From a job you hate, an unsustainable workload to toxic bosses and colleagues etc... Our jobs can turn into a place of harmful suffering for our mental and physical health. Here you will find a place of exchange and support to help you through this difficult time.
Burn-out, bore-out, moral or sexual harassment, our work environment can have serious consequences on our mental health. Here we share our experiences and advice that we hope will help you get out of this situation.
'Life is ten percent what you experience and ninety percent how you respond to it.'
- Dorothy M. Neddermeyer
I’m one of those people who prefer to work on my own. I’m not at the point of not knowing at all how to work in a team, but generally speaking, groups aren’t my bag. But in the professional world, especially in communications, teamwork is the norm, it’s even popular! It seems that there’s strength in numbers, so why can’t we work as a team? What are the solutions to adapt better? Let us explain.
Even at school, I wasn’t that interested in getting good grades, honors and great comments on my report card. The rest of my professional life hasn’t been much different either. In a world full of hyper productivity, surpassing oneself and constant professional challenges, I have been content with living my life in peace and quiet. I’m not exactly who aims for the top, and I don’t feel like I ever will be...
I never leave my computer, I stay up late to double-check my presentations, I compare myself to my work colleagues… Help! I think the need to be the best at work is making me crazy! This obsession with performance and wanting to be number 1 affects a lot of people. Why do we have this desire to perform the best we can? What makes us behave like this? What if we simply stopped wanting to be perfect, wouldn’t that be nice? Let’s take a closer look at this behavior.
Reevaluating my relationship with work has played on my mind for years now. Work less, enjoy life more is probably one of the best slogans to emerge moving on from the Coronavirus pandemic. For years, many of us endured jobs we hated in conditions that we despised, yet when Covid reared its ugly head, it brought about a working revolution. So, what does tomorrow hold for our professional lives? Will it be full of relaxation? What if we decided to change our attitudes to work as of now?
My desk is full of post-its, I get overwhelmed, and I’m often right on schedule! I know that prioritizing is the key to being organized at work, but how do you do that when you feel that all your tasks are important? There are different ways to do this, but the most important thing to remember is that you can learn to prioritize. Here’s how!
Ahhhh, Elon Musk, the multi-millionaire you either love or hate! This controversial figure has nevertheless made a fortune by creating some very famous companies: Zip 2, Paypal, Space X, Tesla… He does a thousand things at once, all of which are designed to revolutionize our lives. He became a millionaire at just 27 years old thanks to his productivity and efficiency. Obviously, we don’t want to shoot for the moon by creating Space X like him. But perhaps taking inspiration from his work methods could land us at least in the stars! So here are Elon Musk’s 7 tips to be mega productive and successful in our careers! 💪
Work has always been a synonym of repression for me because it takes up so much of our precious time. Let’s be honest, a 9-5 job with a horrendous daily commute often means that work is sadly our sole occupation. So, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck over a year ago, and we were all ordered to stay home, I found it hard to hide my joy in front of my distraught coworkers; although thankfully my acting talents saved me. You can probably already tell, but going into the office every day was nothing less than torture for me. Yet, all these months later, I’ve realized that I despise working from home and would do anything to sit in my uncomfortable office chair once again!
I think my life is mundane too. The more I see others making millions, being mature beyond their years, succeeding fast, making it big, turning the tables, the more I feel stuck. It’s impossible to move forward. Because I don’t move, I feel guilty for not succeeding, so I mope around, and I still don’t move. As a result, I settle for what I have, without thinking I deserve more, or even worse, I feel illegitimate when faced with what I have (hello imposter syndrome). Except that in order to succeed in your professional life, you don’t necessarily need to be extraordinary... because, in fact, you already are... In your own way.
I keep asking myself how I can improve as a person. Firstly for myself, but also for others. However, there’s one area in which I feel less comfortable progressing: work. How can you continuously improve in your career? Some time ago I discovered the “Kaizen” mindset, a Japanese method that allows you to achieve great things through small everyday changes. It originated in Japanese companies and can help us achieve our goals. Let’s see how to apply it in our professional lives!
When I first started working, I didn’t really know how to behave. Should I be myself, or should I not reveal anything? After several years at university, where everything was informal between students, I admit that I was lost. Being yourself at work isn’t easy, as we’re often told to keep up a boundary between our professional and personal lives. So is it better to wear a mask or show yourself for who you really are? Here are some answers.
Daring to say “no” or what I think, asserting myself with others, getting straight to the point… I try to apply these tips in my personal life, but now I want to do the same at work! This way of asserting my thoughts while being flexible about what I say can only be beneficial. Let’s develop our assertiveness at work together to express our emotions with an attitude that makes complete sense! 💪
Calm down. Take it easy. Don’t explode. These are the three phrases I repeat to myself over and over again when I’m annoyed at work. Because it’s well known that anger and work don’t mix. We get a lot of advice on how to deal with our anger, and even more so when it comes to anger at work. Yet anger is one of our primary emotions, it’s part of who we are and as such, it can be perfectly healthy to express it... even at work. Go ahead and let it out, girl!
I’m 30 years old and I can’t imagine myself doing the same job my whole life. Sometimes I dream of simple things like working with flowers. I keep this idea in the back of my head; becoming a florist would one day be a great adventure! Because yes, changing jobs isn’t impossible! Sometimes we get bored of our everyday routine, we don’t identify with what we do anymore, we no longer like our job, etc. So many reasons can lead to a career change!
I’m not the best at introducing myself at work. I’m one of those shy people, so it’s always hard to reach out to others. However, I’ve improved over time and now know how to introduce myself at a new job! After all, if you’ve had a successful job interview, and you’ve been chosen, you shouldn’t ask yourself too many questions and be confident. Here are 8 tips that will help you make a splash when introducing yourself at work!
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
- Oscar Wilde
