Managing Stress, Uncertainty
and Remote Work
A 90-minute workshop
and Remote Work
A 90-minute workshop
In the summer of 2020, I was asked to be the guest facilitator for a team's virtual offsite. They were looking for someone to help them cope with the stress of being remote workers during a pandemic - and so I developed and delivered this workshop to 60 colleagues from around the world. They found it to be so valuable that they asked if it could be offered to other teams around the company. I trained a corps of volunteer facilitators and we delivered it to over 300 people in just 2 weeks to rave reviews.
During this workshop, participants:
During this workshop, participants:
- Develop self-awareness about your unique stressors and stress reducers
- Set wellness goals for improving your wellness
- Learn a method for communicating your needs
- Reflect on how work has changed since most companies have gone fully remote
- Connect with people
Testimonials
“It was quite frankly the best use of 90 minutes of time that I’ve personally experienced in a very long time.”
“I could never have imagined how much would have changed or how intense the need would be by the time we got to this week. I appreciate all of your thoughtful commentary including starting the meeting off with a reference to the two areas of particular stress-inducing discussions with the Coronavirus pandemic and the BlackLivesMatter movement.”
“I thought I was alone in how I’m feeling, but now I see I’m not.”
"This workshop made me realize that I wasn't the only one feeling down and uncertain."
"Afterwards I was feeling so much more connected and calm due to finding others who had the shared experience with me and finding some ways to help me manage stress better."
"When I'm over here, alone with my thoughts, I go pretty hard into self-pity, which is the most stressful emotion I have. It sends me into anger, jealousy, envy, sadness, everything that makes me feel worse and be more stressed. When I know I'm not alone in all of that, for some reason, it eases those feelings right away, and I start caring about other people, which reduces my stress even more."
“It was quite frankly the best use of 90 minutes of time that I’ve personally experienced in a very long time.”
“I could never have imagined how much would have changed or how intense the need would be by the time we got to this week. I appreciate all of your thoughtful commentary including starting the meeting off with a reference to the two areas of particular stress-inducing discussions with the Coronavirus pandemic and the BlackLivesMatter movement.”
“I thought I was alone in how I’m feeling, but now I see I’m not.”
"This workshop made me realize that I wasn't the only one feeling down and uncertain."
"Afterwards I was feeling so much more connected and calm due to finding others who had the shared experience with me and finding some ways to help me manage stress better."
"When I'm over here, alone with my thoughts, I go pretty hard into self-pity, which is the most stressful emotion I have. It sends me into anger, jealousy, envy, sadness, everything that makes me feel worse and be more stressed. When I know I'm not alone in all of that, for some reason, it eases those feelings right away, and I start caring about other people, which reduces my stress even more."
Workshop Materials
Are you an experienced facilitator and what to lead this workshop?
I believe the world needs more of these kinds of conversations, so I'm providing my materials free of charge. Download and customize these materials - and reach out with questions or to share your success!
Are you an experienced facilitator and what to lead this workshop?
I believe the world needs more of these kinds of conversations, so I'm providing my materials free of charge. Download and customize these materials - and reach out with questions or to share your success!
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Facilitator Deck
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Facilitator Guide
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Digital Handout
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Source Materials and Resources
This workshop builds on research from the NeuroLeadership Institute and the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.
Science-Based Resources:
This workshop builds on research from the NeuroLeadership Institute and the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.
Science-Based Resources:
- How to Be Optimistic and Realistic During the COVID-19 Pandemic (NeuroLeadership Institute)
- Coronavirus FAQ: What Science Says Leaders Should Do (NeuroLeadership Institute)
- Mood Meter Overview (Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence)
- Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Framework for making difficult decisions (by Brown University economics professor, Emily Oster)
- Play virtual Pictionary using a Pictionary Generator and the Zoom whiteboard feature
- Find online versions of popular games, such as Codenames
- Invite kids or pets (or both!) to the end of meetings so they can say hi to each other
- Virtual coffee or happy hour
- Pose a “Would you Rather” question in your team’s chat