According to Jennifer Moss in her recent HBR article “Beyond Burned Out,” today’s level of burnout is the result of an existing problem made exponentially worse. But by knowing the organizational signals of stress, we can course correct for the future.

Research studies have shown that our brains crave certainty, something we are lacking right now, and some experts say this is the hardest part of coping with the pandemic. Our brains don't like uncertainty. It's like a type of pain, something we want to avoid. Certainty, on the other hand, feels rewarding, and we tend to steer toward it. It's all about the burst of dopamine we get when a circuit is completed. It makes us feel better.

Famously, we've been encouraged for years not to sweat the small stuff. But what if I told you — it's not that easy? Our nervous system isn't very good at distinguishing between emotional and physical threats. Our body can react to everyday stresses just as strongly as to a true life-or-death situation, like what we are dealing with now during COVID-19.

Well, it sounds horrible, but it does actually come from the Swedish word döstädning — which is just a hybrid for death and cleaning. But as morbid as it sounds, it's actually just the process of cleaning the house before you die, so you don't leave it up to the loved ones to have to deal with it.

There are 1.7 million Canadian households who live in "core housing need," and their experience is extensively different. This is unfortunate, as these Canadians may live in a home that is undersized or too expensive, or the place they live in is structurally hazardous, or their neighbourhood is just dangerous. These people may not have a home at all.

Did the news put you in a bad mood? You are certainly not alone! We call this "Headline Stress Disorder." This is a real issue, and it is not going away any time soon. According to researchers, an increase in news consumption increases stress among many people and makes them worse partners with more unhealthy habits. But the solution may not be to turn off the news.

Strong communities possess this particular trait: the "special sauce" that helps them bounce back from something like a tornado — or from an industry picking up and leaving town. Resilient communities don't just survive an emergency; they bounce back stronger than before! These are the cities that refuse to waste a predicament.

Have you noticed how hard it has been to return to our ‘normal’ lives, especially after we experienced the COVID-19 pandemic? You’re not alone! Although we are still very much in the control of the pandemic, many of us are sensing that an end is in sight. That gives us hope. But a recent survey found that despite the excitement for a return to normal, people are also feeling concerned about what "normal" will look like. Let’s talk about it.

Let's be honest: So far, 2020 has seen a long list of disappointments and it's weighing on us. It feels like it's a daily effort to try and make things suck a little bit less each day for ourselves and for others. But as the disappointments wear on, our coping skills have begun to wear out. It isn't easy. We've definitely run the gamut of disappointments this year and as a coping mechanism we're normalizing them.

The holiday season is among us…and while many of us are looking forward to cherishing every moment of the holidays with friends and family, many will be trying to get by the holiday’s alone and emotionally distant from others. “On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we interact with each other and experience events, making the holiday season potentially even more challenging and feelings of loneliness more common.”

Many of us end our days overly exhausted and burnt out due to either a long day from work, having issues with your boss or having to deal with a difficult task or client. However, what many of us do not see are all the ‘micro-stresses’ that are either leading up to or contributing to feeling burnout. In this article, Jennifer Moss discusses the different types of micro-stresses that we encounter throughout the day without recognizing how much it’s hurting our physical and mental health.

In our world today, there are several opportunities that have been discovered to help break this horrible pattern of burnout within organizations. Over the last few years, there has been a drastic boost on organizations providing more mental health resources for their employees, as it was highly in need. However, the main concept of this 4-workweek method is to focus on understanding how to create a work week that will benefit employers, employees and the overall business and still allow employees to effectively get more work done within a reasonable amount of time during the week instead of having to work long hours.

New research has discovered that certain personality traits have equipped people to cope better with social isolation and lockdowns – but you may be surprised by which traits they are.

When it comes to defining personality traits, for the past several decades the prevailing model has been what's called the Big Five: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. The acronym for this model is OCEAN.

First, let's dig deeper into the definitions of each.