Efficiency and caring at work – an awareness-raising campaign
Theme 4: Get rid of your strains
As you may have read in the Bulletin, part 4 of the Work Well Feel Well series looks at releasing built-up pressure step by step.
Evacuating stress progressively can help restore balance in our daily lives
Many of us want to get rid of stress, but find it hard to do. We may worry that if we let go, we will not have the energy to handle everyday life. It's like cooking with a pressure cooker – if you open it all at once, it might explode. Instead, we can let out the pressure slowly, bit by bit. This can make us feel better and give us more energy to tackle our daily lives.
Our bodies tell us when we're stressed out. We might have trouble breathing, clench our teeth, or feel tense in our muscles. These warning signs can make us tired in the long run. It's important to find balance again through breathing deeply, moving our bodies, and speaking freely. When we do these simple things, we can feel calmer and better able to handle life's challenges.
To release tension regularly, we encourage you to try these breathing exercises and look through further tips on handling internal pressure in a few minutes[JS3] .
Here are a few more resources for managing stress in a sustainable way:
- On 4 June, the CERN psychologists are hosting lunchtime sessions in English and French on useful techniques to manage stress in our daily lives
- HR Learning & Development also propose training courses to help boost resilience and tackle stress:
- For supervisors: “Keeping Pressure Positive: A leadership perspective”
- For teams: “Building Team Resilience through positive Stress Management”
- For individuals: “Balancing Performance and Pressure”
The campaign, Efficiency and caring at work, designed by psychologist and specialist in burnout prevention, Catherine Vasey, invites you to explore the topic from different angles, deepen your knowledge, share your experiences and complete exercises made available on this website. We encourage you to take an active part in the campaign and the quest for a better quality of life at work.
Keen to learn more? Read about the Work Well Feel Well project, have a look at the useful resources and watch the micro-talk recording on burnout.
Efficiency and caring at work – an awareness-raising campaign
Theme 3: Suffer or enjoy?
As you may have read in the Bulletin, part 3 of the Work Well Feel Well series looks at recognising and learning from emotions.
Understanding our emotions helps increase self-awareness and regain control
In life, we may not always have control over what happens, but we can control how we react. Understanding and accepting our emotions is essential for our wellbeing, especially when it comes to managing our work life in a healthy manner. Recognising what we have control over, or what we don’t, helps us move forward and set boundaries confidently. It’s perfectly fine to politely say “no” when it can protect us from becoming overwhelmed.
We invite you to take a moment to create a personal plan or goal with this exercise – you may find it helpful and empowering. Your plan will be a guiding light in stressful times, helping you reconnect with your intention, stay mindful of your needs, and shield you from outside pressures. By setting clear goals, you'll be better equipped to navigate everyday challenges without losing track of your emotions.
Here are a few helpful resources to better understand emotions and the role they play in our daily lives:
- The recording of the recent Micro-talk #8 “Ego vs Innovation : le regard des neurosciences cognitives” (in French) reinforces how we can learn from our emotions and our errors.
- The CERN Medical Service mental health support resources include a self-assessment and contact details of the CERN psychologists.
- The CERN Ombud articles “Feeling beyond help” and “Put your own oxygen mask on first”
- Guide to checking our Mental Health Vital Signs
The campaign, Efficiency and caring at work, designed by psychologist and specialist in burnout prevention, Catherine Vasey, invites you to explore the topic from different angles, deepen your knowledge, share your experiences and complete exercises made available on this website. We encourage you to take an active part in the campaign and the quest for a better quality of life at work.