First published in Conference News magazine in February 2019
The month of love. How many valentine’s day cards have you sent? Does my jealousy dare ask how many you’ve received?!
We are taught from a young age that we should tell people that we care, sending them notes on Valentine’s Day even if we don’t feel brave enough to do it any other time of year.
Research tells us that 63% of people who have at least one person at work that they feel that they really can talk to are 40% less stressed than those who don’t believe anyone will listen. So it’s a no brainer right; creating a culture where people feel that they can be honest about how they feel reduces stress.
And Boss people, it starts with you. Be honest with your team, they need to know that it is ok to talk and tell people how they feel. It’s a balance, being strong and in control but also showing humility.
There’s a great TED talk from Susan David which tells us how we can embrace emotional agility to help with our relationships with others and the importance of labelling our emotions accurately – not just “I’m stressed”. Our emotions are data, we feel strong emotion to feel things we are passionate about to help identify our values, so sharing these emotions with others can help others understand you. When people are able to feel their emotional truth, engagement, creativity and innovation flourish in the organisation.
Writing that first love letter or valentine’s card is tough, showing someone you care and the potential rejection that could follow. However they say honesty is the best policy.
Small steps. Be honest with yourself and your colleagues. Try to take a step closer to achieving one of the Stress Matters pledges where we ask you to develop a culture of openness about mental health, led from the top. Where people feel able to talk openly about their concerns.
Use this month to send a love letter to yourself.
