The Great Reprioritization: Reduce Stress, Nurture Talent, and Boost Retention

This article was originally featured on The Nashville Business journal. To read the article in its original format click here.

For perhaps the first time, “burnout” has entered the cultural zeitgeist and it appears to have some sticking power. The rise of burnout is not simply an increase in the number of employees leaving their jobs (though certainly, that is part of it) but it is also a rise in our cultural ability to finally speak with some vulnerability and openness about mental health and well-being. We have been burning out our employees for much longer than we have had the terminology or self-awareness to identify it.

At TRILUNA we work to help organizations keep their employees connected, engaged, and well. So when Arianna Huffington wrote on LinkedIn, “What do you think companies can do to help their people be more connected and engaged?” we had some thoughts. Her post quipped about how the “The Great Resignation” is actually a reevaluation of workplace culture. “What people are resigning from is a culture of burnout and a broken definition of success. In quitting their job, people are affirming their longing for a different way of working and living,” she writes. We agree.

When left unmanaged, stress creates a vicious cycle. It leads to less effective time management and decreased work quality, leading workers to require more time to get their work done — culture puts more pressure and stress on them. And the loop continues, reaching critical mass until employees either burn out, fall into ill health, move on or all of the above. On all fronts, unmanaged workplace stress costs us employee happiness as well as time and money.

So much of what we think is a fact about work and stress is just a default mode we’ve gotten used to. The world is evolving. The way we work is evolving. We were handed a workplace culture that glorifies production at the expense of mental health but we can choose something different. Through our work with companies as large as LinkedIn and as small as local yoga studios, Triluna has identified five areas that must be addressed to prevent burnout and reduce stress:

1. Divest from hustle culture: Culture happens from the top down. We must ask ourselves, "in what ways are we encouraging unhealthy habits at the expense of the mental health of our team?" Anonymously survey teams and leadership to ask them what they need and where they feel they need support.

2. Encourage deep self-care: Our idea of wellness has to evolve to truly care for our people. Wellness is not the same thing as fitness. Stress management, mental health care, and honoring on and off time will do more for your people than pushups and fitness challenges ever will.

3. Commit to your community: Community plays a huge role in employee wellbeing. To build community there must be communication, transparency and vulnerability. Additionally, for that community to have a real impact it must also be inclusive. There must be a genuine interest in understanding the lived experiences of co-workers, employees and friends and a space for people to show up authentically.

4. Support personal growth: A happy or even stress-free workplace would still not be enough for our people. They need purpose, freedom and direction. A workplace that encourages personal and professional development will inspire more than productivity. It tells employees and teams that we care about their progress and we are invested in it.

5. Redefine and offer opportunities to structure productivity: Having time and having capacity are not the same thing. Often productivity is cyclical. When outside stressors are high it is unrealistic to expect that productivity levels will remain the same. We can encourage better work in less time by allowing employees freedom around where and how they work while clearly communicating expectations and offering support. When creating productive teams we follow five rules:

• Set actionable goals and record them

• Use frameworks for structure

• Zone your time for focus

• Delegate where you can

• Understand your rhythms

We can work hard but with boundaries. We can engage with our passion but use productivity frameworks to get better work in less time. We can work to live without living to work. We can “never give up” by learning to pivot and allowing our goals and mission to evolve with us and our desires. We can flex into business times by resting deeply when you have downtime. All these things together will move us toward a new vision for the future of work that redefines what it means to be successful for both employer and employee.

Why We're (Kind Of) Dropping Wellness

We started this company because an insane amount of stress forced us to seek a better way. We spent our careers in marketing and recruiting, often sacrificing time with family and loved ones, removed from our passions, and stuck in the stress cycle because that’s what the world had always told us to do: “work hard, never give up, hustle.” 

We worked our day jobs, we worked our side jobs, we taught yoga, we read books, we took courses. And we got sick. Ashley ended up with crushing, month-long migraines. Elizabeth suffered from anxiety that led to gut issues and panic attacks. And yet we worked. We ignored it. Pushed it down. Blamed ourselves for not being good enough, or working hard enough, not wanting it enough. 

The reality was that we were burned out. Burnt to a crisp. Refused to do it anymore. We gave up on hustle culture to seek alignment. 

