Natalie Schneider
The Center for Working Well recently launched a student-driven initiative, the Working Well Council. Comprised of students, faculty and staff, we work together to integrate working well research into practice within the Mitch Daniels School of Business. Our goal is to bring forward the challenges our students face in terms of their well-being at school to help them become soon-to-be leaders ready to focus on their own performance and well-being at work.
During this year’s Mental Health Action Week, the Working Well Council, in partnership with the Mitch Daniels School of Business, hosted daily events to support the well-being of our community. Our events brought together more than 500 students, making a collective commitment to healthier work habits. This month, we are sharing a series on the valuable lessons our Council learned from hosting Mental Health Action Week.
The standout event focused on the human experience in business. With a live interactive poll, participants voted on their primary causes of stress. Although many were provided (which perhaps suggest bigger challenges we need to tackle), here are the Top 5 Stressors identified by our student community:
- Sleep Challenges: Our top stressor dealt with poor sleep. Event participants shared they were not getting enough sleep, had trouble falling and staying asleep, and were unable to prioritize sleep over other life demands.
- Academic Performance: High expectations are a significant pressure for students, a reality that often translates into the professional world. Both students and employees must internalize the demands of high-stakes performance.
- Job Search Concerns: Navigating the transition to the professional world remains a heavy burden for many. Participants highlighted the job search as a primary source of stress, often compounding the pressure of their current academic workload.
- Time Management: Finding balance in a rigorous environment is a consistent challenge. Whether a student is managing a full course load with work, or an employee is navigating overlapping project deadlines, the ability to effectively allocate time is critical.
- Managing Connections: Maintaining healthy connections with friends, roommates, partners and family requires intentional time management and communication. The ability to balance these personal roles is a direct precursor to professional work-life harmony.
This event taught us how to turn private burdens into a shared conversation. For each stressor, every participant found someone who related to their experience. This was an important and timely reminder that building a resilient culture starts with small shifts. Of course, we were focused mostly on our students, but for organizational leaders, there are clear take-aways, too:
- Validate Stressors: Acknowledge the pressures facing both you and your team. This can be as simple as mentioning how an overnight event, like a midnight thunderstorm, impacted your own sleep. Sharing these small, relatable hurdles gives others permission to be honest about their own challenges.
- Normalize the Conversation: Openly discuss the challenges of balancing multiple priorities during team and individual meetings. By treating mental health and stress as a standard part of the professional experience, you reduce the stigma and make it safer for others to seek support before they reach a breaking point
- Lead by Example: Demonstrate the behaviors you want to see. This can be as simple as not sending emails after hours, taking a full lunch break, or being vocal about prioritizing sleep and recovery. When leaders prioritize their own well-being, they give their community permission to do the same.
Natalie Schneider is a clinical assistant professor in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at the Daniels School of Business and a faculty associate of the Center for Working Well.
