When the World Ignores? Try Embedded Self-Care

Many employees are concerned that the world does not care about their well-being. Downsizing, layoffs, especially mass layoffs, and reductions in workforce do not help. Remember the Opioid crisis? Some research claims it started with layoffs [1], [2], [3].

Even more recent data from the Center for Disease Control indicate that depression, frequent mental distress, suicide, illicit drug use, and drug deaths have all seen increases in recent years. When employees carry risks for these mental health or substance use concerns, they also often are afraid to speak up about them. Significantly, the mental health of workers belonging to the lowest socio-economic groups is more affected by mass layoffs than that of those belonging to higher socio-economic groups. Those with economic stress can be the most silent.

Leadership Matters. This ‘silence’ is exacerbated when workplace leadership tends toward autocracy or authoritarianism. The harsh reality of authoritarianism or autocratic leadership—in workplaces and in government—can severely limit self-expression. A considerable amount of research indicates the adverse effects of autocratic leadership, including correlations with job dissatisfaction, increased stress, reduced creativity, and decreased employee engagement.

Beware Influencers. A related problem is our use of social media to discern the “truth.” We are prey to feeding our prejudices—yes, our cognitive biases and anxiety—by how we search for and dwell on specific “influencers” and their messages. It pays to keep in mind that when we feel uncertain or disconnected, we can be influenced (consciously and unconsciously) by the company we keep.

INTENTIONAL PROMOTION OF EMBEDDED SELF-CARE

Who then is the “best company” to keep? What do you do when the work culture does not support psychological safety? What if you are concerned about people you know who have been laid off?

Our research and evidence-informed programs, delivered over 20 years, indicate that the best company is each other; that is, fellow workers, office mates, crew members, and others at work with whom you can and like to spend time—even coworkers you know who have been fired.

In 2023, we presented “Worksite Self-Care Programs: Five Case Studies, Evidence, Results” at the 33^rd Annual Health Benefits Conference + Expo. These five case studies briefly showcased completely different approaches to embedding self-care practices into the work culture through employee-to-employee social connections. This includes the "You Matter" program and the "Military Wellness" workshop through SAFE Project. One of these case studies was emotionally powerful for me.

Manufacturing Plant Layoff. Through funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission to the Southern Tier 8 Regional Board in upstate New York, we were able to bring a self-care program to employees who were being laid off. As our report explains, the only way this happened was through communication between economic development, workforce development, local politicians, and the capacity of a local non-profit community organization for prevention. 

Ultimately, we were able to reach 200 employees who were struggling, afraid, and dealing with a variety of mental health and stress-related issues in themselves and their family members. You can download the report here. Below are some excerpts from that report:

Employees shared about chronic illness, chronic pain, childhood emotional and physical abuse, addiction, previous job loss, financial hardship, teenage pregnancy, recovering from recent divorce, death of loved ones, etc. They shared their struggles. They just needed someone to listen.

I had many conversations with participants. They all felt like this was just “what they needed” to get through the grief of job loss and were grateful this was provided. I am humbled and now have a better understanding of how to handle layoff situations.

One drive-home point of this experience? These employees were in pain. Physical Pain. Psychic Pain. Emotional Pain. Although our program was short-lived, we know that people received help during an especially vulnerable time. Overall, however, the time is always now to provide care. Don’t wait for layoffs. Review our case studies. Read the layoff report. We hope you find something that helps you.

SYSTEMIC SOLUTIONS

The self-care programs reviewed above are more likely to succeed and be sustained when specific conditions are met. These same conditions hold for any workplace wellness program. I presented a review of this research at the 2025 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology conference. The following seven facilitative conditions tend to emerge repeatedly in the literature. They suggest that each is necessary (on its own) and sufficient (when taken together) to care for employees and promote organizational-level health. At the same time, it is essential to have evidence-based content. 

• ADAPTATION (local empowerment of employees; adapting to their voice)
• SOCIAL CONTINUITY (not “one-off” programs)
• LEARNING SUPPORT (transfer climate that encourages use of skills)
• EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE (oversight that promotes the other six here)
• CUSTOMIZABILITY (iterative; test-and-learn; keep innovating)
• MULTI-LEVEL (micro-the individual; AND meso—the group—is most important)
• THEORETICALLY INFORMED (conceptual clarity-use tools that have been grounded in clear thinking)