Tips on dealing with emotional exhaustion as COVID-19 continues.

October 1, 2021

To say 2020 was a difficult year would be an understatement as Covid-19 was met by restrictions placed on businesses and personal lives. The result has not only been financial stressors on business, owners and employees but the compounded emotional strains of isolation, concerns with job stability, ability to cover expenses, concerns for health of oneself, their loved ones or their employees. All these added stressors have led to added personal stress and exhaustion in its many forms.

Emotional exhaustion and burnout can go hand in hand which can make it difficult to plan on moving forward, both individually or within your business. Collectively, however, we need to move forward and deal with emotional exhaustion and start focusing on a better future and determine to adopt strategies for self-wellness.

One major area is to work and understand how your attitude or mood is a result of your thoughts. Dr. David Burns,MD, author of the "Feeling Good Handbook"-Penguin Group 1990, has found that changes of our thoughts can change our minds and emotions.

Some of the things suggested by Dr. David Burns, MD are;

On a daily basis, stop and pay attention to your daily mood by comparing how you are feeling to a checklist of common emotional symptoms. In so doing, this will provide clarity and allow yourself the opportunity to view things in a more positive way;
Challenge yourself to see if your behaviours are constructive or are they leading to feelings or brooding and avoiding working on solving problems and doing something about them
Business owners in one form or other are leaders of business and their major asset, their employees. Your mindset dictates your passion and ultimately those around you. While each person is responsible for their own state of mental health, employers need to play a major role in providing a workplace that is as stress free as possible, one that has its leaders & managers providing positive influential environments.

Employers can help employees come out and avoid their own emotional burnout by providing a safe environment and providing employees with being a good listener if and when they need to talk. Being a good listener is putting oneself in their shoes, being sympathetic to their challenges, maintaining confidentiality and even trying to help them find resources. Why is this important? Employees who feel valued, listened too, helped through rough times become more engaged, foster a trust with ownership and develop long term loyalty leading to employee retention as your business gets set to re-launch post pandemic.

Set and share goals for 2021 for yourself and your business, may 2021 be the best year of many to come!

View More