I am a new mum. A FIRST-TIME new mum. I am 9 months post-partum and have the most beautiful son. I can’t say it has been the most beautiful experience though; we all have our story, and we all have our challenges.

The last 18 months have challenged many of us in a variety of ways.

As a first-time parent in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, most of our pregnancies and first few months with our newborns have been spent in isolation. Medical appointments were moved online, human interaction has been reduced along with the celebrations of the new life being developed, plus a constant fear, loneliness and anxiety plagued many of us. We have been forced to confront emotions and become comfortable with our own company.

During 2020 I was a Senior Manager of a newly established program, with shared responsibility of 50 staff members, across 16 sites, bordering 2 highly populated states. Now couple that with falling pregnant, COVID-19 hitting and a transition to a work-from-home environment. What a head spin!

As a result of the pandemic many community sector employees (myself included) were forced to take leave, reduce their hours or accept a redundancy. Employees were forced to take stock for the first time and review what was most important and find a balance physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.

Since that time, I have had my son, leaned on my close supports, stepped well beyond my comfort zone and started to re-build my toolbox of ways to be a great first-time parent AND a staff member re-entering the workforce in this COVID-19 world.

Here are my top 5 ways to help others experiencing the same, or for employers to consider when supporting their first-time parents to re-enter the workforce:

Supporting staff (especially first-time parents) to re-enter the workforce and navigate the many changes the pandemic has forced upon us needs specialised advice and education.

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As I sit in my home office listening to the sounds of nature, children laughing and playing next door, and the occasional lawnmower; I am reminded that this new post-COVID ‘normal’ has provided many employees with the freedom to escape the commute and office environment with so many positive benefits (even with the occasional lawnmower interruptions).

With all the positives however there has come a sacrifice; a challenge to ensure we can distinguish between work and home life when the two have now combined. How we can still balance the two when they are now only a kitchen table away.

While workloads (especially across the community sector) have yet to slow down, the thought of recouping an extra hour in our days given we can work from home does not seem to be something utilised by employees as well as it should.

Instead of exercise, mindfulness activities, family time, extra sleep, or similar; employees are logging on early to read emails, finalise To-Do lists and finish off tasks from the night before, and seem convinced that the extra time they have recouped is now simply extra work-time to keep playing catch up.

Instead of taking a sick day when unwell we are simply working from bed and not taking the time out to let our bodies rest and recover (employment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (via ABC News) shows a 37% decrease in employees missing work due to sickness compared to figures prior to COVID-19).

The lines have now blurred without a professional work environment and travel/commute to separate our time. While we have the privilege of being able to pop a load of washing on in between meetings and walk to school pick up instead of drive, this means we are bartering with time and end up working into the evenings and weekends to make up for what we lost.

Historically, if we were in a traditional physical office environment and we wanted to do these activities they would either wait until the weekend or we’d take personal leave time. In the majority of positive workplaces, this would be welcomed without the expectation that you then spend the extra time that evening or on the weekend doing work activities.

Don’t get me wrong, historically the option of ‘starting early today to finish early tomorrow’ and ‘making up time’ has worked well for many and meant that projects can still be delivered on time, client expectations are met, and inboxes emptied. What is concerning now however is the regularity of this occurring in many workplaces and the disparity between juggling your usual workload and home life with juggling an increased workload AND home life.

American podcast and management leadership coaches Michael Auzenne and Mark Horstman of Manager Tools re-released an episode this time last year called ‘Work-Life Balance: The Yellow Peanut M&M Analogy’. While the timing could not have been more perfect (thanks COVID), it is a message that needs to be reiterated every few months now we are in a new state of ‘normal’.

Mark and Michael argue that work AND life should never be in balance. They describe keeping things in balance (like a set of scales) means when something tips lower on the scales something else rises higher. When more time is dedicated to working it raises higher on the scales. Family/friends/social life then lowers on the scales causing a sense of loss and disappointment – because you couldn’t keep them in balance. Every time you log back onto work at night for ‘just one hour’, you are not giving that time to your family = insert feelings of guilt and disappointment.

Employees who continuously work on balancing their time, trying to ‘manage’ it needs to stop, given time is not something that can be managed. Instead, priority management and understanding what to prioritise your time towards over something else is where we need to focus.

Here is where their Yellow Peanut M&M analogy comes in.

They encourage listeners to purchase a bag of peanut M&M’s and take out a yellow one. Hold the M&M between two fingers and hold it up to the sky. As you hold the M&M up, close one eye and position it right in front of the sun so that the M&M is now just blocking the sun/they appear the same size.

