The Essentials: Dealing with Stress

05/10/21 • 30 min

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Stress affects everyone, but we all express and experience it differently. Hearing how a nurse practitioner responds to the various stressors of her job reveals how stress works at a fundamental level. Workplace well-being researcher Mandy O’Neill says that we’re more likely to feel stressed when there is an imbalance between the threat we’re facing and the resources we have to prevent damage or danger. When the current threat feels greater than our available resources, we become — understandably — mentally and emotionally strained.

The two of them join Amy B to discuss the constant challenge of managing stress, as well as actions that help control tension and anxiety — or, even better, the stressors themselves.

Guests:

Sarah Rose Lamport is a nurse practitioner.

Olivia (Mandy) O’Neill is an associate professor of management in the George Mason University School of Business and a senior scientist at the university’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being.

Resources:

HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work, by Harvard Business Review
“To Lead Better Under Stress, Understand Your Three Selves,” by Tony Schwartz et al.
“5 Mistakes We Make When We’re Overwhelmed,” by Alice Boyes
“Research: Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress,” by Emma Seppälä et al.
“Managing Burnout,” by Women at Work

Email us: [email protected]

The two of them join Amy B to discuss the constant challenge of managing stress, as well as actions that help control tension and anxiety — or, even better, the stressors themselves.

Guests:

Sarah Rose Lamport is a nurse practitioner.

Resources:

HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work, by Harvard Business Review
“To Lead Better Under Stress, Understand Your Three Selves,” by Tony Schwartz et al.
“5 Mistakes We Make When We’re Overwhelmed,” by Alice Boyes
“Research: Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress,” by Emma Seppälä et al.
“Managing Burnout,” by Women at Work

Email us: [email protected]

Previous Episode

The Essentials: Giving Feedback

This is the first episode in a new series called The Essentials, where we invite women from essential sectors (think health care and education) to join us in interviewing experts on essential career topics (think negotiating and managing stress).
In this episode, we tackle giving feedback — something we know is important to being a good manager, somebody people look up to and not just report to. But very few of us actually like to do it. So how can we get better at this critical skill? How can we deliver feedback in a way that motivates a team member rather than demoralizes them? Which pieces of feedback do we prioritize? And how do you make room in your already busy schedule to have these difficult conversations?

Amy G is joined by a school principal from Southern California to interview Therese Huston, a social scientist and feedback expert. They talk about three different types of feedback conversations, how to make time to share feedback with team members, and tips for giving feedback remotely.

Guests:

Jessica Gomez is an elementary school principal in Southern California.

Therese Huston is the author of Let’s Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower and the founding director of Seattle University’s Center for Faculty Development.

Resources:

“We Deserve Better Than ‘Attagirl’” by Women at Work
“Research: Men Get More Actionable Feedback Than Women,” by Elena Doldor, et al
“Giving Critical Feedback Is Even Harder Remotely,” by Therese Huston
“Everything You Need to Know About Giving Negative Feedback,” by Sarah Green Carmichael
HBR Guide to Delivering Effective Feedback, by Harvard Business Review

Email us: [email protected]

Next Episode

The Essentials: Being Productive

Why is it that we often wake up with big plans — and seemingly enough energy to complete the tasks on our to-do list — and go to bed lamenting all the unfinished work?

A social worker joins Emily to pose questions about productivity to Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist. Alice shares the planning, creativity, and decision making that her success and satisfaction hinges on — and how she manages to ignore everything else. She highlights mental mistakes that prevent people from accomplishing their most meaningful work, and she gives guidance for overcoming them.

Guests:

Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist, is the author of two books on mental health, The Anxiety Toolkit and The Healthy Mind Toolkit. She’s writing her third book about productivity.

Kate Troutman is a social worker.

Resources: