Learning Center

Seven months ago I lost my spouse of 52 years. My grieving process has been complicated by the isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The isolation has deprived me of the opportunity to talk face-to-face with people and hug friends which I dearly miss.  However, it has not deprived me of the ability to manage my behavior and emotions with ...

The snow came early to New England this year, announcing the arrival of our darkest season.  The diminished sunlight available over the next few months can present some well-documented challenges to your mood, sleep patterns and energy level so this might be a good time to review what you can do to avoid the worst of the winter blues. As ...

A report recently released by the CDC indicates that suicide rates have increased in almost every state from 1999 to 2016 with nearly 45,000 people taking their lives in 2016 alone. The recent deaths by suicide of Kate Spade followed by Anthony Bourdain have once again put this intensely complicated subject of suicide on the front pages of the media. ...

It’s not a shocker to learn that a blog with a name like stress.health.business. (inaugurated in 2012) has featured more posts about stress than any other topic. However, you may be surprised to see how many different dimensions there are to the stress/productivity/health relationship. So, as we commence our 6th year of the blog, I have anthologized a diverse sampling ...

When I moved with my family from Maryland to Massachusetts 16 years ago, I told my husband and my realtor that my two top requirements were to be within 3 miles of a health club and a great coffee shop. This specification was not simply on my wish list, it was on my required list. At the time, I had ...

In part one of this two part post, the relevance and importance of the topic of suicide in the workplace was detailed. Suicide awareness efforts at schools and senior centers do not reach those in the middle years of their lives – a time when suicide can be an increased risk.  The proximity and time spent with coworkers means we ...

The workplace is a reflection of its surrounding community. Inevitably, issues in the community like addiction, depression, and family conflict have a direct impact on the workplace. Among these issues there is no topic more emotionally charged, or more important, than suicide. Suicide prevention warrants our attention in the workplace because the feelings of despair, isolation and hopelessness associated with ...

I can’t imagine that anyone would ever feel inspired to write an article about the “Top Five Reasons for Taking 100% of Your Pay.” Nobody requires encouragement to accept their entire compensation. So why do 41% of Americans not use all of their available vacation time? Why are people not using an average of 9.2 days per year of their ...

Our hyper-connected, 24/7, ultra-competitive and globalized work environment is putting extraordinary stress on employees and their families. The health consequences to individuals and the financial costs to businesses add up to a problem of staggering proportions: Depression has become the leading cause of disability worldwide. Behavioral disability costs have increased more than 300% in the past decade and account for ...

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 6.7% of the U.S. adult population has a major depressive disorder in any given 12 month period. The number goes up to 16.5% when looking at how many people have depression over the course of their lifetime. Depression is a devastating condition that can rob you of the precious ability to enjoy ...

Are you getting enough sleep? The National Sleep Foundation survey reports that 60% of us struggle with our sleep every night. Sleep problems, which are being linked to an ever expanding array of health and psychological problems, were recently described as “the new health frontier.” Employers, who are waking up to the mounting evidence documenting the impact of insufficient sleep ...

The most persuasive evidence for the value of an Employee Assistance program (EAP) depends on who is making the decision. If you are a human resources professional, or you are a front line manager, your value equation probably includes how the EAP helps you get your work done and makes your life less stressful. You assign a tangible value to ...

Sleep has become one of the hottest topics in medical and corporate circles. In the past 10 years there has been a mounting volume of studies, surveys and discoveries validating the fundamental importance of sleep. The National Institute of Health states it plainly: “sleep plays a vital role in your health and wellbeing throughout your life.” Insufficient sleep has been ...

A recent analysis from an international human resource company revealed that of the top 15 drivers of poor employee productivity the number one culprit is insufficient sleep. The remaining top 14 drivers of lost productivity were: depression; fatigue; back/neck pain; anxiety; hypertension; other emotional disorders; arthritis; obesity; chronic pain; headache; irritable bowel; high cholesterol; heart disease; and allergies.  Amazingly, eight ...