Maintaining Your Well-Being in the Workplace

Between constant meetings, never-ending phone calls and paperwork piling up on your desk, it doesn’t take long for workday chaos to start stressing you out. 

It’s time to find ways to insert self-care into your daily schedule.   

Enter government workforce expert Mika Cross, with some solutions to try in her latest installment of the “Management Minutes With Mika” video series. Cross is a widely acclaimed workplace expert, speaker, strategist and innovator. Her career includes 20+ years of public service with assignments throughout the United States Intelligence Community and she is a veteran of the United States Army, having served as both an enlisted soldier and commissioned officer.  

Cross said with so many meetings throughout the day, it’s easy to get fatigued from having to be “on” all the time. Cross had some advice for maintaining your well-being in the workplace, starting with a meeting buffer. 

“You may not have time to build in a full 30-minute break, but you can start small, scheduling your meetings to start five minutes after the hour or half-hour,” Cross said. “That gives you time to refill your water, take a quick stroll outside to get some sun on your face or just to stretch and regroup.” 
 
Cross said even this small break can go a long way to stop meeting fatigue. Another tip includes chatting with your co-workers to see what their meeting preferences might be. 

“Maybe offer up a quick walk-and-talk to get questions answered in the office, have a call with the video off, or even do asynchronous brainstorming,” she said.   

Lastly, Cross suggested leaning on your co-workers or other resources to reduce your stress levels.  

“If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, voice that to your teammates and supervisor,” she said. “My hope is that you have a workplace culture that embraces that type of feedback.”  

If your workplace isn’t as amenable to feedback, she advised turning to your employee assistance program, union, or mentor for help and ideas.  

For more advice on workplace wellness, watch the interview now. You can also see more Management Minutes with Mika video clips on academy.govloop.com.