Thank you for sharing this @Naturally Mindful, it really speaks to something I’ve been reflecting on too, especially from an HR and people perspective.
We often expect employees to show up with full focus, drive, and collaboration, while the world outside feels increasingly uncertain, and many are quietly carrying anxiety, overwhelm or disconnection. Ignoring that reality doesn’t make it go away; it just pushes it underground, where it can show up as conflict, burnout, or disengagement.
I’ve come to believe that good HR isn’t just about policies or performance frameworks, it’s about creating the conditions for people to thrive as whole humans. That includes making space for the emotional load many are holding, and helping teams reconnect with themselves and each other, even amidst pressure.
The question you close with is such an important one: “Is this our business?” I’d say absolutely yes. How people feel impacts how they work, connect, and show up. As HR or people leaders, we have an opportunity, and responsibility, to acknowledge that, and support a culture that meets people where they are.
On a more personal note: I’ve noticed that reading the news or getting pulled into social media scrolling rarely leaves me better off. It’s completely normal to feel afraid or anxious with everything happening in the world. But in those moments, I remind myself: What’s true and real for me right now?
I can’t control what happens globally, whether there’s another war or political shift, but I can influence what my immediate environment looks like. Is it grounded in peace and care or tension and conflict? What kind of energy do I bring into my relationships, my work, and how do I show up each day?
That’s where I choose to focus, on creating peace within myself and in the spaces I touch. And I truly believe that if each of us focused on our own “world,” the bigger world would begin to reflect that change.
What a wonderful post and something I’ve been reflecting on myself. @andra.enache, in particular would have some very useful insight here!
Tagging some folks I’d love to hear from on this topic 
@nina.johansson @HRHappiness @HRJoy @rstambolieva @JHBEM @HannahPorteous-Butler @damayantichowdhury09 @Hellohere @wissbegierig
Thank you for sharing this @Naturally Mindful, it really speaks to something I’ve been reflecting on too, especially from an HR and people perspective.
We often expect employees to show up with full focus, drive, and collaboration, while the world outside feels increasingly uncertain, and many are quietly carrying anxiety, overwhelm or disconnection. Ignoring that reality doesn’t make it go away; it just pushes it underground, where it can show up as conflict, burnout, or disengagement.
I’ve come to believe that good HR isn’t just about policies or performance frameworks, it’s about creating the conditions for people to thrive as whole humans. That includes making space for the emotional load many are holding, and helping teams reconnect with themselves and each other, even amidst pressure.
The question you close with is such an important one: “Is this our business?” I’d say absolutely yes. How people feel impacts how they work, connect, and show up. As HR or people leaders, we have an opportunity, and responsibility, to acknowledge that, and support a culture that meets people where they are.
On a more personal note: I’ve noticed that reading the news or getting pulled into social media scrolling rarely leaves me better off. It’s completely normal to feel afraid or anxious with everything happening in the world. But in those moments, I remind myself: What’s true and real for me right now?
I can’t control what happens globally, whether there’s another war or political shift, but I can influence what my immediate environment looks like. Is it grounded in peace and care or tension and conflict? What kind of energy do I bring into my relationships, my work, and how do I show up each day?
That’s where I choose to focus, on creating peace within myself and in the spaces I touch. And I truly believe that if each of us focused on our own “world,” the bigger world would begin to reflect that change.
Thank you for your contribution, Sabbu schreiber.
I’m heartened to read that you do indeed believe that the state of this world and its impact on us an individuals is of direct relevance to the business and to HR’s function. I appreciate your reference to the importance of recognising the choice we can make to focus on our own mindset and how we present ourselves with colleagues. I wish you well in your commitment to embody a calm, without denying the chaos and its impact on colleagues, who may not have the resources to reflect that calm back.
I’m interested in how businesses resource their team leaders to address the same questions and their responsibility to engage with the culture of the office, and consider how they might proactively initiate conversations about how the external environment affects individual’s mindset, and how mental health skills training can be of relevance to the business productivity and integrity.
