Tag Archive for: health

Four Reasons Leaders Need to Look After their Well-being

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leadership and well-beingLeaders tend to feel more pressure than most to work long hours and sacrifice their well-being. For some, this is in hopes of inspiring team members to work hard, and for others, it’s simply due to a desire to reach and exceed goals.

Many professional women often feel additional pressure to prove themselves hardworking, especially when leading in male-dominated industries. However, problems can arise when we overwork ourselves so much that our well-being suffers and the ability to lead effectively diminishes with it.

Here are four important reasons leaders need to protect, not sacrifice, their well-being.

Rest is essential for protecting mental and physical well-being

Good quality sleep is essential for maintaining physical and mental health. Sleep deprivation can inhibit cognitive function, meaning that you can’t perform at your best when you’re tired. Plus, chronic sleep deprivation can lead to depression, anxiety, and stress, all of which can affect work.

Stress is both a cause and symptom of poor sleep, so it’s common to become stuck in a cycle of stress leading to insomnia, leading to further stress, and so on. This cycle can only be stopped when you consciously adopt a healthy sleep hygiene routine and incorporate positive stress management tactics into your day.

Work is a leading cause of stress and subsequent sleep problems, with around 80% of workers in the USA experiencing work-related stress. Those in leadership positions are particularly susceptible to excess stress because they carry more responsibility and are ultimately accountable for their team’s work.

Make sure you put firm limits on your working hours and avoid working late into the night to give yourself time to switch off from work. Many leaders find it helpful to gently unwind before bed by doing gentle exercise, meditating, journaling, taking a bath or reading a book. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day can also help your body find its natural sleep rhythm, meaning you’ll find it easier to fall asleep.

Self-care habits can support productive routines

When you schedule self-care habits into your daily routine, you’re likely to become more productive overall. Our minds can become overwhelmed with lists, tasks, and issues, which may make us reluctant to make time to exercise, indulge in a creative hobby, or prepare a healthy meal.

However, it’s important to take regular breaks from work and allow yourself the time to write down all your to-do’s, make a plan, and take a moment to breathe. Prioritizing self-care is essential for alleviating stress, and when you schedule specific self-care activities in your breaks, you’re less likely to skip them.

Many self-care habits help you to refresh your mind and return to work with greater focus. For example, art and craft activities boost dopamine levels, which aids the creation of neurons in order to promote focus and aid productivity. It might sound counterintuitive, but working less could help you to achieve more if you replace work with activities that nourish your well-being.

Protecting well-being prevents burnout

Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that occurs after a long period of chronic stress. It affects focus and productivity, and it tends to generate an uncharacteristic sense of apathy toward work. When someone feels burned out, they can’t function professionally to their full capacity. If they continue to push themselves at work despite experiencing burnout, they run the risk of developing depression or anxiety.

Burnout seems to affect women more than men, especially for those in managerial and leadership positions. A 2021 study found that 49% of women in senior leadership roles reported feeling burned out, as opposed to only 38% of men in similar jobs. This means it’s particularly important for professional women to protect their well-being and create clear boundaries between their work and their personal lives.

Modeling healthy habits inspires team members

A workforce with good physical and mental well-being is likely to be more productive and require fewer sick days than a workforce that is stressed and physically unhealthy. As a leader, it’s your job to support your employees’ well-being to ensure your team operates to its full potential. By prioritizing your self-care, you can lead by example and encourage your team members to look after themselves, too.

Good leaders inspire their teams, and although it’s important to inspire hard work, there’s a fine line between hard work and overwork. If a leader works incredibly long hours with few breaks, their team members might feel pressure to do the same – despite the damage, this can do to their mental health and well-being.

When you encourage a healthy work-life balance and create a culture of self-care in your workplace, you help your team feel inspired to look after their own health, making them more able to perform at their best.

Prioritize your wellbeing to become a better leader

When you take care of your physical and emotional well-being, not only do you protect your ability to lead successfully but you also become a better, more effective leader. Make sure you get plenty of rest and stack up your healthy self-care habits to lead your team to great heights of success.

By: Lucy Ranger is a business development executive who has acquired more than 15 years of experience in the industry. Away from her remote office, Lucy is passionate about sustainability, and regularly volunteers in her local community to help with various clean-up projects and initiatives.

(The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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OP-ed: Menopause at Work – A Call To Action

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A senior HR official at a Fortune 500 company recently told me that women at her company routinely refuse to accept recognition awards for their years of service. Why? Because they don’t want people to know their age. Had that ever happened with a man, I asked? Never, she replied.

menopause at workOur society does not value age and aging, particularly in women. For women in the workplace and in other leadership positions, this double whammy of sexism and ageism is pernicious. As a result, many of us take steps to avoid drawing attention to our age. So when it comes to menopause, a unique marker of aging for women, it’s complicated. Even my most confident and successful friends and contemporaries become uncomfortable when talking about menopause. The stigma is real. We endure the stereotypes of angry women fanning themselves through hot flashes, while the silver fox goes happily about his business.

I am passionate about menopause because I believe that we are doing women and the people important to them a disservice by not talking more openly about the effects that menopause can have on some women, particularly at work. Many of us are in our prime professionally during these years, with senior positions of responsibility and management. It goes without saying (or it should) that having more women in C-suite positions is a good thing. Among other things, companies with greater C-suite diversity are shown to be more profitable, and more socially responsible.

