Caring culture can offset epidemic of stress and burnout, say coaches

Leading coaches warn that some people have been in 'functioning burnout' so long that they do not realise the health, career and relationship costs until it is too late

Mary Cummins and Aideen Shannon, owners of Cummins Shannon, Leadership for Change & Strategic Wellbeing. Photo: Siobhán Russell

Human engagement and a listening culture can help offset the rising challenge of extreme stress and burnout in the workplace, say two leading coaches and trainers.

Mary Cummins and Aideen Shannon, of Cummins Shannon Coaching & Training, say that employers are keen to invest in the wellbeing of their teams. Alert to the stresses being caused by the unprecedented pace of tech-fueled change, employers are also keenly aware of the role that their managers can play in nurturing a more engaging workplace culture.

To help foster this, Cummins Shannon Coaching & Training is working with IBEC Training Academy to offer its members a new Leadership and Strategic Wellbeing Programme in Cork this autumn. The programme is grounded in coaching, psychology, neuroscience and evidence-based research and being delivered by Cummins Shannon.

"Stress and burnout are on the rise. Sometimes people are ingrained in 'functioning burnout' for so long that they do not realise it until it is too late and there is a personal health, career or relationship crisis which necessitates them to seek out coaching and other interventions,” said Aideen Shannon, an experienced coach trained in positive psychology, neuroscience and HR. “It is no different for our leaders and managers. To add further pressure there is a myriad of information out there on the topic of wellbeing right now, leading to further confusion.

"Some organisations are pushing short-term approaches to wellbeing with a one-size-fits-all all approach to programmes and piling on the pressure on their already overloaded leaders to implement. How can our leaders be expected to drive the wellbeing agenda when their own wellbeing and energy is depleted, or they simply don't know where to start," Aideen said.

Cummins Shannon is working with IBEC to deliver programmes customised to the specific client requirement based on a detailed needs analysis.

"This is not about quick fixes. This is about longer-term behavioural and strategic change," Mary Cummins said. "Wellbeing means different things to different people. A one-size-fits-all or ad-hoc approach will not work longer term. If our leaders are not behind the wellbeing strategy and programmes, then how can they be expected to nurture it?

"Emotional intelligence and empathy are crucial leadership skills and we do a lot of work in these core areas on our programmes," said Mary. "We have a loneliness epidemic, with research telling us that 20% of people in Ireland experience this most of the time.

“These human skills are more important than ever in building connection. Ours is a holistic approach and we aim to equip leaders with a toolkit to help build trust and foster resilience in facing the ever-increasing demands of the modern work environment," she added.

Jenny Hayes, head of the IBEC Academy, said the new programme will give leaders the skills and confidence they need to get the best from themselves and those around them.

“This programme is both timely and necessary," Jenny said. “Mary Cummins and Aideen Shannon realised an opportunity in the market, when more and more leader and organisational agendas involved extreme stress and burnout, low trust and decreased motivation, while at the same time expectations were high to perform in a rollercoaster of unprecedented change.” 

 Mary and Aideen pointed to the recent Gallup ‘State of the Global Workforce’ report, which highlighted a worryingly low 30% engagement among managers and leaders globally, and just 23% among employees. This disengagement is linked to a US$8.9 trillion loss in global productivity, equal to 9% of global GDP.

“Engaged employees will be more committed to their team and their business,” said Aideen Shannon. “It’s not just about monetary losses. Three out of ten managers are feeling stressed. The awareness training is about spotting the cues, the body language and realising the vital role of understanding and sympathy.

“At one recent training session, a manager said that creative clock-ins are so important now,” said Aideen Shannon. “On the way to the water cooler, you ask about how did the communion go at the weekend? You can also arrange 10-minute coffee catchups, where you talk about anything but work.” 

 Cummins Shannon Coaching & Training fuses Mary’s experience as founder and owner of Careerchanger.ie and Cummins Coaching & Training, with that of Aideen, proprietor of FlexiSmart Coaching and Training. Both are highly experienced coaches and trainers.

Mary brings experience in manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and technology. She holds a degree in Psychology and an MA in Learning and Development.

Aideen has decades of experience in coaching. She is a senior practitioner with the European Mentoring & Coaching Council, an associate member of the Psychological Society of Ireland PSI SIG and a qualified Mental Health First Aider.

Their approach focuses on the whole person, not just the problem.

For enquiries about the IBEC programme, contact Sarah O'Leary on [e-mail]