This and That: March Ebbed & Flowed

I'm a little late in getting out my monthly newsletter. April 1st (no joke), I broke my right (dominant) arm just below the elbow. Not serious but compromising for typing. I'm getting quite adept at using my left hand to manipulate my computer mouse, so decided today is the day I'll get this published.

April is Stress Awareness Month, and so I felt it's good to give attention to this topic, among others. I'd be remis in not sharing that it's also Autism Acceptance Month. I'll give a 'shout-out' to Team Awesomism for the work they're doing in this area. I met the awesome co-founder recently through an online weekly networking group 'Fika Friday', based not in Sweden as you might think but in my old stomping grounds in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Late in March I posted these Gallup statistics:

They give testament to the importance of us putting focus on a number of issues, including developing healthier strategies for dealing with the stress we encounter in our lives. Organizations will do well to give their employees opportunities for developing the skills, tools, and work culture, we all need to thrive.

Also in March #KnowHowOnLinkedIn put out a request to share our best career advice tips. What I shared is one of (in my estimation) the most important skills we need to learn, if we are going to develop stress 'hardiness' and resilience: how to self-regulate your emotions.

In other words, become the master and not the servant of your emotions. With this skill, you'll see that your self-efficacy (the belief that you have mastery over your environment) grows, along with your self-confidence.

Two weeks ago #LinkedInNewsEurope focused on work-life balance on their Get Hired page. We were asked to share tips for employees to set effective boundaries after their workday ends. Have a read of the post to learn which two tips I shared.

In keeping with the topic on Stress Awareness, Vivian Acquah and myself recorded a Live on LinkedIn chat on the topic of 'Building High Performance Teams thru DEI and Resilience'. Join us in one of our monthly get-togethers, as we share our thoughts and experience on a variety of topics under the umbrella of 'Go 2 Thrive'.

Also on the topic of thriving, a good friend, Marlene de Koning, celebrated the publication of her book with a launch event hosted by PwC in Amsterdam. The book HR Tech Strategy 'unlocks the secrets of crafting an unparalleled employee experience'. A great read, if you're organization is looking to boost your employees' experience to flourish.

Micaela Bartels, together with photographer Sevilay Maria van Dorst have created and published an amazing collection of stories and pictures of older people, in a book that deserves to be on your coffee table! A celebration of age, of experience, of lives well lived, with all the highs and lows: a tribute to the older generations! Micaela spoke in March at our Wize Move Society World Café, to share her story and message behind this very special collection: to be PR:OUD of our age and change the perspective on ageing. Let's move the needle...

In March, I also had the opportunity to facilitate an interactive workshop for Gemeente Leiden, entitled '𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘌𝘐 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴'. Please do read the post here. Moving the needle on ageism a little further ...

Mary Jane Roy is the owner of Creating Waves. She is committed to sharing knowledge and strategies to support thriving people in workspaces and organizations.

If you'd like more information about workshops, speaking engagements, panels, or consultancy customized to meet your organizational needs, please click here to learn how Mary Jane can support you.

“We Need More Heart! More Compassion, Kindness, Acceptance and Forgiveness - in our families, our workplaces and in the world.”

#livingfrommyheart