Welcome back to the Evolve Small Advisor Series, where we host experts on the most critical workplace topics to help small business owners like you succeed. This month, we’re covering a topic that’s relevant for everyone, no matter what industry or type of work you’re in: managing stress.
Let’s be real. Prioritizing your mental health is so essential for every part of life. And in business, we can see a relationship between mental health and loss of productivity. That’s why we’re taking you through all the top tools and hacks you should know for managing work-related stress.
In this session, we were joined by Evolve Small Ambassador Nico Garces, and our special guest Chantel Cohen, founder of CWC Coaching & Therapy. Chantel is a licensed therapist and certified business coach who leads a group of coaches and therapists, primarily working with busy professionals. Chantel is also an important partner in the Evolve Small program, offering one-on-one counseling with our grant-winning small businesses over the past few years.
Chantel kicked off our conversation with a memory from a time she went on a family vacation to Puerto Rico. She went out into the water with her children and was having a great time relaxing in the waves. Suddenly, a wave came over and pulled them out so far that Chantel’s feet were no longer touching the bottom. She felt afraid because every time she tried to catch her breath, she’d be pulled under again by a wave. It’s an experience that holds a lot of similarities to the way people feel sometimes as entrepreneurs.
“Oftentimes, the water is warm and feels great, but then other times it feels like you’re being pulled under.
I wish I knew then, what I know today: Caught in a riptide, I really needed to swim to the side. And that’s what we’re discussing today. Swimming to the side and finding things that you can do for yourself when you're in deep water. Because inevitably, entrepreneurship has those ups and downs, and we need to be ready for them."
Stress in the Workplace
Chantel shared a few statistics about employees today. As you can see, there’s a real stigma around talking about stress in the workplace. But it shouldn’t be that way.
- 62% of employees in the U.S. report high levels of stress, paired with feelings of extreme fatigue and loss of control.
- 68% of employees worry that disclosing a mental health condition could harm their professional reputation.
- 92% of employees say it is important to them to work for an organization that values their emotional and mental well-being.
- 81% of employees who feel mentally or emotionally safe in their workplace report that workplace stress does not affect their mental health.
As entrepreneurs, it’s so important for you to keep all this in mind as you onboard people onto your team and of course, for your own personal well-being. Mental health and stress should be at the forefront, and we need to ask ourselves the right questions to help better ourselves and our workplace relations.
Work-Life Balance vs. Work-Life Integration
Work-life balance, Chantel explains, is more of a framework that emphasizes the divide between our home life and personal life. She actually recommends another approach: work-life integration.
Instead of the divide, work-life integration seeks to have a blend. According to the Berkeley Haas School of Business, work-life integration is an approach that creates more synergies between all areas that define life.
For example, in work-life balance, time for yourself is viewed as a reward for the job done. In work-life integration, time for yourself is a part of productive working hours to have your mind at rest. The integrated approach allows for more fluidity and intuitive prioritization for all the moving pieces in your life.
Chantel mentioned a couple personal examples of her own. One of her daily goals is to read ten pages of non-fiction, so she reads while she’s on her elliptical. And, when she’s catching up with loved ones, she does so while on a walk. These “habit stacking” hacks are easy ways to fuel productivity, while leaving room for flexibility.
Setting Healthy Boundaries
Healthy boundaries set a foundation for more productive workdays and relationships. Chantel is always telling her entrepreneurs to prioritize sleep and make sure they’re cultivating relationships. She believes that cultivating relationships enables all sorts of transferable skills in communication and conflict resolution. Knowing how to manage different personalities is key to running your business, but it also helps you grow as a person.
Here are a few simple, yet powerful ways to establish your healthy boundaries:
- Set a regular time to turn off notifications.
- Carve out time to be with loved ones.
- Learn how to say no with confidence.
- Treat rest as essential, not optional.
- If remote, create a designated workspace.
- Block out non-negotiable personal time.
Prioritizing Self-Love
It seems so obvious that self-love and well-being go hand in hand, but it’s not always prioritized. Just imagine thriving in your career, not just because of what you do, but because of how you care for yourself. That's the power of self-love, a fundamental force that propels both entrepreneurs and professionals alike towards sustainable success. Take time to check in with yourself, listening to how you’re feeling and nurturing yourself so you can work optimally.
One way Chantel takes care of herself is writing a to-do list every Sunday. Statistically, people are 43% more likely to complete a task if it is written down. She also actively schedules time for meditation and exercise in her daily routines.
Many entrepreneurs have limiting beliefs on what can be accomplished in a day. To break out of that mindset, respect your limits, recognize your worth and know that every step forward, no matter how small, is progress. Focus on your minimums, not your maximums.
Achieving Your Goals
Finding harmony and balance is essential for reaching your goals. When your goals are harmonized, you are aligning personal and professional goals to foster a seamless life-work integration. As for balance, that can be achieved by incorporating activities that contribute to both personal growth and professional development.
Check out these things you can do to manage your stress:
- Build a daily mindfulness practice.
- Establish a regular exercise routine.
- Prioritize downtime to recharge.
- Focus on mentorship and networking.
Building A Supportive Team Culture
It’s time to reflect. What ways can you build a culture of practicing healthy self-care and work-life integration in your business? It can be part of your core values or in your mission statement. Think about how you can lead by example and foster a culture of work-life integration. This could include flexible work hours, mental health days, assistance programs, regular check-ins and more.
When working with new people, Chantel says that communication is key. She’ll always ask about preferred communication styles, even outside of the workplace. She noted love languages as an example. You don't necessarily have to share the same love language as your partner, but knowing how that person likes to give and receive love can make a huge difference.
Empowerment Through Delegation
As business leaders like you are learning how to delegate, Chantel suggests trying a quick hack. When you're delegating, assess how high-stake a task is and how competent the person is who's going to oversee it. If you feel that they rate low on the competency scale and the task has high stakes, you don't want to give it to them. But if the task has moderate stakes and they have moderate capabilities, that could be a real opportunity for growth.
Delegation matters so much because it drives efficiency for leaders and growth opportunities for team members. It fosters a culture of trust, shows confidence in team abilities and boosts overall morale.
Key Takeaways
- Start with one change, one action you can take now to move towards work-life integration.
- Each step, no matter how small, is a powerful choice to protect your mental health.
- We all have a role to play — let’s start today and create a momentum that echoes through our careers and businesses.
Did you find this content helpful? Register for future Evolve Small webinars to learn more valuable insights from our experts.
What was your favorite tip?
What tips of your own have helped keep you swimming in sane waters?
Let us know in the comments below and be sure to like this post if you enjoyed it!