The Center For Work Life

Many people have eating disorders, so it stands to reason that there is probably going to be someone in your workplace who is a sufferer. There are also many things that can trigger eating disorders to develop. Lots of people think that that the main culprits are self-esteem issues due to unrealistic portrayals of body image in the media, or perhaps family and relationship problems that lead sufferers to try to gain a little more control over their lives by controlling their eating behaviors. While those things are major causes of anorexia, binge eating disorder and bulimia, there is another major culprit which is often overlooked – stress.

When people become stressed, they end up acting impulsively since they are unable to transfer that stress into some kind of productive activity. As we all know, work can be one of the most stressful activities there is. Whether you’re under pressure to hit sales targets, be nice to even the most difficult customers or to meet impending deadlines, work is a challenging place to be, so it’s no wonder that a surprising number of people report that stress in the workplace has been a serious contributing factor to their eating disorder.
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Like many illnesses, eating disorders can affect adults in the workforce. Many people with eating disorders are perfectionistic, leading them to be highly driven and competent—often ideal employees. If someone doesn’t learn to manage these traits, however, they can contribute to disordered eating or an eating disorder.

Although it’s not always easy to identify an eating disorder in a work colleague, employee, or boss, an undiagnosed or untreated disorder can lead to serious health problems, and even death. Even when an eating disorder may seem mild or not worth mentioning, it can have a significant impact on a person’s ability to do their job. Swipe to learn more about recognizing and helping employees with eating disorders in the workplace.
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Social media has significantly changed the way people communicate at home and at work. Moreover, social media platforms present a great opportunity for businesses in terms of public relations, recruiting, organizational learning, and internal as well as external communications.

82% of employees believe that social media can improve work relationships and 60% think that it can help with better decision-making.

But at the same time, employers find social media to be a productivity killer with more than half of the US employers reportedly blocking access to social media platforms at work.

Too much of everything can be dangerous, and that includes social media as well. On average, people spend approximately 2 hours and 23 minutes[3] on social media every day. If your employees spend even half of that time scrolling through social media platforms during work hours, it can affect their productivity immensely. There is so much content available on social media with new content being uploaded every second, it’s way too easy to fall down the spiral and get addicted.

It’s good for employees to stay connected online, but they should also be focused when it comes to work. Social media platforms can only be a temporary solution for companies to encourage employees to interact with their colleagues and share their thoughts online. If you don’t switch to a healthy alternative soon, you will start seeing the negative effects of social media in your organization which will invariably affect efficiency and team bonding. That is why organizations should focus more on social collaboration instead of giving uninterrupted access to social media platforms.
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If you’re an entry-level or mid-career professional with leadership aspirations, advancing to a management position may be one of your top career goals. But becoming a manager requires more than just job experience; it takes mental and emotional preparation, as well as a broad business perspective to make strong leadership decisions.

To prepare for the next step in your career, you’ll have to pair your experience with cross-functional knowledge. Here’s how to shape yourself into a strong management candidate
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As a species, humans are inherently lazy. We’re hardwired in any given situation to find the most economic means of conserving our energy, which is why when choosing between going for a run and watching TV, so many of us choose the latter. It’s simply our nature.

This also explains why it can be so hard to motivate ourselves at work, especially when our work on a given day entails performing mostly monotonous or tedious tasks, like answering emails, making sales calls, or compiling pitch decks. The problem, of course, is that motivating yourself to perform effectively and persistently at work is key to your ultimate success. To be successful, one must be motivated––motivated to work hard, put in long hours, show grit. That’s how we achieve our goals, how we accomplish anything worthwhile.

The question, then, is how do we combat our natural lazy tendencies to motivate ourselves to work tenaciously? Swipe to learn more!
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The first month of a new job is often a nerve-wracking experience.

There are new people. New customs. Abbreviations you don’t know. And, the whole time you are wondering if you are making a good impression, if you are doing the right things and if your boss really likes you.

Well, we are here to help. Swipe to learn some tips for starting at your new job!
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A personal brand tells the world about who you are as a human being personally and professionally. A personal brand is about authenticity and is derived exclusively from your mind, your heart, your values, your passions, your imaginings and what you believe to be true at the core of your personal and professional self. That’s why it’s unique – because it begins with and is created from the very original place/ being which is you.

