{"id":486181,"date":"2026-05-15T15:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/486181\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T15:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:04:13","slug":"workplace-wellbeing-how-to-find-your-footing-when-life-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/486181\/","title":{"rendered":"Workplace Wellbeing: How to find your footing when life changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Karena Ryan\u00a0(www.karenaryanartist.com<\/a>) tackles difficult subjects in her art. The part-time secondary schoolteacher, from Tuam, uses textiles to explore the stories of women and children who spent time in Magdalene Laundries, mother-and-baby homes, and industrial schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work with repurposed Irish textiles, felting and beading to hand-embroider portraits that tell these women\u2019s and children\u2019s untold stories,\u201d Ryan says.<\/p>\n

The subject matter is upsetting and can affect her sleep. However, Ryan is proactive in looking after her mental and emotional health.<\/p>\n

She takes regular breaks, whether a hiatus from taxing pieces of art or what she calls \u201cclear-the-head activities, like yoga, Pilates, or jumping into the sea\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ArtistArtist Karena Ryan destresses by doing \u2018clear-the-head activities, like yoga, Pilates, or jumping into the sea\u2019.<\/p>\n

Psychologist Leisha Redmond McGrath says resilience is \u201cthe ability to cope with, and adapt to, setbacks or stress. It\u2019s often used as a measure to describe how quickly we bounce back from difficult experiences, which are an inevitable part of work and life\u201d.<\/p>\n

Resilience used to be thought of as a fixed personality trait. \u201cBut this thinking has been overturned,\u201d says Redmond McGrath. \u201cResilience is now understood to be something we can actively develop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seamus Begley, who runs a Dublin-based design agency (thestudioofpossible.com<\/a>), is intentional in building resilience in himself and his team of 10. \u201cMy definition of resilience isn\u2019t trying to make yourself strong enough to carry everything,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s developing the skills to know what to carry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Begley uses a time-tested strategy. \u201cI once told a mentor I had too much on my plate and my head was all over the place, worrying about what-ifs. What if this happened? What if that happened? He advised me to write down the facts of the situation, the stuff that was true, and I could act upon. The rest was just noise.<\/p>\n

\u201cPausing to separate the noise from the facts now allows me to decide what work I can and should carry. It\u2019s a strategy I also recommend to my team when I see them getting caught up in the whirlwind of external pressures. What are the facts? And what can you do about them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Challenge equals growth<\/p>\n

While a company has much to gain from resilient employees, Dr Olivia O\u2019Leary, a lecturer in work and organisational psychology at University College Cork, believes there\u2019s a potential problem with how the attribute is encouraged in the workplace.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary says: \u201cIt\u2019s often presented as the responsibility of the individual employee to develop resilience, rather than the responsibility of the employer to establish reasonable working conditions, create a healthy organisational culture, and ensure that employees have the resources they require to meet the demands of their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t deny that it is important for individual employees to have the coping skills to deal with the ups and downs of work. \u201cBut providing resilience workshops to teach employees the likes of breathwork is no use if you\u2019re also stretching them further in terms of the demands you\u2019re making of them,\u201d O\u2019Leary says. \u201cPeople are like elastic bands. They will eventually snap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only when your workplace culture and job demands are reasonable can you be expected to have the mental and emotional capacity to develop resilience, says O\u2019Leary. If those conditions are in place, then start developing your resilience by becoming more comfortable with change.<\/p>\n

\u201cPut yourself forward for things that challenge you and bring you slightly out of your comfort zone,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u2019re a quiet person, speak up in a meeting. If you find it difficult to handle feedback, ask colleagues for feedback on small things. Gradually, this will improve your capacity to cope with the stress of change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redmond McGrath explains why it\u2019s crucial that the challenges you set are small, at least initially. \u201cThere are different zones of challenge. The green zone is where you have more capacity than challenge. You don\u2019t tend to grow in this zone. The red zone is where you have more challenge than capacity. You don\u2019t tend to grow here, either. You\u2019re focused on keeping your head above water. It\u2019s when you\u2019re in the amber zone, where you have a little more challenge than capacity, that you experience the most growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PsychologistPsychologist Leisha Redmond McGrath says difficulties are part of work and life.<\/p>\n

Another tactic for building resilience is to develop stress-management techniques that help you recalibrate when you encounter adversity at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI call these techniques practices because you should practice them regularly so that you can draw on them when things go wrong,\u201d says Redmond McGrath.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreathing techniques, meditation, mantras that ground you in the moment, and investing in your relationship with yourself, loved ones, and even with pets and nature; all of these can help create a reservoir of resilience. But they work most effectively if you practice them in the good times. That way, you\u2019ll be so practised at using them that you\u2019ll automatically lean on them when the bad times come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regularly practising these techniques also allows you to take breaks from work, and Redmond McGrath says breaks are yet another tool to strengthen resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime away from work gives your nervous system a chance to rest and restore, and gives you an opportunity to regain perspective. Ringfence time for these practices in your diary. It is practices like these and time spent disconnected from work that refuel us with the energy we need to meet deadlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t allow time for breaks, we will be less effective and engaged at work. We may even end up burning out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attitude of gratitude<\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary suggests taking a growth-oriented approach to challenges to help foster resilience. \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in reflection as a way of learning how to be better able to cope,\u201d O\u2019Leary says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter coming through a difficult situation at work, ask yourself how you coped. What did you do well? Was there anything you could have done differently? And what did you learn?\u201d<\/p>\n

Such reflection is different from self-criticism because it rules out negativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt focuses on the positives and on aspects that you have improved, as well as on aspects where there is still room for improvement,\u201d says O\u2019Leary.<\/p>\n

\"OliviaOlivia O\u2019Leary says people can learn to cope by reflecting on what has happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d encourage everyone to do it, whether by writing in a journal or simply taking a few moments to pause and think.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those with the time and energy, upskilling can also bolster resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology is changing the way we work and learning about that technology can make us feel more confident about keeping up with, and adapting to, it,\u201d says O\u2019Leary.<\/p>\n

Incorporating gratitude into our lives can enhance resilience, too. \u201cThe effect of taking time to identify three good things that happen every day compounds in terms of positive wellbeing over time,\u201d says O\u2019Leary. \u201cIt also gives you something you can refer back to and use to help reframe the narrative whenever you feel overwhelmed by difficulty.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary urges us to remember to look after our health and wellbeing outside of work. \u201cNourish your body with good food, sleep, movement, and social connection with friends and family,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake time away from your desk during the working day. Take all of your annual leave, and don\u2019t check emails while you\u2019re off.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrioritising your physical and mental wellbeing, disconnecting from work, and maintaining boundaries between work and personal life are cornerstones of resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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