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OPINION
Prioritizing personal well-being and balance enhances workplace culture, productivity, and presence while preventing burnout and endless to-do list cycles. Put on your own oxygen mask first
P ut on your own oxygen mask before you help others. Whether we are traveling for work or for leisure, for most of us the oxygen mask message has become an insignificant part of the mundane travel script – it’s just background noise. The truth is, it should be anything but. The simple intent of the oft-repeated message is a reminder that if things were to take an unexpected turn during the pending journey, everyone would need to be fully present in order to serve and/or assist others.
Tom Mesk
When we take a moment to visualize the (hopefully never-realized) scenario of an in-air crisis, it is easy to see how following such a commonplace direction would be vital to our survival. The direction of the flight attendant should serve as a reminder to us that being present is quite essential for our continued existence. The same holds true in the workplace. We are all, of course, more than our job titles and work assignments. We have books to read, museums to meander in, walks to take with friends, and children to focus on. These moments, along with many others we enjoy outside the workplace, are what fuel our lives and make us who we are. On the work side of things, a moment to pause and
reflect at the completion of a project – whether successful or not – will help us be present for the next assignment, or more importantly, help us nurture and train up-and-coming staff. We bring all of our experiences, habits and passions to the workplace, and the benefit of our well-rounded and balanced lives is reaped by our colleagues, clients, and our work product. The rightly-celebrated and appreciated diversity in the workplace is a product of the diversity in each of our individual lives. Unfortunately, with the demands of workplace budgets and project deadlines, it is easy to fall into the trap of being so hyper-focused on crossing things
See TOM MESK, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER FEBRUARY 17, 2025, ISSUE 1573
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