How our staff manage stress #LeadWithLove

Stress is a normal part of life, and when it shows up at work it is often a sign that you care about what you’re doing and you want to do well. However, if it’s left unchecked, it can become a real issue, so it’s important that we are honest with ourselves, find strategies to manage stress and keep talking about it in our teams.

This year's Stress Awareness Month theme is #LeadWithLove! It’s an encouragement to be kind to ourselves and make time to connect with friends, family and colleagues to remind us WHY we’re doing what we are doing and what’s really important to us.
 
We asked three members of the Mortal Fools team, all working in different areas of the organisation and at different career stages, to share how they manage their stress levels and connect with the things that help them feel good!

Here is a little introduction to each of our wonderful contributors:

Kate Jeffries

Rachel (Horts) Horton

Matt Dunbar

Photo Credit: Von Fox Promotions

Kate Jeffries is one of our Young Peoples Practitioners and Coordinators. She works with the practitioner team to plan and deliver many of our youth theatre and creative intervention sessions in schools and youth settings.

Rachel Horton (known to us as Horts) is our Communications and Audience Development Manager. She’s a part of our leadership team, planning and implementing marketing across our varied programme of activities.
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Matt Dunbar is our Senior Administrator, working on improving the efficiency and connectivity of our organisation's different systems. 

Without further ado, we’ll get right into the interview:

Photo Credit: Von Fox Promotions

When are you most happy at work? What kind of activities help you feel good?

Kate: At work I enjoy being creative with other people, which usually looks like spending time with colleagues coming up with or developing ideas (e.g. a writing a piece of script). Despite it taking a lot of brain power, it's really enjoyable working towards that end goal and feeling like you have cracked an idea together!

Horts: I feel good when I can be creative and engage in creative thinking- I love the beginning period of a project or marketing campaign. Everything and anything feels possible - I find it really exciting and galvanising. 

Office giggles with workmates make my heart sing - I love collective moments where we can be silly, or where we really embrace how ridiculous life is sometimes. 
I also really love working on my own. I thrive in autonomous working and I love the freedom and flexibility at Mortal Fools.
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Matt: I am happiest at work either when I am problem solving or when I am out and about talking with people. I find that problem solving gives me a strong sense of accomplishment, whilst when I am out speaking to people I get to see the impact and reach of the work that we do.

Photo Credit: Von Fox Promotions

What can make you feel stressed at work?

Kate: The nature of our work means we support lots of different people, and we care about what we are doing- sometimes that can lead to feeling stressed.

Horts: When I have meeting heavy days working on lots of different projects back to back, it can make me feel overwhelmed until I have space to decompress and organise what I need to do. 

Also, sometimes other people respond to stress at work by micro-managing, getting hypercritical, and overly focusing on detail, and I can find that very difficult.

Matt: I can find it stressful if there are lots of different deadlines approaching at the same time or when something doesn't quite go to plan.
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How do you feel and what do you notice when you are stressed?

Kate: Stress can make me feel a bit emotional, but I have got better at being able to rationalise these feelings and recognise when this may be happening, so it doesn’t build up.
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Horts: By the time I acknowledge I'm stressed, I'm usually feeling VERY stressed. This can be comical, as when I tell my wife "I think I'm feeling a bit stressed", she has been watching me vibrate with stress for days and is like "YA THINK?" 

When I'm stressed, my drive to do a good job means I can overwork. I stop taking breaks, don't move my body, forget to go to the toilet, and overly focus on one task or jump from task to task without completing anything.  When I recognise that in myself, I know it's time to down tools and rest or go for a walk. 

Matt: I tend to find that when I’m stressed my brain gets a bit cloudy and I find it hard to focus on anything other than the thing that is causing me to be stressed. I also find that I notice a few physiological things, such as a dry mouth and a headache. 

Photo Credit: Von Fox Promotions

What do you do at work to help manage stress?             
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Kate: I try and manage my energy levels in relation to the different parts of my work. For example, when I know I am delivering a drama session in the evening, I try to make sure I have downtime earlier in the day so my energy levels aren’t impacted too much for the session. Delivery staff communicate about our needs and schedules, so when we are planning meetings, we can try and match these up with delivery patterns. Sometimes it isn’t possible, but it helps a lot!

Horts: As a neurodivergent adult in the workplace, I lean into my stims (lots of moving my body, repeating words, hair twisting, eating my safe foods) and ensuring I have good practices in place to support me. When feeling stressed, it's easy to feel disempowered, but I find it helpful to identify the things you actually can control and not worry about or prepare for the things you can't control.

I am also a big fan of a lie down in a low stimulation environment - it really helps regulate my nervous system, so I sometimes treat myself to an afternoon nap listening to ASMR. 

Matt: I like to try and take a few minutes to look at the bigger picture, which normally means getting a cup of coffee and coming back to my desk with a fresh mindset and perspective. I also like to body double with colleagues, for example, me and a colleague often have a Zoom call where we work on our own tasks but have the opportunity to discuss them as we go.

Photo Credit: Von Fox Promotions

What do you do outside of work to help manage stress?

Kate: I enjoy spending time on hobbies like ballet or swimming, and this year I have started learning the bass guitar, which has been so fun! Having hobbies and time to relax outside work helps to manage stress.

Horts: I really enjoy being outdoors and walking, or getting stuck into cleaning - it might sound ridiculous, but sometimes deep cleaning the bathroom or kitchen, or a full house hoover, just makes my world feel better. 

I also make sure to reconnect with my friends and family. Hanging out with friends, having fun, and chatting nonsense is soul soothing!

Matt: I like to go for walks with Watson, my dog. I also like to do anything that gives me a bit of escapism, whether that is reading, watching a film or playing some games.

Thank you to our lovely Mortal Fools staff!
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​What's clear from this interview is that everyone experiences stress differently and everyone has different ways of managing it.
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CONNECT training

If you’d like to explore strategies to manage stress at work for yourself or your team, our CONNECT training programme offers a range of sessions designed to improve workplace wellbeing.

CONNECT uses a unique combination of techniques from creative practice, business development theory, social sciences and neuroscience to lead participants through a practical training process of identifying personal strengths, increasing knowledge, and developing new skills. 

Facing your Imposter Syndrome – upcoming open session

📅Tuesday 13th May
🕰 10am-12.30pm
💻Zoom

Join Mortal Fools for a confidence boosting digital workshop for Mental Health Awareness Week 2025; learn strategies to increase self-belief and practical tools to better understand and overcome imposter syndrome.
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Cost per participant: Session is FREE for freelancers, unwaged and concessions and £5 for professionals and everyone else.

Click here to book for the Imposter Syndrome digital workshop

To find out more about the session and for any access requests email: [email protected]

Mental health and wellbeing resources

It’s important that mental health is thoroughly considered in the workplace, so if you feel that you or your team would benefit from additional support, check out the following resources as a starting point:

• Mind has free practical guides and action plans for managers, HR professionals and employees to help support employees' mental health. ​Click here for Mind Resources to support staff members mental health​​

• Many of our Mortal Fools staff are trained in Mental Health First Aid and have found it valuable to understand practical strategies for supporting colleagues (and our participants and clients) with mental health challenges. Click here to find out more about Mental Health First Aid training