Purpose articles

COVID 19 has altered our lives in many ways and is putting a huge strain on our mental health and wellbeing. It’s important that we can recognise and understand the signs that we are struggling in some way and do all we can to support ourselves and others. Early intervention is the key to stopping low mental wellbeing impacting the life we want and avoiding diagnosable mental health problems.  The grief and strain of the last year is certainly apparent and feelings of low mood are understandable. Many of us will also be experiencing high levels of anxiety due to the increasing uncertainty and relentless nature of the situation. Although these feelings are common and expected given what is happening in our world, it’s important to recognise if we are becoming depressed or anxious and when it might be time to seek professional help. What is depression? Whilst it’s important that we don’t diagnose ourselves or others, and recognise that each person experiences depression very differently, common signs of low mental wellbeing might include: Loss of interest in normal activities Social withdrawal A deep unshakable sadness Feelings of despair Loneliness Hopelessness Guilt Tearfulness Physical aches and pains Poor concentration Changes in appetite Loss of libido Anxiety also often overlaps with depression.  Depression is very common and anyone can experience these feelings, it doesn’t discriminate. Commonly, the two questions that are asked to assess whether a person is experiencing depression, to what extent and as part of an overall assessment are: ‘In the last two weeks how long have you been experiencing feeling down, depressed or hopeless?’ and    ‘In the last two weeks how long have you had little interest or pleasure in the things that you would normally enjoy?’  Depending on the answers, questions around feelings of guilt, appetite, feeling bad about yourself, worrying about letting others down and thoughts of self-harm would follow. Men can often externalise their feelings of depression and become irritable and angry, whilst women may internalise their feelings and become sad and withdrawn. However, it’s important not to stereotype, each person is unique and it’s about how much these feelings are impacting your ability to function and whether they are increasing and becoming increasingly painful and difficult to manage.  Whilst depression can sometimes have no observable trigger, it can develop as an understandable response to difficult circumstances. Stress can prolong and worsen experiences of depression but can also be a trigger. If you recognise some of the above symptoms in yourself aim to talk to friends and family first, try to increase behaviours that might help such as regular exercise and eating a healthy balanced diet, and decrease some of the coping mechanisms that are unhelpful such as drinking too much alcohol. Seek out talking treatments or support from your GP or think about contacting the team at CA Support who will be able to explore further options.  What is anxiety? As mentioned earlier, anxiety is often present when people feel depressed as the two conditions can overlap. Whilst it’s worth remembering that anxiety is an understandable response to overwhelming and uncertain situations, it also has a protective quality in terms of warning us that something is threatening. Anxiety is what we feel when we are worried, tense, or afraid – particularly about things that are about to happen, or which we think could happen in the future. Anxiety is a natural human response when we perceive that we are under threat and helps to mobilise all our resources to cope with that threat. It can be experienced through our thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. Whilst anxiety can often leave us feeling tense and irritable, angry, and frustrated, physical symptoms such as a churning stomach, racing heart rate and breathlessness are also very common. Other symptoms of anxiety include pins and needles, feeling restless or unable to sit still, reduced ability to focus and concentrate, sweating or hot flushes and nausea. Most people feel anxious at times and it's particularly common to experience some anxiety while coping with stressful events or changes, especially if they could have a big impact on your life. Loneliness and isolation can also cause feelings of anxiety and low mood so it’s important to keep connected with those you love as much as possible, especially during this time. Sharing how you feel will lessen the burden and may encourage others to speak up.  Anxiety can become a mental health problem if it impacts on your ability to live your life as fully as you want to. For example, it may be a problem for you if: Your feelings of anxiety are very strong or last for a long time Your fears or worries are out of proportion to the situation You avoid situations that might cause you to feel anxious Your worries feel very distressing or are hard to control You regularly experience symptoms of anxiety, which could include panic attacks  You find it hard to go about your everyday life or do things you enjoy As with any concerns about your mental health and wellbeing it’s important to talk through your concerns with family and friends and seek out professional help and support if needed. It’s also important to do what you can to help yourself. Written by: Kirsty Lilley (psychotherapist and coach). Article reproduced with the kind permission of CABA, the organisation providing lifelong support to ICAEW members, ACA students and their close family around the world. For all your wellbeing needs, CA Support are supporting our members and their families always. If you would like to help or if you need help please contact us by email or on 01 637 7342 or 086 024 3294.