So how do you build your personal brand? Here, we share some of our top tips to help you start thinking about a more authentic "you" and how to effectively market yourself whether it be during an interview for a job search or campaigning for yourself along your own journey & appealing to other companies!
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Reflection is defined technically as the “articulation and codification of experience accumulated in the past.” Put more simply, reflection is careful thought about our behaviors and beliefs. It involves assessing our assumptions and reactions to an event, or pondering the meaning and implications of an experience, carefully and persistently. With reflection, we act and move forward in a more meaningful and thoughtful way.
Reflection is an important part of the human experience that differentiates us from other living beings. It is fundamental to our growth and development, especially in developing higher mental functions such as problem solving and decision-making skills.

Why reflection in the workplace?

In the workplace, employees typically learn and practice new skills through activities such as hands-on trainings or simulations in classroom settings—with no periods of reflection. Without the opportunity to reflect, programs are far less effective at effecting real change, with employees often returning to the status quo.
Here’s why: Once a person has accumulated a certain amount of experience with a task, the benefit of more experience is actually inferior to the benefit derived by devoting time to reflecting upon the experiences they’ve already had. Simply put, there is a point of diminishing returns on experience. We can’t learn more simply by doing more. We must also reflect upon what we’ve done in order to change and grow.
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As project managers, we’re often compelled to get roadblocks out of the way as fast as possible so the team can continue to progress. Therefore, we’re quite often in problem solving mode, trying to resolve issues that arise, avoiding and mitigating risks. A useful thing to keep in mind is to always consider whether we are really addressing the issue or only a symptom of the issue. Is our quick fix action aimed at the root cause of the issue or is it a step in the right direction as we fix the symptom? If yes, that’s ok and we shall apply the quick fix. But it’s not always the case…

The quick fix addresses the symptom but it has some side effects. For example, the additional help provided provokes a delay on another task from which we pulled some resources, or it generates requests from many others to get more resources, or it demotivates team members who were going the extra-mile to be on time, or…

These side effects will manifest through new symptoms: Bad morale in the team, threats of delays in other parts of the project, absenteeism…

We’re tempted to address these new symptoms with more quick fixes.

The loop goes on. The initial quick fix may have placed the entire project at risk.

So, what to do? How do we break the vicious spiral? Let’s discuss below! 👇
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Look around your office. Chances are someone sitting near you feels isolated at work.

Those feelings can negatively impact employee morale, productivity and engagement. It can ultimately cause employees to look for new jobs. Having happy, engaged employees contributes positively to your bottom line.

But tackling workplace isolation goes beyond making everyone get along. To eliminate workplace isolation at your company, you should understand what it is, how to spot it and then work to help your team overcome it.

Loneliness, social isolation, and its corresponding depression used to be primarily associated with the elderly. Around 2012, research reported an abrupt shift as similar loneliness issues began to show up with the youngest generations. This became known as the “social isolation epidemic”.

In addition to office intergenerational work, one can build intergenerational connections in their non-work lives. Hayim suggests asking someone out for a cup of (virtual) coffee or a walk, or volunteering outside of the workplace with people outside your age cohort.
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It’s true that nobody’s perfect, and we all make mistakes some of the time. But that doesn’t mean self-improvement is pointless. Changing workplace habits isn’t so easy as flipping a switch. In fact, managing away bad habits in your team requires a practical and considered approach.

It's one thing to identify bad habits and disengagement in your staff. But it's another thing entirely to handle them in an effective way. So, let's have a look at how habits form, their long-term impact, and what you can do to reform them.
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A person who is addicted to their work is often driven by their successes and ambition as well as an extreme fear of failure and rejection. In the United States, the myth of hard work – that if you work hard for long enough, you’ll get ahead – can promote a workaholic mentality. A person may be rewarded for their success and long hours, yet under the surface, their mental, physical and emotional health are rapidly declining. Thus, workaholism can have dire consequences.

In the past few decades, research on work addiction has become more common, however, there has been no scientific consensus as to the causes of work addiction. Because not a lot is known about it, there are many myths about work addiction.
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Much like substance addiction, there are myriad of reasons why someone becomes addicted to work.