I agree with @SabbuSchreiber: I focus on my own space and what I can control.
In my previous role as HR Manager, I’ve often felt the pressure to be the ‘saviour of all’. Whether that came from society, the organisation, or the HR community providing information about what we can do (and should be doing), it’s feels very demanding and heavy.
Regarding @Naturally Mindful’s question about balancing commitment to wellbeing and productivity, I’ve stopped looking at it as “my people” (until I hire staff of my own that is). I believe it’s the business’s business and responsibility to look after its people—productivity, wellbeing, engagement, and all—regardless of the world’s condition and circumstances. This includes supporting and empowering HR professionals by providing the time and resources to measure, identify, and address issues proactively - we’re their people too.
However, in my experience, this is rarely the case. Instead, we often drain our own time and resources—both mental and physical—by acting as the resilient pillar for everyone. We use our knowledge and skills reactively, case by case, rather than focusing on preventative action.
Now, as an HR Consultant running my own business, I make a conscious effort to be kind to myself. I recognise that I cannot know or do everything, and that’s okay. I focus on what I can control, maintaining a balance between the “here and now” and “what might be,” and I let go of the rest. The world is incredibly demanding, especially with constant connectivity through news, social media, emails, and networking.
By setting healthy boundaries and focusing on what’s within our control, we can sustain both our wellbeing and our effectiveness towards others as HR professionals.
I agree with @SabbuSchreiber: I focus on my own space and what I can control.
In my previous role as HR Manager, I’ve often felt the pressure to be the ‘saviour of all’. Whether that came from society, the organisation, or the HR community providing information about what we can do (and should be doing), it’s feels very demanding and heavy.
Regarding @Naturally Mindful’s question about balancing commitment to wellbeing and productivity, I’ve stopped looking at it as “my people” (until I hire staff of my own that is). I believe it’s the business’s business and responsibility to look after its people—productivity, wellbeing, engagement, and all—regardless of the world’s condition and circumstances. This includes supporting and empowering HR professionals by providing the time and resources to measure, identify, and address issues proactively - we’re their people too.
However, in my experience, this is rarely the case. Instead, we often drain our own time and resources—both mental and physical—by acting as the resilient pillar for everyone. We use our knowledge and skills reactively, case by case, rather than focusing on preventative action.
Now, as an HR Consultant running my own business, I make a conscious effort to be kind to myself. I recognise that I cannot know or do everything, and that’s okay. I focus on what I can control, maintaining a balance between the “here and now” and “what might be,” and I let go of the rest. The world is incredibly demanding, especially with constant connectivity through news, social media, emails, and networking.
By setting healthy boundaries and focusing on what’s within our control, we can sustain both our wellbeing and our effectiveness towards others as HR professionals.
Thank you, Nina, and pleased to hear you report being kind to yourself. One of my reasons for writing as I did and asking the question, “is employee wellbeing the business of businesses?”, is borne of my experience as a training consultant myself and the absence of a narrative around the responsibilities of managers to address mental wellbeing in the context of productivity and working culture. How many line managers are trained in the communication skills necessary to initiate and sustain conversations around the interface between productivity and mental health? How many are selected for their excellent people skills? My question was hinting at the tendency to locate the problem with the individual, as if they have failed to meet the standard in some way, as opposed to seeing the drivers of poor collective mental health ( e.g. bullying, loss of trust, fear, presenteeism) in the very normative working culture as embodied by senior management, normalised further by an external culture of aggression, warring and an erosion of human rights. As a consultant, I see my responsibility to embody an understanding of the true sources of deteriorating mental health in the workplace. The reason why I switched from traditional management skills development to a broader set of competences, skills and qualities that put our wellbeing and the way we show up with each other at the heart of the conversation around workplace wellbeing. Managing Mental Health Conversations is my latest offering to businesses who are committed to meaningful people skills development.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts @Naturally Mindful, I feel you.