In the process of figuring out who we are and where we can have the most impact, we have tried many things. We have taught yoga, cooking classes, meditation, anti-racism, and stress management. We have been an events company and an e-commerce company. We’ve done retreats, festivals, corporate workshops, and speeches. 

But the last three years have taught us so much. The last two years, in particular, have been incredibly difficult but also incredibly enlightening. What has often been behind the scenes is that our primary service has always been corporate workshops. Because of where we came from and why we started, stress management has always been the area we felt most confident about. It has also always been our most popular and consistent service offering. 

As we grow and evolve as women and as a business we’ve had to make some hard decisions about the direction of our company. As much as we love cooking, as passionate as we are about allyship, it’s our decision now to move away from traditional wellness and towards an area of wellbeing that feels both poignant and timely: mental wellbeing via stress management and burnout prevention. 

Our revised mission is: To reduce stress and burnout by changing the way we work and think. 

So much of what we think is fact or accept as “the way it is” about work and stress is actually just a default mode we’ve gotten used to. The world is evolving. The way we work is evolving. And we believe we can have the most impact while protecting our own mental health and practicing what we preach by shaping the future of work. 

The heart of who we are is not changing. If you are experiencing fatphobia, racism, and hustle culture at work you will also be experiencing stress. Work is a huge part of the ecosystem of our lives and we cannot address issues with individual stress until we address the culture of the communities we spend so much time in. 

We hope you’ll continue to join us on this journey. We are so grateful for all your support over the last three years. We need you now more than ever to help us grow.

Our services now include: 

-workshops around stress management, productivity, and workplace culture

-the stress management series, lectures/speeches

-the stress management box with our workbook

As always, encouraging difficult conversations that move the needle and change the way we think will be at the core of all we do.  

We were handed a workplace culture that glorifies production at the expense of mental health but we can choose something different. We can work hard but with boundaries. We can engage with our passion but use productivity frameworks to get better work in less time. We can work to live without living to work. You can “never give up” by learning to pivot and allowing your goals and mission to evolve with you and your desires. You can flex into business times by resting deeply when you have downtime.

Hustle culture had its day but being burned out is miserable. We know because we were there and we’re here to help prevent that fate for others.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to describe us in this new form, here is our official company bio:

TRILUNA is a stress management company dedicated to reducing burnout and increasing conversation around mental health. Co-Founders Elizabeth and Ashley each left their careers burned out and seeking a better way. Through their individual journeys they each came to the conclusion that in order for work to work it would need an overhaul. After health coaching and yoga certifications, self-study, and three years of running workshops for companies as large as LinkedIn and as small as local yoga studios they've developed a program that helps organizations keep their teams productive, connected, and well.

Thank you, 

Elizabeth, Ashley, + Team TRILUNA

The 2021 Holiday Gift Guide

The official 2021 holiday gift guide is here!

We're gearing up for the new year (and a big announcement) so everything in the shop is 40% off. On top of that we’ve create a vibey holiday gift guide for everyone on your list. Happy holidays!

How Diet Culture Alters Our Views on Ethnic Cuisine

Many of us are interested in improving our health and when that topic comes up it commonly involves food. It has been my experience that this typically includes a conversation about avoiding takeout from Chinese restaurants or complaints about how curry cannot be a diet food. I have always felt lonely in these conversations because I want to live a healthy lifestyle, but I do not want to resent the food of my food that diet culture often deems unhealthy. Eating a non-western diet is nourishment. In the workbook, “Nourishment Beyond Food” by TRILUNA, “diet culture makes us believe that certain foods are bad and others good without any understanding of bio-individuality.” Diet culture has created a toxic message for many people with ethnic backgrounds with the love of their cuisines being unhealthy. 

