When was the last time you celebrated a small win of yours? Were you able to feel all those positive emotions while keeping track of your daily accomplishments or are you someone who feels like you’re not making any significant progress? Well, don’t worry, you are not alone! I also experience these emotions from time to time, especially when almost everyone around me was making visible progress towards their goals.

Have you ever been through a bad day that was turned around because a friend randomly decided to say hello? Have you ever felt a sudden wave of productivity or a clearer head after sharing something that was bothering you? Having this sense of connection with others, whether as a support system or just laughing at a meme together, is important and should be valued. Especially during this COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more evident how having these kinds of interactions can greatly improve well-being. This is something that I personally felt as a member of the Positive Workplaces team through our check-in and check-out culture.

What started as an endless cycle of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy is now replaced with energy, optimism and efficacy or what can collectively be called as engagement. Although addressing burnout is a shared responsibility between the individual and the environment he or she works in, there are tools and strategies available that you can use to take back control. Which one will you use?

As Filipinos, we have been labeled as “resilient” for the longest time through different aspects in our lives and the workplace is no exception. It is the norm to go above and beyond one’s capacity in order to provide satisfactory results to a company. For instance, in the customer service industry, workers are often reminded to “go the extra mile” to help and assist people. But overstretching oneself does have its corresponding consequences, one of which could be developing career fatigue. This then begs the question of where do we draw the line between positive and toxic resiliency? And how do we avoid or recover from career fatigue?

I struggle to keep my attention on the things that I do. A phone notification can jostle me out of a work bubble and 45 minutes later I would find myself on Facebook with no idea why I even opened my phone in the first place. That is why I relied on spaces to help me focus.

Over the last few months under the seemingly endless quarantine period, we’ve been in one too many online meetings ad classes. The benefit of having the power of technology at our disposal at any time—phones, messaging apps, browser tabs, among others—makes it seem like it is easier to connect with our friends and loved ones, and to be engaged in online classes or work meetings over Zoom. This then begs the questions, "Am I truly engaged?” “Am I really making a connection with the people I see on my screen?”

The term well-being is tossed around so often that its definition has become confusing and muddled. With the pandemic giving us opportunities to reflect and focus on self-improvement and learning, it’s about time we begin taking charge of our well-being.

Generation Z-ers are referred to by some as the “loneliest generation” because they are on the cusp of adulthood while facing an uncertain future. Fresh college graduates who have no work and even undergraduates are experiencing so much stress due to their career plans being compromised because of COVID-19. There is so much societal pressure, and even those of which come from our family and ourselves, to keep up with what is deemed the “normal” pace or journey towards life’s goals.

Positive emotions yield positive impacts on relationships, contributing to overall health, social interactions, community involvement, and income, which all impact an individual’s ability to work.