I do feel that it’s a challenging environment for everyone - people, but also us as HR professionals. Indeed I’ve observed that nowadays my coaching & therapy skills are coming much more in handy than team builds, HR processes etc. What I’m trying to teach those I work with is to cultivate the ability to sit with discomfort. This can be by having a hard conversation with an employee, by listening to how someone’s weekend was, or just to be between two conflicting situations. I see a lot of people not knowing how to manage this - how to bring themselves to work when you kinda have to mask how you feel?
I personally had days when I’d wake up and feel that the world is crumbling beneath me. Then put a smile on my face and go to work. It killed me! How do we make space for people to simply feel? We are going back to the old narrative of work vs life, but at the end work is part of your life and what happens in your “life” will influence your work too.
I’m working with managers to empower them to be curious and explore – if an employee tells you that they’ve had a terrible weekend, instead of brushing it off because it feels uncomfortable for you, be curious - ask, validate, be supportive. If someone is suddenly missing deadlines, be curious about what may have happened in this person’s life. But it’s difficult for people to be emotionally attuned to others when maybe they never experienced that for themselves. And people have yet to learn that you can be kind, yet firm.
It’s a systemic challenge and what we can do is to do our bits, one by one. Listen, and be present. The rest will follow.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts @Naturally Mindful, I feel you.
I do feel that it’s a challenging environment for everyone - people, but also us as HR professionals. Indeed I’ve observed that nowadays my coaching & therapy skills are coming much more in handy than team builds, HR processes etc. What I’m trying to teach those I work with is to cultivate the ability to sit with discomfort. This can be by having a hard conversation with an employee, by listening to how someone’s weekend was, or just to be between two conflicting situations. I see a lot of people not knowing how to manage this - how to bring themselves to work when you kinda have to mask how you feel?
I personally had days when I’d wake up and feel that the world is crumbling beneath me. Then put a smile on my face and go to work. It killed me! How do we make space for people to simply feel? We are going back to the old narrative of work vs life, but at the end work is part of your life and what happens in your “life” will influence your work too.
I’m working with managers to empower them to be curious and explore – if an employee tells you that they’ve had a terrible weekend, instead of brushing it off because it feels uncomfortable for you, be curious - ask, validate, be supportive. If someone is suddenly missing deadlines, be curious about what may have happened in this person’s life. But it’s difficult for people to be emotionally attuned to others when maybe they never experienced that for themselves. And people have yet to learn that you can be kind, yet firm.
It’s a systemic challenge and what we can do is to do our bits, one by one. Listen, and be present. The rest will follow.
Thank you @andra.enache for sharing your perspective on managing discomfort and ways of being present with colleagues experiencing unpleasant truths. I welcome your reference to the power of coaching skills to witness the discomfort, remain present, without resorting to resolution suggestions. I also value your point about each of us doing our piece to demonstrate ways of allowing painful truths to be as valid as pleasure Le aspects of our work. I wish you well in your skilled role.
One thing I was thinking about this weekend and wanted to get your thoughts on:
How does one prevent themselves from turning away or turning too inward in response to horrible news in the world? I ask because, personally, I can feel myself starting to be pulled in that direction. At the moment, I’m still mostly keeping up with current events, but I can feel myself being tempted by the mindset of just muting news from my content diet.
Part of this is because I think I’m finding my work to be something a refuge from it all. Maybe it’s in the nature of community management work, but there’s something energising about just talking to people about what it is they’re up to and what is exciting them about their work. Whatever that feeling is, I feel like I’m just diving more into that and starting to turn away from keeping up with the news. I feel bad about that and I’m just wondering: is there a way to balance my, if you will, responsibility to know what’s going in the world with my mind’s need for peace?
@andra.enache @SabbuSchreiber @nina.johansson @Naturally Mindful @HRJoy @HRHappiness
One thing I was thinking about this weekend and wanted to get your thoughts on:
How does one prevent themselves from turning away or turning too inward in response to horrible news in the world? I ask because, personally, I can feel myself starting to be pulled in that direction. At the moment, I’m still mostly keeping up with current events, but I can feel myself being tempted by the mindset of just muting news from my content diet.