The status quo of ignoring menopause is not ok. Menopause has a real effect on many women at work, as shown in this recent study, from Standard Chartered Bank and the Financial Services Skills commission in the UK. It delves into the effect that menopause is having on the financial services sector. A key finding centers around loss of talent due to menopausal symptoms – the study found that a quarter of employees experiencing menopausal symptoms said that they were more likely to leave the workforce early because of their experience. And the very real stigma around menopause means that only 22% are comfortable talking about it.

So what is menopause? The average age for menopause in the US is 51, and experienced by every cisgender woman (and some non-binary and transgender people.) Menopause marks the day when you have not had a period for 12 months. The time leading up to menopause is perimenopause, which generally begins in the mid 40s and lasts on average seven years. Perimenopause is caused by fluctuations in hormones, and this is when menopausal symptoms may start. During this time, periods may be uneven, heavier than normal, or irregular. You may have hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, heightened anxiety, reduced libido, weight gain (especially around the waist), heart palpitations, vaginal dryness, sleeping issues, or stiff and aching joints. In fact, there are 34 widely reported symptoms of menopause. 80% of women experience the most common symptoms, hot flashes and night sweats. For 15% of women, they are severe. For women who enter menopause surgically, perhaps due to a hysterectomy or cancer treatment, symptoms are often worse. The symptom that women find the most bothersome? Difficulty sleeping. Not surprising, as lack of sleep affects all other aspects of life. These menopausal symptoms don’t stop when your periods end; they often last for several years after you are officially in menopause, though they typically taper off. Once you have hit one year with no periods –a moment that can only be marked retroactively– you are post-menopausal. You will remain in this state the rest of your life.

Many women are familiar with the more common perimenopausal symptoms, but most don’t realize that their heightened anxiety, heart palpitations, sudden waking up in the middle of the night, lack of confidence, or difficulty remembering words might all be related to the fluctuating hormones of menopause. We tend to think of menopause as a gynecological issue, but it is so much more than that. It affects every organ in our body, and none more so than the brain. In fact, anti-depressants are often misprescribed during perimenopause: one study suggests that more than 60% of women have been inappropriately given antidepressants for low mood associated with menopause (and they won’t work if the cause is fluctuating hormones). It’s also important to note that menopause comes with many positives: no more periods! No more worrying about getting accidentally pregnant!

So what can we do to destigmatize menopause? Here are a few suggestions for actions to take, both personally and in your workplace.

  • Get Educated. Understanding what happens during the (potentially very long!) perimenopausal period can shed some light on what can feel like uncontrollable, out-of-nowhere struggles, like those sudden middle of the night wakings or lack of confidence. It’s often difficult to untangle perimenopausal symptoms from the normal stresses of life (particularly these days). But understanding what happens during menopause, knowing that it is transitory and that you have agency, is important. A good, fact based, very readable book on the subject is Dr. Jen Gunter’s ‘The Menopause Manifesto’. A new non-profit, letstalkmenopause.org, has some great resources, and balance-menopause.com, developed by the UK’s leading menopause physician, has a lot of fact based information (and a great app, too).
  • If you are suffering, seek help. Menopause is a natural transition, but that doesn’t mean it’s ok to suffer. You have options for treatment. Your OB-GYN should be your first call, but don’t be discouraged if they aren’t as helpful as you hoped: there is, sadly, a huge gap in care for menopausal women. Shockingly, just 20% of OB-GYN residency programs provide any kind of menopause training. The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) has a list of certified menopause practioners. There are also new services specifically focused on menopausal women; Gennev, Elektra Health and Alloy, for example.
  • Talk to your HR department. The more that this issue is raised, the better. Ask what benefits your company has for menopausal women. Have your women’s group do an information session. Give a training on menopause for managers. Asking for information and resources will bring the issue to the fore. The more menopause is raised, the more your company will start to recognize it as a life event that should be supported just as fertility and pregnancy are, and treated with as much sensitivity as mental health.
  • Talk to your colleagues, friends and family. Be part of breaking the stigma. While you may be uncomfortable talking about menopause at work, sharing your experience with trusted colleagues educates, empowers, and normalizes. And if you aren’t comfortable talking about it at work, talk to your friends! It’s helpful to understand what other women are going through, and to share your experiences. Don’t forgot your partners and family too: it’s important they understand what you are going through. There are also some great online communities: the apps Peanut and Perry have good menopause support groups.

Menopause is a natural, essential stage of life. It can also add to what’s already a stressful time – kids, parents, work, COVID. But by empowering ourselves and our communities with knowledge, support, and the right medical help, we can march into the next half of life with joy, strength and power.

About the writer:

Kate Brashares (she/her) is the co-Founder and CEO of a new startup, Hello Maisy, focused on developing clinically proven, effective products and services that are being designed to support women through all life stages, with an initial focus on perimenopause, menopause and healthy aging. She is passionate about building and growing organizations that drive societal change and improve health outcomes. Previously Kate was the Executive Director of Edible Schoolyard NYC, and has also worked in brand marketing and finance. Kate has a B.A from Cambridge University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

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