Before most employees even open their laptops or walk into the office, they’ve already dealt with a day’s worth of stress.

They’ve woken up to a flood of notifications, emails, and unfinished to-dos. Maybe they’ve navigated tense family interactions, rushed to get kids to school, or battled through an exhausting commute. For remote workers, the lines between home and work are blurred—morning stress often flows straight into the workday with no buffer.

People may have financial worries, relationship struggles, or personal health concerns even before logging in. In a world where work is always “on,” those stressors don’t stay in the background. They bleed into meetings, deadlines, and decision-making, increasing frustration, burnout, and disengagement.

The Blended Reality of Work and Life

The pandemic accelerated a shift that had already begun: merging our personal and professional lives. With the rise of remote and hybrid work, employees are no longer just balancing work-life boundaries—constantly switching roles. They might be in a Zoom meeting while a child asks for help with homework or responding to Slack messages from their couch at 9 p.m.

This blending makes traditional workplace wellness efforts—like meditation rooms, step challenges, and resilience workshops—feel disconnected from reality. These programs, while well-intended, focus on managing stress in the workplace, but they don’t address the fact that stress begins long before work even starts.

The Rise in Stress and Negativity Since the Pandemic

Recent studies have highlighted a significant increase in stress and negative emotions since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Gallup’s "State of the Global Workplace" report found that 41% of employees experienced a lot of stress the previous day in 2023, a slight decline from 44% in 2022 but still higher than pre-pandemic levels. (Gallup)

• The American Psychological Association's "Stress in America 2023" report found that 24% of adults rated their average stress levels between eight and ten on a ten-point scale, up from 19% in 2019. (APA)

• The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a 25% increase in the global prevalence of anxiety and depression during the first year of the pandemic. (WHO)

These findings underscore a harsh reality: stress levels are higher than ever, and our current workplace wellness approaches aren’t enough. If we truly want to support employees, we need a system that helps them stay grounded in both their personal and professional lives—not just while they’re at work, but as whole individuals navigating a complex, fast-moving world.

The Missing Piece: A System Rooted in Core Values

One of the most powerful and practical ways to stay grounded is by helping employees understand and apply their personal core values.

Here’s why this matters:

• In times of stress, people don’t default to corporate values—they lean on their personal values. Not because corporate values aren’t meaningful but because we have far more experience living our own lives.

• Since work stress often starts with home stress, a personal-values-based system ensures employees have tools that work no matter where stress originates.

• People feel more grounded, confident, and in control when they align their actions with their core values. Instead of reacting to stress, they respond with intention.

To create a system that actually helps employees navigate stress and stay connected to their best selves, we need three essential components:

1. Simplifying Core Values Down to Three Words

Three is a powerful number—easy to remember and easy to apply. By narrowing core values down to just three words, employees can quickly recall and use them when they need them most.

For example, someone might identify their top three values as courage, curiosity, and connection. Whenever they face stress or uncertainty, they can ask themselves:

• What does courage look like in this situation?

• How can I stay curious instead of reactive?

• Who can I connect with for support?

This simple mental reset can shift their entire approach to challenges—whether at work or home.

2. A System for Applying Core Values to Stress, Challenges, and Goals

Our core values represent who we are at our best, but let’s be honest—life is messy. Stress, fear, resignation, and cynicism often cloud our ability to use our values effectively. That’s why an effective system must do more than encourage people to "live their values"—it must also help them acknowledge and work through the doubts, fears, and frustrations that get in the way.

Instead of simply asking, How can I use my core values here?, employees can follow a two-step process:

1. Acknowledge the resistance – What doubts, fears, or frustrations are present? What’s making this situation feel heavy?

2. Apply core values intentionally – Given everything I’m feeling, what do my core values say to do in this situation?

Employees avoid toxic positivity and operating from a place of fear by acknowledging the stress and resistance and creating real, values-driven solutions. This approach doesn’t ignore the hard stuff—it integrates it into a meaningful and actionable process.

3. Practice and Support

We have far more experience being who we think we should be rather than who we actually are. That means using core values effectively takes practice.

In a corporate setting, this could look like:

• Workshops where employees clarify their core values and practice applying them to everyday challenges and goals.

• Manager training where leaders practice asking themselves and their teams, "What do your core values say to do in this situation?"

• Conversations that normalize imperfection, where employees and management reflect on times they lived true to their values—and times they didn’t—without judgment.

By simplifying our core values, creating a system for applying them that includes acknowledging real struggles and supporting each other in practice, we create a culture where employees can stay grounded no matter what challenges arise. From there, they can find the most effective solutions in their professional and personal lives.

The Future of Workplace Well-Being

Workplace stress isn't just a workplace problem. It's a whole-life problem. To support employees, we must acknowledge that their personal and professional worlds are intertwined.

By helping them clarify and apply their core values daily while acknowledging the doubts and struggles that get in the way, we improve work performance and create a foundation for a more resilient, engaged, and fulfilled workforce.

And that’s something every company should want.

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Here is an 8-minute webinar, for more information and to experience you can clarify, strengthen, and use your core values to improve performance and peace of mind.