Many of us have been living under a number of restrictions due to the pandemic. The transition back to a more familiar way of doing things is likely to take some time. As we navigate a way forward, we may begin to discover the complexity and enormity of the task that lies ahead as we begin to negotiate a new world and time. In the space of just over a year, the world as we knew it changed almost completely. Most of the important and meaningful areas of our lives were turned upside down. Though we will all have been affected in some way, we have all been on a very different personal journey. And as we enter the next period of transition and adjustment, it’s important that we support ourselves and each other. Emotional self-care is vital to help us navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead. And we have to start by accepting that we are likely to experience a wide range of emotions. How are you feeling? All of us began this journey in very different circumstances and with varying resources, capacities and levels of wellbeing. So, it’s no surprise that we will each be experiencing a wide range of different emotions as we continue to process how our lives have changed. Whatever our experience, it’s understandable and normal to feel overwhelmed by both pleasant and unpleasant emotions. How we respond to and manage those emotions will determine the impact on our health and wellbeing and our ability to manage this transition process and period of change. Many of us may feel understandably anxious about the ongoing threat to our health and that of our loved ones. There will also be those who feel anxious about the easing of some lockdown restrictions because they would simply rather stay at home, having found their lives enriched in some way; more time with children, avoidance of the long and busy commute to work and a return to a slower pace of life. Others may have experienced the difficulty of social isolation and loneliness and may be feeling overwhelmed at the thought of facing further restrictions in these winter months. There will also be understandable sadness and grief as we try to comprehend the many different types of loss we’ve experienced and will continue to experience during this time. Some will have lost loved ones directly to Covid-19. Others are coming to terms with the loss of livelihoods, financial security and hopes and aspirations for the future. There will be ongoing financial challenges and the operating environment within the workplace is likely to be complex and challenging for some time to come.  In addition, many of us will have experienced anger and frustration at the seemingly inconsistent and complicated messages we have received from authorities and other institutions in which we have placed our trust to help us navigate these times. Of course, interspersed with the many difficulties we’ve faced, there have been precious and joyous moments which we might treasure. Many people have reconnected with family and friends and been reminded of the importance of loving and supportive relationships. We may have discovered things about ourselves that we never thought possible; new levels of flexibility, resourcefulness, resilience and compassion. You may have even had the chance to explore a new skill or hobby. These positive changes often give rise to feelings of love, joy and happiness, a new sense of direction and hope. Even amidst the challenges we all face.  It’s complicated Whatever our individual situation, our emotional response is likely to be complex, ever-changing and non-linear. And to top it all, we also tend to have feelings about our feelings. For example, perhaps you’ve felt guilty about feelings of happiness when others are suffering, or frustration about our increasing levels of anxiety and the effects it has on us and those around us. One thing is certain. The situation is complex. We have no frame of reference and no clear-cut road map ahead of us. We are all trying to do the best we can in very challenging circumstances.  Through all of this it’s important to remember that your emotions are valid, understandable, normal responses to a very abnormal situation. It can also help to keep in mind that although they can sometimes be distressing and difficult to manage, our emotions are trying to protect us and give us valuable information to navigate and understand the world. They help us assess situations and make decisions, and they add colour and texture to our experience. However, as they get increasingly intense, our emotions can begin to cloud our ability to access our rational brain and make wise and discerning choices. Left unchecked they may prompt us to behave in ways that are unhelpful to us and those around us. Intense emotions can also have a significant impact on our ability to learn effectively, develop healthy and reciprocal relationships, remain physically healthy and be creative or innovative. It’s therefore vital that we learn and develop skills to manage emotions in a way that’s helpful; understanding how to work with them instead of resisting emotional experiences or blocking them out altogether. Unfelt and unprocessed emotions don’t just simply go away. Instead they reside in the body causing us pain and discomfort.  So how can we learn to manage our emotions? Instead of letting them have power over us, can we learn to regulate our emotions so that we can make wise and kind choices about what we do next? The answer is yes.  The RULER technique Dr Mark Brackett, Director for the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, has dedicated his life to studying emotions and sharing what he has learned. His RULER technique, outlined below, can help you learn how to manage your emotions effectively and safely.  Remember that emotional management is a skill that can be developed and learned over time, but like all skills, it takes practice and commitment.  Recognise - Learn to recognise and identify what you are feeling. Notice how a feeling manifests itself in your body. What physical cues tell you that you might be starting to experience anxiety, anger or frustration? How do your thoughts change? What behaviours do you notice yourself adopting when this feeling arises? Understand - What are the causes and consequences of a specific emotion for you? See if you can identify what triggers certain emotions. Keeping a mood journal for a couple of weeks may help you identify the particular circumstances that cause you to feel a certain way, whether they be external events or an internal trigger such as hunger, lack of sleep, changing hormone levels or lack of physical activity. Ask yourself what you typically do when these emotions arise and whether this behaviour is helpful or not to you or those around you. Our actions have consequences and it’s helpful to remind yourself of any benefits and gains to changing and modifying your behaviours to keep you motivated.  Label - Build an emotional language Labelling will help you differentiate and describe the full range of human emotions that you might be experiencing. This will make it easier to express your feelings and better understand the messages they’re conveying.  For example, anger is often about dealing with perceived injustice. Sadness is usually an acknowledgement that we have suffered a loss of some kind. Disappointment can stem from unmet expectations. Once you’ve recognised an emotion and its meaning, labelling it can help you distance yourself from it. You might even say something like, ‘here is anxiety’, ‘there is some anxiety around at the moment’ or ‘I am experiencing some anxiety at the moment’. This conscious action will buy you some time—a pause in which you can reflect before you act upon what you’re feeling and decide whether that action is wise or helpful.  Express - Externalise your feelings Talk through your feelings with someone that you trust. Or if you prefer, keep a journal or try to find a creative outlet. Having a safe sounding board or space to share and express your hopes, fears and thoughts can give you perspective and a chance to reflect and learn.  Regulate - Put helpful behaviours into practice Identify the story you’re telling yourself and ask whether it’s helpful or true. Recognise the behaviours which influence whether you feel more or less of an emotion and adjust your actions accordingly. Practice skills which help you regulate what you’re feeling such as meditation, yoga, physical exercise, breathing exercises and guided visualisations. Regulating your emotions gives you time and space to make decisions and respond to situations in a healthy, positive way.   Remember, developing these skills is a life-long process and we are all on different stages of the journey. But you’re not alone. Whether it’s sharing with your friends and family or talking with a professional counsellor, reach out for the help and support of others if you are feeling overwhelmed and your emotions are beginning to become unmanageable. Let’s face what’s next together. Written by: Kirsty Lilley (psychotherapist and coach). Article reproduced with the kind permission of CABA, the organisation providing lifelong support to ICAEW members, ACA students and their close family around the world. For all your wellbeing needs, CA Support are supporting our members and their families always. If you would like to help or if you need help please contact us by email or on 01 637 7342 or 086 024 3294.

