midst of making a change, I can see what is going on and instead choose something new, rather than caving in to the old pattern.  I can say “Hello limbic system, thanks for looking out for me and guiding me to make the quick and sure choice.  I know you’ll like this choice much better in the long term, and together we’ll make this a new pattern”.  It takes intention, consistency and time to make changes, ensure you attend to both your body and your brain when you embark on them and you’ll have a greater chance at success.

A way to get realistic about what will get done in the time that you have.

A few weeks ago in one of my Hello Monday videos (titled Working for “Free”?) I spoke about the time you may be “gifting” to your employer.  We give our time voluntarily for many reasons, but sometimes the scope creep of this gifted time is detrimental to our well-being (during a busy period, or over the long term).

Optimism bias is a real thing, and every human has it (yes, even the pessimists).  It is one of the reasons you keep going, despite the many challenges in your day (which is why it is baked into the human operating system). Optimism bias may also keep us from recognizing the impact of scope creep when our working life eats into our personal life.  Being objective about the hours you work, and what fits into those hours (realistically), is important, both at home AND at work. 

Do the math.  Take a look at the work you are accountable for delivering.  Estimate the hours it will realistically take to complete (best guess).  Next, calculate the number of work hours you have in the period you need to complete the work (i.e. a week, or a month).  Use the working hours you are paid for in that period, not the ones you “volunteer”.  Subtract from that number any statutory holidays, outside appointments or vacation time you know is booked.  Now, subtract from that total the number of hours you are in meetings or are already committed to something else at work.  That is your “real” number of hours available to work.  Take the number of hours needed to deliver your work minus the number of hours you actually have to work on those things. 

Example (weekly average for a 3-month planning window):
Time available (40 hrs/week)
            MINUS, Time unavailable (average of 2.5 hrs/week)
            EQUALS Time available/week = 37.5 hrs/week
 
Promised/committed work (32 hrs/week)
            PLUS, Time booked in meetings (18hrs/week)
            EQUALS Time utilized/week = 50 hrs/week
                       
DEFICIT = 12.5 hrs/week

Feeling optimistic?  Do the math because it makes possible a new conversation about which items matter at work, and which ones can wait.  When you have the figures, ask yourself what can get completed with a positive impact in the time you have?  What needs to shift?  Who can help you shift it?  What conversations do you need to initiate to help others see what is, and is not, going to be completed in the time you have to do this work?

This week an article appeared in the CBC news feed titled Workplace Wellness Returns Few Benefits.  It speaks to a study in the U. S. that looked at the return on investment for wellness initiatives at work and whether these initiatives are actually helping employees.  The outcome of the study was not positive.  This is the first published study of its kind and the researchers state strongly that more research needs to be done.  What I found interesting is it solely focused on giving employees access to more benefits (benefits by the way that many of us enjoy in Canada through group insurance or Medicare), like dieticians and other health care providers, and how it didn’t actually lower the costs of company-paid medical benefits, nor did it have any clinically measurable impact on the health of the employees (as compared to a control group without the additional support in the same organization).  It did not measure employee performance outcomes (i.e. sales and service for the locations with the increased benefits), revenue generated, nor did it baseline or determine the level of stress in the workplace itself (and its impact on employees) before beginning the study.

I juxtapose the article in CBC with a recent article from the Stanford School of Business titled The Workplace is Killing People, and Nobody Cares which is based on the work of Jeffery Pfeffer in his book Dying For a Paycheck.  Pfeffer’s book takes the position that more research is being conducted on the impact of stress and human well-being …and the causes of the stress that is impacting people’s health.  Shooting up the list of causes (beating out poor diet and exercise) is …you guessed it, work.  To quote Pfeffer “I look out at the workplace and I see stress, layoffs, longer hours, work-family conflict, enormous amounts of economic insecurity. I see a workplace that has become shockingly inhumane.” 

I mention these articles because increasing employee health and welfare at work is not an isolated responsibility that only employees own; it’s a partnership.  While employees have choices they can make to sustain, or increase, their physiological and mental health (including talking to their employer about what they need), everyone needs to make a living and many will do so in an environment that has negative consequences for their health.  From punishing commutes to feeling insecure at work, the levels of stress in the workplace are rising and have been for some time.  No one wants to put their livelihood in jeopardy; many remain in stressful environments out of fear of the consequences if they don’t.

Not everyone’s workplace is toxic, or the biggest cause of stress in their lives; clearly a lot more research needs to be done to determine what the right actions are to address both the health care crisis in our societies, and the well-being crisis in our workplaces.  However, one thing stood out in reading these two articles together.  Until employers start to own the way work (leadership styles, workplace culture and expectations) impacts health, all the help we provide to our employees, whether through wellness programs or (as in the case in Canada) through a publicly funded Medicare services, will only be a band aide on a problem that both anecdotally, and statistically, is growing ever more critical.