Part of this is because I think I’m finding my work to be something a refuge from it all. Maybe it’s in the nature of community management work, but there’s something energising about just talking to people about what it is they’re up to and what is exciting them about their work. Whatever that feeling is, I feel like I’m just diving more into that and starting to turn away from keeping up with the news. I feel bad about that and I’m just wondering: is there a way to balance my, if you will, responsibility to know what’s going in the world with my mind’s need for peace?
@andra.enache @SabbuSchreiber @nina.johansson @Naturally Mindful @HRJoy @HRHappiness
I'm sure you're not the only one, @Moe and it certainly relates to the purpose of my piece on acknowledging the impact of global conflict and an increasing sense of volatility all around us, and how this truth relates to how we show up in our work roles. Is it just our individual responsibility to seek this balance, or is there a case for taking responsibility as a team, a section or even business wide? From my perspective, there's an opportunity to bring us closer together, shine light on values and beliefs, and potentially strengthen our relationships, mental health and performance, in so doing. At the very least, I'd it not human to express how difficult this is and reach out to each other in some way.
Hi @Moe,
I hear you. That tension between wanting to stay informed and needing to protect your inner space is something I’ve worked through myself as well. The truth is, turning inward doesn’t have to mean turning away. Sometimes it’s the most responsible and aligned thing we can do.
We live in a world where being constantly "in the know" is almost treated like a moral obligation. But what’s rarely talked about is the cost of that constant exposure — the nervous system overload, the creeping sense of helplessness, the emotional exhaustion. And no one wins when we’re stuck in that state.
Personally, I’ve noticed that when I consume too much news, especially during already tense or violent global moments, it doesn’t just inform me. It overwhelms me. It pulls me out of my center and into a space where fear and reactivity start calling the shots. That’s not presence. That’s survival mode.
So I’ve learned to ask: is this helping me respond, or is it just making me feel more powerless? And what would it look like to stay connected to the world in a way that keeps me grounded and useful, not guilty and drained?
This might look like:
- Setting intentional windows for news, maybe once a day from sources I trust
- Prioritising depth over volume; tuning in to a few core issues that truly matter to me
- Remembering that showing up in my local environment with integrity, clarity, and care is already powerful work
- And letting my peace be part of the resistance, because a calm, heart-open human is the last thing fear and chaos want
So no, in my opinion you’re not doing it wrong if you’re starting to mute things. You’re actually noticing what your system needs to stay resourced. That’s awareness and agency. And I feel it’s okay to let your desire for peace guide you right now.
You don’t owe the world your burnout. You owe it your full presence. And that only becomes available when you’re well. 
One thing I was thinking about this weekend and wanted to get your thoughts on:
How does one prevent themselves from turning away or turning too inward in response to horrible news in the world? I ask because, personally, I can feel myself starting to be pulled in that direction. At the moment, I’m still mostly keeping up with current events, but I can feel myself being tempted by the mindset of just muting news from my content diet.
Part of this is because I think I’m finding my work to be something a refuge from it all. Maybe it’s in the nature of community management work, but there’s something energising about just talking to people about what it is they’re up to and what is exciting them about their work. Whatever that feeling is, I feel like I’m just diving more into that and starting to turn away from keeping up with the news. I feel bad about that and I’m just wondering: is there a way to balance my, if you will, responsibility to know what’s going in the world with my mind’s need for peace?
@andra.enache @SabbuSchreiber @nina.johansson @Naturally Mindful @HRJoy @HRHappiness
I'm sure you're not the only one, @Moe and it certainly relates to the purpose of my piece on acknowledging the impact of global conflict and an increasing sense of volatility all around us, and how this truth relates to how we show up in our work roles. Is it just our individual responsibility to seek this balance, or is there a case for taking responsibility as a team, a section or even business wide? From my perspective, there's an opportunity to bring us closer together, shine light on values and beliefs, and potentially strengthen our relationships, mental health and performance, in so doing. At the very least, I'd it not human to express how difficult this is and reach out to each other in some way.