The purpose is for you to see that these two spherical objects appear the same size, in fact when aligned the M&M actually blocks the sun.

HOWEVER consider the M&M is your work and the Sun is your family. The M&M can be found all over the world, mass-produced, and is fairly insignificant. The sun, however, is the giver and maker of life on Earth and a source of incredible energy that powers our world.

Now sit with that statement for a while….. pretty impactful, isn’t it?

We need to be able to differentiate between the priority of work tasks compared to the time at home with loved ones. To still keep track of our start and finish times and work hard to close the laptop/office door outside of those hours. To take the sick leave when we are sick!

We will always need to balance things in life, especially in the caring profession when vulnerable people rely on our service however there is a way to ensure that work and our job is not more important than the rest of our life and what brings us joy.

Consider what can you commit to today to ensure non-priority tasks are assigned to another day or shared with another team member. Can you change expectations for not only your clients but your colleagues/teammates too?

If you are in a management position it is likely that you will still need to spend some external hours on urgent work tasks however consider the example you are setting for your staff and then the commitment you can make to yourself to tip the scales back on the ‘life’ side more than work each week. And then maybe sit down, relax, and finish off that bag of M&M’s

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Welcome back to Part 3 of our Mindfulness May series, where we discuss mindfulness practices you can implement within your team to support the mental health of your staff members.

Team building activities are an important step to building an inclusive and productive team culture. At the beginning of every week, Amergin’s team get together and we each discuss our week’s workload, our goals for the day and the week, and our intention for the week.

So what’s the difference between setting goals and setting intentions?

Setting a goal helps us to see the future, understand what we want, create a plan, and stay on track to get it done.

Setting intentions differ because they are not something you have to do. An intention is intangible, something that is felt. Often, intentions align with the goals we have set, but they connect us to the truth of who we are as we interact in each moment.

Encouraging your staff to adopt this practice of setting weekly goals and intentions is not only good business practice, but is also a simple way you can check in on how your staff are going. For example, your staff may have a long list of goals to achieve for the week but if their intention is to “find the balance” and they seem tired, stressed or generally not their usual self; this should be a prompt for you to check in, see how they are going and if there is any support you can offer to them.

Setting and living your intentions allows you to:

• focus on who you are in the moment;
• reflect on how you wish to contribute to the world;
• recognise and live your values;
• choose to touch the lives of others and;
• raise your emotional energy, which in turn raises your physical energy.

They also provide a roadmap and reminder for how to live out each day. Intentions give you purpose, as well as the inspiration and motivation to achieve your purpose. The practice of setting daily intentions can be life changing, both personally and professionally.

What Are Some Benefits of Setting Intentions?

Intentions Have No Limits

The wonderful thing about intentions is that you can set a new one each day, or you can set multiple for one day. The possibilities are endless when it comes to setting intentions, there’s no such thing as having too many. Creating a purpose for that day forces you to be present, forgiving yourself from the past and alleviating you from any future anxieties.

Intentions Affect Every Aspect of Your Life

Setting intentions will impact how you show up to daily activities – everything from your professional activities as well as your physical ones like working out can integrate your intention. The same intention will present itself in disparate areas of your life, with power to transform your mind, body, and soul.

Intentions Keep You Centred

The power of an intention, whether it’s just one or several, is that they can be experienced all at once, ensuring that you feel whole. Setting intentions ensures that you don’t feel that something is missing or lacking in your life. In this moment, intentions promise you feelings of presence, awareness, and fullness – all of which can foster a sense of grounding for your staff which reduces anxiety.

Intentions Improve Your Effectiveness

By setting your intention, your subconscious has a magical way to ensure that opportunities to practice that intention appear in small and big ways. A positive intention leads to a positive attitude. And a positive attitude unblocks barriers and increases productivity. Plus a positive workplace, is a happy workplace, which support happy staff and clients.

Intentions Make You More Mindful

You can fully immerse yourself in the present moment and not become fixated on what you don’t have yet. Doing everything with intent will also help you to become more in tune with your spiritual being. This can help you to approach your life more spiritually, and it will open your heart and mind. When you do this, it paves the way to naturally achieve your goals.

It also can help create a mindset that breaks up the never ending “to-do” list of priorities within the workplace, into smaller and more achievable goals that link with your intention.

Here are some examples of Intentions.