The first and most basic is that work addiction fulfills an underlying psychological need. Similar to alcohol or other substances, work can become an escape. Rather than facing and dealing with uncomfortable or unpleasant feelings and situations, the individual immerses themselves in work tasks. The worker may literally escape a situation by going to work outside regular hours, or this escape can be more figurative – perhaps instead of paying attention to family or personal dynamics, they think about work-related topics.

The worker may also be reliving old patterns. It could be related to an inability to establish boundaries, attempts to gain approval, or a trauma-related coping mechanism.

These can be big questions with complex answers, but it is important to understand why you overwork. Once you understand the causes, you can develop a way forward. Create new habits and routines, identify the stressors that trigger your compulsions, and re-evaluate your expectations of success.
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When the use or abuse of alcohol or drugs interferes with the employee’s ability to perform his/her job duties, the employer does have legitimate concerns, including the proper performance of duties, health and safety issues, and employee conduct at the workplace.

As a manager, you have an important role in dealing with substance abuse problems in the workplace. You have the day-to-day responsibility to monitor the work and on-the-job conduct of your employees – but you are not responsible for diagnosing alcoholism or drug problems in employees.

At some point, you may encounter employees with alcohol- or drug-related problems in relation to performance, conduct, and leave issues. In some cases, you may not know if a substance is the problem. In other cases, the employee may admit to being an alcoholic, or the problem is self-evident.

Dealing with an employee with a substance abuse problem is never easy. Remember that The Center for Work Life Counseling is always available to help you determine whether or not a problem exists, and suggest ways to handle it. Our organization is a resource for you as well as your employees.
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Recovery is an ongoing process that requires you to put yourself first in order to heal. To do so, you need to avoid things that may trigger a relapse. For many, the workplace is one of the factors that encouraged the very addiction they are working to overcome.
Research shows that individuals in certain professions are more prone to addiction than others. When recovering from an addiction, it’s important to surround yourself with people and places that mitigate triggers. This can be challenging when returning to work. With the right tools, you can work to address, manage and avoid workplace triggers.
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The process for how to support employees through grief is, unfortunately, one of the hardest and most delicate tasks you’ll undertake as a business leader.

Coping with death is difficult. When we lose someone important to us, life as we know it feels as though it has stopped. Sadly, life won’t ever be the same again without that person. Gradually, we learn to go on with our “new normal.”

Whether death is anticipated or sudden, it’s a cruel reality that, from the first moment you receive the news, everything changes.

It’s also unavoidable. The loss of a loved one will happen to every single one of us at some point. Sometimes, regrettably, it happens to several people at once, as with an accident, a global pandemic or a natural disaster.

When a death impacts a single employee or your entire staff, it can have a major effect on your workplace in terms of absenteeism, productivity and your team’s long-term emotional and mental health.

To work toward minimizing grief’s impact in your workplace, it’s helpful to consider the following questions:

How can you support your team members through a tough time and successfully transition them back to a normal work routine?
How do you balance the emotional needs of your people with the need for your business to continue operating as usual?
How can you prepare for this (inevitable) situation?
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Losing a job is deeply shocking. It is a loss of livelihood: the ability to support ourselves and often our families. But the emotional impact goes beyond financial stress. For many people, work offers valued meanings and relationships and when the work goes, these frequently go with it, prompting our shame and anger as well as sorrow at leaving people, projects, and a place to which we have given a large part of ourselves. But perhaps most significant is the impact of job loss on our identity or sense of self. For many, work is not only a large part of our waking hours but also who we feel we are. This is especially true if we were doing a job that we loved, or one in a career built over years. The loss of this identity can be devastating.

What did I bring to that job that could be helpful in the future? Which parts of myself was I unable to use? Which parts of myself do I want to develop? How much did I enjoy that job? How well did it fit with the other demands and interests I have? What would I like to be different about my next job?