This resonates with me because it aligns with something I’ve been learning over the last year or so: being social and connecting with others is critical to wellbeing.
I have been quite blind to this as I had stretches in the past when I would shelter myself away and stick to one or two friends (if that) and occupy my time with my individual hobbies. Unsurprisingly, I spent a lot of time keeping up with the news. Being a remote worker for so long may have even aided this entrenchment!
While I don’t think there’s anything wrong with solitude (in fact, it can work its own wonders for mental health!), I did experience the drawbacks of disconnecting from people. Looking back, it feels like I closed myself off to some basic human need, and my own mental health was adversely impacted for it. These days, as I connect with more people, make new friends, and learn about so many different people’s lives, it feels like something is going right.
I think I’ve just noticed myself leaning more on these social connections and making new friends and pulling away a bit from, for example, world news. But, your point is a great one. Even in trying to find this balance, struggling through it, I can keep on building connection with others as we all try to figure this out, together.
Hi @Moe,
I hear you. That tension between wanting to stay informed and needing to protect your inner space is something I’ve worked through myself as well. The truth is, turning inward doesn’t have to mean turning away. Sometimes it’s the most responsible and aligned thing we can do.
We live in a world where being constantly "in the know" is almost treated like a moral obligation. But what’s rarely talked about is the cost of that constant exposure — the nervous system overload, the creeping sense of helplessness, the emotional exhaustion. And no one wins when we’re stuck in that state.
Personally, I’ve noticed that when I consume too much news, especially during already tense or violent global moments, it doesn’t just inform me. It overwhelms me. It pulls me out of my center and into a space where fear and reactivity start calling the shots. That’s not presence. That’s survival mode.
So I’ve learned to ask: is this helping me respond, or is it just making me feel more powerless? And what would it look like to stay connected to the world in a way that keeps me grounded and useful, not guilty and drained?
This might look like:
- Setting intentional windows for news, maybe once a day from sources I trust
- Prioritising depth over volume; tuning in to a few core issues that truly matter to me
- Remembering that showing up in my local environment with integrity, clarity, and care is already powerful work
- And letting my peace be part of the resistance, because a calm, heart-open human is the last thing fear and chaos want
So no, in my opinion you’re not doing it wrong if you’re starting to mute things. You’re actually noticing what your system needs to stay resourced. That’s awareness and agency. And I feel it’s okay to let your desire for peace guide you right now.
You don’t owe the world your burnout. You owe it your full presence. And that only becomes available when you’re well.
Sabbu, that is so beautifully said and it has made my day 
“Turning inward doesn’t have to mean turning away” is such an excellently worded way to put it. This is where my guilt ultimately comes from, the association of turning inward with turning away.
Also, I could not relate to any feeling more than that of overwhelm at the sheer volume of horrible news and worrying events. Like you said, you start off feeling like you’d like to stay informed and then, almost without seeing it coming, you just sort of get hit with waves from a dam you didn’t even realise had burst!
You must be a sort of mind-reader because I’ve been thinking a lot about getting involved in my local community. I live in a part of London called Tottenham and have been so grateful to be here for the last two years. That gratitude is making me think more about getting involved in volunteering throughout this area. I really do feel like it will go a long way to addressing this need for a balance - I get to do real-world work that feels good without feeling like I’m hiding from the world!
Lastly, this hit me in the chest:
“You don’t owe the world your burnout. You owe it your full presence. And that only becomes available when you’re well. ”
Once again. Beautifully said!
My absolute pleasure @Moe I know how hard it can be, and I know so many can relate to what you shared. I’m just happy I could offer a different view 
I recently heard Mo Gawdat say something along the lines of: “There’s always going to be someone hungry, there’s always going to be something wrong. We can never fix the world. We can only fix our ‘little world’. And changing our little world (showing up with peace and love for ourselves and others instead of chaos and war) will automatically impact the world around us.”
I’m definitely no saint and still fall into the rabbit hole sometimes. But ever since I stopped consuming the news a few years ago, my mental and emotional space has become so much clearer and more peaceful.