• I intend to live in gratitude for all that I have and all that I am.
• I intend to respond first and then react.
• I intend to lead by example.
• I intend to be open to success and abundance.
• I intend to stop taking things personally.
• I intend to forgive others, and myself.
• I intend to go with the flow.
• I intend to be true to myself.

Remember – Keep it simple. Make your intentions something you can achieve. Just do what feels right for you. Keep them realistic. Write them down. Get creative with colours and hand lettering. Place them on a vision board, your desk, your computer or wherever you can see them to remind you.

If you’ve never set intentions before, why not set an intention to start setting intentions as your first of many team building activities?

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Welcome back to Part 2 of our Mindfulness May series, where we discuss mindfulness practices you can implement within your team to support the mental health of your staff members.

If we could do just one thing to increase our health and happiness, expressing gratitude might just be the answer.

Did you know every time a person expresses or receives gratitude, dopamine releases in the brain? Dopamine is a chemical and plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It’s a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan, so the more we practice gratitude, the more often dopamine releases.

Our brains can’t focus on positive and negative things at the same time. This is a key reason why practicing gratitude can help you shift your focus from being sad about the things you don’t have in your life to being glad for the things you do have.

When we’re going through difficult times it can be hard to remember to be grateful for the good things and this is particularly important within the workplace. If your team are consistently experiencing high levels of stress, overworked or on the verge of burnout, it can be very difficult to pinpoint the reasons they enjoy their work, industry or why they are good at what they do.

There is merit to be gained from working gratitude into everyday practice, whether it be through online team conversations or expressing gratitude towards your staff to begin fostering the culture within your organisation.

What are the benefits of Gratitude?

• it’s an instant mood booster and feels great in the moment
• you’re likely to notice the little things in your day
• it’s good for your physical health
• it enhances your relationships and friendships
• you’re likely to enjoy your life more
• it gives you strength to access coping mechanisms to help you through the tougher times

Overall there is a greater sense of feeling connected to others with a more optimistic view towards life.

How Can We Practice Gratitude?

Gratitude is a skill anyone can develop. All it takes is a bit of daily practice. There are many ways we can practice gratitude both in our personal lives and within the workplace. Here are 9 examples of ways you can practice gratitude.

• Tell your staff regularly how much you appreciate them and their efforts within their work practice. Thank them for the little things they do for you, things you may take for granted.
• Notice the beauty in nature each day. The beautiful tree that give us a cool shade on a warm day. The sun, which occasionally shines through the clouds to lift our spirits. A cool sea breeze with its saltiness and depth reminding us of the vastness of the ocean. Encourage your staff to take their lunch breaks away from their desks (we are all guilty of this from time to time) and step outside for some Vitamin D and mindfulness.
• Volunteer. Not only does volunteering helps you connect with your community in a deeper way but it helps to make it a better place. It also helps you see that even the smallest tasks can have a huge impact on another person’s life. This doesn’t mean you have to encourage your staff to engage in volunteering activities as part of their work practice. It can be the simple act of volunteering to take over a task from another staff member whose schedule might be overloaded that week or putting your hand up to help cover work duties for a staff member who is unwell. As a business owner, you play a big role in establishing your workplace culture and supporting your team is a vital part of that.
• Thank the people who serve you in the community – bus driver, building manager, office cleaner etc. Everyone needs to feel appreciated and kindness goes a long way.
• Surround yourself with quotes and images of what brings you joy and happiness and encourage your staff to do the same. Walls and dividers with no colour or meaning are boring and uninspiring. Sometimes that little inspirational quote or photo can make a difference to a staff members day.
• Be thankful when you learn a new skill – you’re never too old to learn something new. Encourage your staff if they want to expand their learning opportunities as not only will this provide further learning from your organisation, but it reinforces the value you see in your staff.
• See the growth opportunity in your mistakes. Remember this is merely one moment in time. It only defines you and your worth if you choose to make it a defining moment. It’s also important that you work alongside staff members if and when they make a mistake, to a) prevent it from re-occurring and b) foster a relationship of continuous improvement within your team.
• Nurture all relationships and encourage your team to do the same. Our relationships foster warmth, caring and empathy and it is important that your team feel supported not only from one another but you as their leader within the organisation as well.
• Be grateful for the gift of you. Our relationship with ourselves determines our relationship with everything else. Be grateful for the unique, wonderful, inspiring human being that you are. Each member of your staff brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and a unique personality that helps shape the support your organisation offers to others.

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Regardless of where your team is working, even if it is remotely from the other side of the country, this doesn’t prevent you from implementing a series of simple practices within your everyday operations to help support your staff during moments of stress.

