If you’ve ever felt completely worn down from caring too much, you’re not alone. Compassion fatigue and soul exhaustion are very real, especially for those of us in helping professions. It’s not just physical or mental tiredness—it’s the deep depletion of our spirit, making it hard to feel joy, purpose, or even hope.

The McKinsey Health Institute’s 2023 survey of more than 30,000 employees across 30 countries found that employees who believed their holistic health was supported by their workplace reported increased innovation at work, and improved job performance.

The generally accepted dimensions of holistic health include physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. To get an idea of how you might address these all at once, consider the ergonomics of your workplace health and safety program. It is a systematized way of avoiding stress to the worker’s body, and can range from the type of office furniture you purchase, to support for repetitive motions, to how storage is designed, to even more complex considerations for skilled industrial labor. A holistic approach to worker safety seeks ways to systematize stress management not just for the body, but the whole person.

For Those Left Behind

You might feel relief… and guilt. Maybe even resentment, confusion, or fear about what’s next.

What’s also common but rarely talked about: Workplace Survivor Syndrome. It's when guilt, anxiety, and hyper-competition kick in after layoffs—often leading people to go into “self-protection” mode.

Here’s how to take care of yourself—and your integrity—through the aftermath.

You probably offer your employees some form of health benefits. But is your benefits package robust enough to fully support your employees’ range of total health needs if they are to be fully present at work and resilient? 

One often overlooked area of employee support is for parents of children with mental health concerns. A survey published earlier this year by Lyra Health found that over half of the more than 1,900 U.S. workers surveyed support a child with a mental health concern. Yet, the survey also found that “worker confidence in their employer-provided resources for their kids’ mental health is lagging behind companies’ investments in this area.”