Leah Marone

Amidst the twinkle of holiday lights, the hum of year-end festivities, the closing of Q4, a quieter yet profound tradition emerges — the annual self-evaluation. Unfortunately, many overlook this crucial step as the year turns, with resolutions stealing the spotlight for a few days, weeks, or, at best, months. This reflective journey involves exploring your achievements, setbacks, and aspirations. It requires dedicated time and a desire to learn and grow from the data the last 12 months have provided.

Many companies are experiencing the intense pressure and stress associated with increasingly high turnover rates. Leaders are spending more and more time racking their brains trying to determine how to build retention rates while maintaining productivity. Money is often the most common motivator, but there is another strong candidate that is often overlooked: employee mental wellness. First and foremost, let's be clear, every individual is responsible for their own well-being. But as a psychotherapist and corporate mental wellness consultant, I believe there are several external sources and past experiences that greatly impact the efforts involved in maintaining self-care and boundaries.

Human resource professionals—along with educators, clinicians and other groups—often lead with a high level of empathy, compassion and a desire to help others. Their fierce inner pleasers want to soothe other people, and they tend to take "false ownership" of other people's problems and battles. People like this also have a hard time setting boundaries. And when those boundaries become compromised, they tend to absorb everyone's drama, leading to the likelihood of burnout, anxiety and compassion fatigue.