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Your Most Reliable Employee Is Probably Your Biggest Burnout Risk
Every organisation has one. The person who just gets it done. They reply quickly, they remember the thing from the meeting three weeks ago, they pick up what falls between the cracks and they never make a fuss about it. Managers love this person. Colleagues love this person. Frankly, the whole team would struggle to function without this person. Which is exactly why I'd be a little worried about them. One woman that comes to my mind as I write this blog was an operations mana
Emma Collens
Nov 34 min read


When Workplace Wellbeing Really Means “Please Cope Better With What We Won’t Change”
There is a particular kind of workplace message that always makes me pause. Please remember to prioritise your wellbeing. It usually arrives with good intentions. Sometimes there’s a reminder about the EAP, perhaps a link to a wellbeing resource, an encouragement to take proper breaks and switch off at the end of the day. Then you look at the reality of the working culture. People eat lunch at their desks. Senior leaders send emails late into the evening. Someone who leaves o
Emma Collens
Oct 207 min read


You Cannot Yoga Your Way Out of an Unsustainable Workload: The Problem With Workplace Wellbeing
There is absolutely nothing wrong with yoga. I feel I should establish that fairly early, before somebody from HR sends me a strongly worded email. Yoga can be wonderful. So can mindfulness, exercise, breathwork, lunchtime walks, resilience training, EAP support, coaching and occasionally remembering to eat something that didn’t come out of a vending machine between meetings. The problem starts when these things are offered as the answer to a problem they were never designed
Emma Collens
Oct 135 min read


Maybe You Don't Need More Resilience. Maybe Something Needs to Change.
Resilience is one of those words that's almost impossible to argue with. Of course we want to be resilient. We want to be able to cope when life gets difficult, recover after setbacks and keep going when things don't quite work out as planned. The problem is that resilience has also become something of a workplace cure-all. If employees are exhausted, overwhelmed or struggling, the response is often to help them become more resilient: perhaps a wellbeing webinar, some mindful
Emma Collens
Sep 85 min read
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