Triluna 2021 Summer Intern - Nafisa Hossain

This topic is personal to me because it is suggested that ethic foods do not provide enough nutrients to function throughout the day. There was one time in middle school were I decided to bring my favorite curry my mom made the night before with some rice and some of my friends at the time hurled insults such as “wow that's not good for you” or “I can’t believe you eat this everyday”. Because of these words, I brought sandwiches with a bag of grapes or carrots.  Growing up in the west, many ethnic cuisines are deemed unhealthy and lacking nutrition. Due to this demonization, many healthy food plans by dietitians and nutritionists, particularly the ones with western backgrounds, make no room for people who want to be healthy and be able to eat their culture’s foods. Often, on the cheat days of diets or healthy meal plans (days where the dieter can eat anything they want rather than restrict), many opt to eat ethnic foods such as curries, soul food, tacos, or sushi. Despite what this behavior suggests ethnic foods are actually incredibly nourishing, delicious food with many health benefits--perhaps even more so than the traditional western diet

Non-white dietitians say that if you opt for bland food instead of your culture’s food the chances are high that the diet will not be sustainable. These dietitians, such as Dr. Kera Nyemb-Diop (@black.nutrionist), help their clients make healthier choices by creating food plans that are tailored to their culture. On an Instagram post on June 2nd, Dr. Nyemb-Diop mentioned how her clients have a hard time finding a perfect meal plan and so often opt for bland chicken and broccoli. She then talks about how that approach is not sustainable because it can lead to binge eating because they are unsatisfied. 

In the book “Anti-Diet,” author Christy Harrison touches on how diet culture hinders people with cultural backgrounds and how many become detached from their heritage. Harrison states that this approach is sad and unnecessary. I too have noticed the disconnect. At cultural festivals I have seen participants get salads rather than the other foods offered because we have been conditioned that a big plate of vegetables is better than having rice and meat as a meal. Harrison also touched upon how diet culture influences people in the way they approach eating the abundance of food placed in front of them at family gatherings and feeling bad for not eating as much as they want since diet culture created this way of thinking. Because of this, many do not create human connections and lose a sense of self when they are dieting intensely. 

The best way to maneuver through the toxic standards of diet culture, in my opinion, is to find recipes made by BIPOC chefs or food content creators. There are many BIPOC dietitians, such as Dr. Kera Nyemb-Diop and Dalina Soto MA RD LDN (@your.latina.nutritionist), that help guide many who grew up eating their ethnic dishes and have a hard time eating healthy. Another BIPOC content creator is @eatsbyramya on TikTok that helps out people who like healthy-ish and easy South Asian foods. Another South Asian food content creator that helps curate different cuisines recipes is @fatimasfabulouskitchen on instagram. For anyone who is vegetarian or vegan, @okonomikitchen on instagram makes healthy vegan Japanese recipes that can be simple to make. 

It's important to consider mental health when it comes to diet culture. Some people who want to diet but refuse to reject their cuisines will be lost on their journey. Some will have anxious thoughts and deem that their foods are unhealthy and they should eat salads instead of a plate full of their cuisines. By embracing the food from our heritage, we can decolonize our way of thinking about what is and is not diet food and look at our food as nourishment. 

Written by Nafisa Hossain

The Future of Corporate Wellness

Our CEO was asked by the Nashville Business Journal what the biggest storyline in our industry (corporate wellness) is right now. To read it in the NBJ and learn from other industry experts click here or read below for the full version and our thoughts on the future of corporate wellness.

“2021 is the year that we finally start to see wellness as more than fitness, perhaps even divorced from it. Pre-pandemic we were slowly creeping out from under the influence of fitness and towards mindfulness, but after a year riddle by uncertainly, change, social unrest, and trauma the conversations must necessarily go deeper. Step challenges and group yoga can be fine components of corporate wellness programs but they are not enough. The things we see coming up over and over again now are a renewed focus on mental health including attention to community care, understanding the impact racism and bigotry has on health, avoiding burnout, and staying connected when remote.

Corporate wellness is now both simultaneously a necessity and luxury. Most employee benefit (read: retention) programs know they must include some form of wellness while also acknowledging that these programs are seriously lacking. True wellness starts from the top down. Literally. Leadership must be bought into the idea in order for it to work. It has to be bigger than fitness. It must include more than movement to impact the deeper culture of the organization. Are we still glorifying hustle culture? How often are we taking a hard look beyond diversity to inclusion? Are we encouraging conversations where our employees can be vulnerable and authentic so that we can get to the heart of the issue? How are we honoring down and off-time? Wellness programs must start looking beyond physical appearance to mental health in order to have a real impact on the bottom line.”