We don’t need a crisis to change our job, career, or lifestyle. Yet for many people, among the greatest challenges of making change are creating the time and headspace to think about it, and then finding the courage to make the leap. For all that is painful about losing a job, it forces change upon us. If you have been laid off in this time of unprecedented challenge, take heart — this may be an unexpected chance to rethink what you want and who you are, and start building a path towards a job more enlivening than the one you lost. And by reflecting on your situation and taking action to see what it reveals, you can construct a narrative of your career and yourself that provides a springboard for your next steps.
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Are you grieving for your career? You can grieve for your career when you’ve lost a job you love or even if you’ve never found work that brings you purpose and connection. It’s actually important to grieve when you transition through various stages in your career – it helps you understand more about yourself, and deal with the feelings of loss. But what if you get stuck in a rut, attached to the memory of a job you loved? How do you move on?

If you’re stuck grieving for your career, then it’s time to get help. Let’s talk about your strengths and passions and how to rediscover work that gives you purpose and connection.
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Are you someone who goes out of your way to be helpful and kind at work? For example, do you consistently say yes to taking on new projects even when you are overloaded? Do you find yourself agreeing with co-workers even though you may have a very different viewpoint? If that sounds like you, you may have people-pleasing tendencies.

The reality is that you can’t be all things to all people. And the costs of people-pleasing in the workplace can be high, including frustration, resentment, anxiety and burnout. Fortunately, there are strategies to mitigate these tendencies

While being a people pleaser at work is a hard habit to break, you can do it. Use these strategies to take small, consistent steps towards setting healthy boundaries. Only then will you be able to truly listen to your inner voice, embrace your authentic self and regain your power.
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High emotional intelligence is considered a fundamental skill in the workplace. Emotional intelligence, or the ability to understand and manage emotions, can play a significant role in everyday life. By tapping into your emotional intelligence, you can better prepare yourself for future challenges
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Emotion regulation is a process of influencing which emotions we have, when we have them and how we experience them.
Emotion regulation at work can help people change the way they feel after experiencing an emotion.

Emotion regulation at work promotes positive emotions, positive relationships and overall better quality of life.

People pursue emotion regulation at work to increase pleasure and reduce pain, manage interpersonal interactions and optimize how they process information.

Emotion regulation helps people measure how well they manage stress and anxiety in the workplace. People often pursue emotion regulation at work with three stress-reducing goals in mind:

Increasing pleasure and reducing pain to minimize acts and feelings of negativity and sadness

Managing interpersonal interactions to avoid conflict

Optimizing how information is processed to perform tasks more effectively
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Irrational beliefs are:

Messages about life we send to ourselves that keep us from growing emotionally.

Scripts we have in our head about how we believe life “should” be for us and for others.

Negative sets of habitual responses we hold to when faced with stressful events or situations, that no longer work to keep distress at bay.

Ideas, feelings, beliefs, ways of thinking, attitudes, opinions, biases, prejudices, or values with which we were raised.

We have become accustomed to using them when faced with problems in our current life, even when they are not productive in helping us reach a positive, growth-enhancing solution.

Negative or pessimistic ways of looking at necessary life experiences such as loss, conflict, risk taking, rejection, or accepting change.

Ways of thinking about ourselves that are out of context with the real facts, resulting in our either under-valuing or over-valuing ourselves.

By refuting our irrational beliefs we are able to:

Unblock our emotions and feelings about ourselves and our problems.

Become productive, realistic problem solvers.

Gain greater credibility with ourselves and others.

Change the way our brain works by introducing new neural pathways as problems are solved and new possibilities are explored.

Put our problem into a realistic perspective as to its importance, magnitude, and probability of being solved.

And finally, live more authentic lives.
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Core values are fundamental beliefs that guide your interactions with your company and coworkers. Core values are traits that are developed over a lifetime that become ingrained in our personal and professional lives. This article explains the different core values, why they are important to your job and why they matter when advancing your career.

Core values matter because they can demonstrate an employee’s value and commitment to their company. Core values are the beliefs, priorities and motivations that influence decisions and drive professional development.

Core values can help you advance your career by:

Instilling a solid work ethic
Giving you the ability to mesh with corporate culture
Setting the tone for work or action

Discovering your own core values can be beneficial when writing your resume or applying for a job. When you identify your core values, you can highlight your strengths on your resume and respond to behavioral interview questions with confidence.
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