PHR Live with Troy Vermillion, Client Executive with Hylant, PHR community highlights, and much more...

Hello Resourceful Humans,

Welcome to the 31st edition of Progressive HR Newsletter. 

Let's jump into the latest news in HRTech, Work Tech, & people operations.

📱Trending news in HR Tech, Web 3, AI Innovations and more...

Borderless AI comes out of stealth to raise $27M.

Cariloop raises $20M in Series C funding to help caregiving employees thrive. CEO Michael Walsh explains more.

Worky raises $6M in Series A funding.

🎉 Community Highlights

This edition's Progressive HR Community editorial for Mental Health Awareness month is authored by Jessica Belle .

Overcoming and Preventing Work-Related Stress: A Holistic Approach

Overcoming stress begins with the awareness of it. Oftentimes, stress can come upon us so gradually that we may not realize we are stressed until symptoms begin to manifest. This is especially true for work-related stress, as success at work is connected to having harmonious relationships with stakeholders, bosses, coworkers, vendors, and more.

There are ways to become aware of stress. This starts with becoming mindful of your breath. For instance, is your breath shallow, normal, or deep? Shallow breath can indicate anxiety and stress.

A study by Science Direct conducted a 12-week randomized, single-blinded trial among 100 participants to compare if yoga-based slow breathing with an exhale greater than inhale versus an exhale equal to inhale produces measurable differences in physiological and psychological stress among healthy adults.

You can also become aware of stress by assessing your emotions. Are you feeling irritable or anxious? Are your thoughts aligning with irritability and anxiety, or are they aligning with optimism and peace? Noticing your behavior is another way to become aware of stress. For instance, are you oversleeping or not sleeping enough? Overeating or undereating?

Keeping a stress journal or utilizing a notes app on your phone for a few weeks can be a good way to start to identify some of these indicators of stress and their patterns. As you become aware of them, you can develop ways to mitigate stress moving forward. Here are a few apps people use to prevent, reduce, and even track stress: Headspace, Breath2Relax, and StressScan.

Incorporating stress awareness and prevention programs into the company employee engagement strategy is becoming more important.

According to the American Psychological Association, in 2023, 77% of workers reported work-related stress. The study continues, stating, "55% of workers strongly (21%) or somewhat (34%) agreed that their employer thinks their workplace environment is a lot mentally healthier than it actually is, and 43% reported worrying that if they told their employer about a mental health condition, it would have a negative impact on them in the workplace."

Some ways to incorporate a stress awareness and prevention program can be by first assessing your employees' needs through anonymous surveys or assessments to identify where the main areas of support are needed. From there, you can develop a program based on the identified needs and then train staff appropriately. By emphasizing the benefits of utilizing a stress awareness and prevention program, employees are more likely to participate. As time progresses, you can evaluate and adjust as needed.

One example of an activity you can incorporate into your program is a daily "Minute for Mindfulness" where employees can track in an app or workplace chat group each time they take a minute to do an act of mindfulness. An act of mindfulness could be inhaling and exhaling deeply for one minute every 30 minutes or every hour.

By combining personal mindfulness practices with company-wide stress awareness programs, we can create a healthier, more supportive work environment for everyone.

Jessica Belle is an HR Consultant with over 14 years of experience in HR Management, Talent Acquisition and Recruitment.  Her experience extends to the UK, Germany, Canada, Mexico, India and when in the Peace Corps, Armenia.  Jessica places high value on creating an inclusive and diverse work environment. Her priority is empowering companies and employees to make needed changes through interactive, fun training and employee engagement programs.  This is to advance the future of the workplace one change management step at a time in a way that makes the process memorable and enjoyable for those involved.

📢 Progressive HR Live broadcasts, Season 4

Progressive HR was Live with Troy Vermillion , Client Executive & Employee Benefits Expert with Hylant on March 20th. Coreyne and Troy discussed:

-What it's like to be a Health Plan Strategist.

-Why flexibility is the key to any dynamic employee benefits stack.

-Troy's benefits philosophy.

Click to view the Live. Check a clip from this discussion below.

Progressive HR was Live with Tobba Vigfusdottir , CEO and Founder of Kara Connect on April 16th. Coreyne and Tobba discussed:

-The evolution of Mental Health and Wellbeing Platforms in the workplace.

-How Kara Connect is reshaping the employee well-being model.

-How you can ensure direct and timely access to high-quality professional support for your workforce.

Click to view the Live recording.

Progressive HR was Live with Jessica Begley , Chief People Officer with Very an IoT organization on May 14th. Jessica and Coreyne discussed:

-The importance of a 'future of work' culture in a fully remote organization.

-How Jessica is connecting with and engaging Very's employees in their purpose and vision.

-How Very using technology to drive innovation and value for their workforce.

Check out the replay!

🆕 What's new at Progressive HR

Don’t miss our collaboration with Pandatron , "How Can AI Coach My Organization" on June 11th. The event will cover how Pandatron's AI can provide real-time feedback, influence norms, incorporate emotional intelligence, and offer scalable coaching.

Speakers include Pandatron's CRO Robert Newland and CEO Dima Syrotkin 🇺🇦, and Progressive HR Founder Coreyne Woodman-Holoubek.

Why Attend? 🤔 • Gain practical knowledge on AI Coaching.• Meet and get to know the innovators behind Pandatron.• Network with industry professionals and thought leaders.• Stay ahead of the curve in organizational development.

🔗 Secure your spot by clicking Attend.

If you are an HR Tech/Work Tech start-up or organization and you would like Progressive HR to organize your next virtual event series, DM Coreyne Woodman-Holoubek for more details.

Thank you all for engaging with this edition of Progressive HR Newsletter. - The Progressive HR team; Kristin, Mindy, Sarahmarie, Marnie, Tim, and Coreyne

Coreyne Woodman-Holoubek is an HR Executive and thought-leader with over 18 years of global business and human resource leadership expertise cultivated in the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain. She is the Founder of Progressive HR, the host of Progressive HR Live on LinkedIn, a LinkedIn Strategy Advisor for HR Executives and HR Tech organizations, and a LinkedIn Top Voice in Company Culture. Coreyne is passionate about emerging HR technology and new work ways; and is a sought-after creator, influencer, and media personality for HR tech, Work tech, and the future of work conversations across the globe.

For more content on these topics...

• Follow Coreyne Woodman-Holoubek, ☑ Hit the 🔔 on her profile to ensure her posts go to the top of your feed, and/or ☑ Follow our hashtag: #ResourcefulHumans
• Follow our team of experts and advisors: Tim Whitley , Mindy H. , Marnie Robbins , Kristin Strunk , and Sarahmarie Abernethy, SHRM-CP .

Thank you RESOURCEFUL HUMANS!