When our body responds to stress, one of the first reactions we have is our breathing usually changes to shorter, faster breathes that don’t extend down to the depths of our diaphragm. This is known as chest breathing and as your breath’s are shallower, this in turn feeds the stress response your body has entered.

That’s why the phrase “take a big breath in” is one of the most common phrases we hear when faced with a stressful situation. So why do we struggle so much with the concept of just stopping for a moment to re-focus our breathing?

We all know that stress raises our cortisol levels, resulting in a magnitude of impacts upon the human body including difficulties with emotional regulation and impaired brain activity. Essentially, the more stressed we are, the more likely it is that we will struggle within our everyday lives, tasks and work functions.

From a workplace perspective, stressed out staff may find their regular work practices and projects can suddenly seem harder, unachievable or impossible within the given timeframe. The usual mental clarity required to focus at the job at hand is clouded by the stress lens, which will continue to dominate individuals emotional regulation and focus unless the stress response is broken.

Which is where mindfulness practices play an important role.

This week’s Mindfulness May Practice is to – JUST BREATHE

The very simple act of deep breathing is a pretty miraculous healing exercise. It is involuntary for the most part and occurs naturally without us being aware. However, it is also an action we can control and regulate. Our ability to manipulate the breath makes it a valuable tool that can influence our minds and bodies and guide us towards a state of greater clarity and relaxation.

The breath is connected to the nervous system and by simply taking deep breaths in and out, we deactivate the ‘fight and flight’ or ‘stress’ response and activate the ‘rest and digest’ response of the nervous system. This immediately slows down our heart rate, brings more oxygen into our bloodstream and releases those ‘feel good’ endorphins throughout our entire body, allowing it to calm and settle, reducing anxiety and bringing us into the present moment.

You can now go about your day knowing you can integrate this practice as often as you like any time across the day. Some smart devices (such as the Apple Watch) have inbuilt apps or programs that can remind you to check in with your breathing and help you stay on top of your breathing throughout the day.

Just Remember, no matter what situation you are faced with and your stress levels begin to rise, take a moment or two and … Just Breathe.

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If you’re reading this right now, stop and stand up. Give your body a stretch because you deserve and need it.

Many people don’t realise that sitting for long periods in the day can increase your risk of chronic health conditions, weight gain, weaken your muscles and affect your mental health. Which is why it is important to do less sitting or lying and more standing and moving, even a simple stretch goes a long way.

Standing and stretching is a natural instinct. Think about when you wake up in the morning after sleeping for hours, how often do you stretch your arms, legs or back. Guess what, you just stretched, why? Because your body had been sedentary for too long and stretching helped your flexibility, strengthen your muscles, prevented injury and increased your mobility. You don’t have to do much to stretch but taking some time before and after exercise and throughout your day helps.

Here are some simple ways you can stretch in your day. Try to aim for 20 seconds each.

• tilt your head side to side
• put your chin on your chest and then head upright
• move your shoulders up towards your ears and down
• grab your hands behind your back and push your chest out
• spread your fingers out wide and in again
• lunge side to side

Here are some simple ways you stand or move more.

• Leave your phone in a place where you have to stand up and walk to grab it
• Do a little happy dance every time you achieve something in the day
• Download free aps that track and prompt you or set yourself an alarm (especially if you know you’ll be sitting for a long period)
• When the ad breaks come onto the TV stand and move
• Walk and talk when on the phone
• Join a daily walk or movement group
• Take the stairs over the elevator

Start off with making a small change and gradually increase the amount of times you stand or how long you stand for. Ideally you should be wanting to stand at least hourly. But please know your limits and consult with your health professional to ensure you’re doing what’s safe for you. Also, if you’re able to, try and invest in getting a pair of tailored orthotic shoes, they’re designed to support your weight and allow you to stand or move for longer before those aches creep in.

So, whether you’re at work or at home, stop and stand up more! Don’t forget to involve your colleagues, friends or loved ones because chances are they need it too.

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The festive season is seen as a time to connect with others and celebrate. It’s a time of joy and cheer, but for many people this isn’t the case, and now, with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this year’s festive season will look different for many of us, and that may include a higher-than-usual level of stress in the lead up to Christmas and New Year.

In a year like no other it may not be possible for many to be together, and when you combine that with concern for loved ones, financial issues, family conflict, disappointment and loneliness, this may be a good time to think of ways to help you channel the holiday spirit, whatever that may mean for you.

So what steps can we take to ease the stress?

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