The truth is, we can tell when we’re stressed out. Some of us get irritable. Some of us grind our teeth or clench our back muscles. We eat junk food. We get headaches and have trouble focusing. It might seem like being stressed is counterproductive to taking care of work, and that’s because it is. Stress, and its symptoms, are merely the byproduct of a biological system our bodies created, and we grew out of long ago.

Even the very definition of emotional intelligence is not so easily agreed upon. Tina Shweiger recently discussed some of the more vexing issues of roping in a concept such as Emotional Intelligence.

Empathy is listening. It is actively listening, and reacting and not interrupting them or telling them what they should do. To be empathic, all you have to do is slow down, and take the time to focus on the speaker and engage with what they are saying. When the speaker feels comfortable enough to express how they are truly feeling without shame or judgment, then they truly feel like they are valued at their job.

According to the 2021 Mind the Workplace survey conducted by Mental Health America, 9 in 10 employees report that workplace stress affects their mental health. Unfortunately only 3 in 5 employees also feel like they are getting adequate support from their supervisors to manage workplace stress.

Workplace culture is as complicated and nuanced as each individual business. The realities of how culture is expressed in communication, power dynamics, and interpersonal behavior varies widely from team to team even within the same company. Picking apart the causes of stress and burnout requires much more data than most companies collect from their workforce.

Experience sampling, not surveys, can get to the heart of chronic stress and burnout and provide the feedback to effectively change workplace culture.

Working from home doesn’t have to be a horror movie. Sure the constant bombardment of home and work tasks may feel like the phone booth scene from The Birds, and the sheer isolation may make your house seem like the Overlook Hotel, but if we all just take some time for ourselves, and set some boundaries, we might just make it out of this alive.

There’s very little that people can see eye-to-eye on these days. But one thing that we all agree with, is that we are stressed. Every one of us, we all feel stressed. We’ve got bills to pay, appointments to make, our family's annoying us, and the car’s making a funny noise. Whatever it is, we’re overwhelmed and we just need a safe place to vent. For most of us, on our list of Safe Spaces to Relieve Stress, the Workplace ranks somewhere between 9-Year Old’s Birthday Party and Car Stuck In Gridlock Traffic With No AC. And Full of Bees. But it doesn’t have to be.