With spring just around the corner and vaccinations on the rise, everything seems more hopeful. Now is the time to reinvigorate your team and get them to engage in their work in a meaningful way, says Anna O’Flanagan. We’ve made it through a long winter, and while it may not feel like it yet, spring is just around the corner. Some team members may be coming out of hibernation and engaging more. Others have perhaps fallen off the radar altogether. This third lockdown has been rough, so people will be reacting differently as we ease out of it over the next few months. Regardless of where your team members land, in order to bring the whole team together, leaders will need to encourage engagement over the next few months. According to The Progress Principle, which promotes creating meaning in our everyday work lives, we need to find ways of working that foster progress while also improving our work life on a daily basis. Strangely, these two things are not mutually exclusive. Creating meaningful work So, how do we create work that has meaning? Set goals and KPIs Setting clear goals and having ways to measure and mark milestones is an excellent place to start. This will help your team to understand the ‘why’ of their work. They will start to recognise the benefits of the work being achieved and will become fully aware when a goal is reached. Prioritise and collaborate If a project is deemed critical to your organisation, demonstrate its importance by clearing the decks and relieving the team of other responsibilities for now. Progress is also more visible and rewarding when teams are given the opportunity to collaborate on parts of their work. Give acknowledgement Remember to recognise all contributions to a project and acknowledge each milestone as it is reached. This gives clarity and purpose, helping people connect to the shared vision and experience and giving them the drive to continue. Celebrate! Finally, when all the hard work is done, even on a short-term project, it needs to be celebrated. Enrich your team and keep them focused by recognising all achievements and setting time for “events” that uplift them. There doesn’t need to be a big party, but time does need to be allocated for this to happen in a thoughtful and authentic way. So, how about setting some time aside this week to figure out with your team how and when they would like to be recognised and celebrated? Make their work meaningful and it will be worth the investment. Anna O’Flanagan is Founder and Chief Squirrel at Red Squirrel Team Building.

High chances are you’re struggling with lockdown fatigue —the inevitable psychological fallout of Covid-19 and all it has brought with it. It’s the reason so many people are feeling exhausted, irritable, drained of energy and motivation — when they’re doing less than ever.  The way in which our lives have transformed in such a short space of time has heavily impacted our daily routines, as many individuals no longer have to wake up at a certain time in order to be punctual for work or college. With such unending disruption to our normal lives, affecting every activity and social interaction we have, it is important to focus on what we can control. So, what can we do to address some of this lethargy?  The routines in our daily lives can be a good place to start as these will give us a structure to hang our day upon and bring us a guaranteed level of certainty, which is so lacking right now: Don’t be so hard on yourself One of the most common things people do when they are experiencing fatigue is beat themselves up for not doing more.  This is counter-productive and results in feeling even more downbeat about lacking motivation.  Instead, tell yourself that the feelings of lethargy will pass and are only temporary.  Give yourself a break – stay in bed a little bit longer, stay up watching TV a little later and eat whatever gets you through that day.  The key thing here is this is a temporary situation. Give yourself the day off and start afresh the next morning. Refresh your routines It’s fair to say that as we are all feeling drained and despondent, thinking “what’s the point” with it all, it would be easy to allow the routines that give us structure and meaning in our day can be discarded too quickly.  It is important to adapt and refresh these instead. Changing small details about our routines can make them easier to stick to - taking a walk outside before you start your day, introducing a no-screen coffee break during your morning, or committing to making a connection with one friend or family member every day – either a phone call, social media connection or email.   Equally, so all the days don’t blend into one, create new routines for different days – yoga on Monday and Sunday, gardening on Tuesdays, baking on Thursdays, pampering spa nights on Fridays and so on.  The trick here is to break the monotony but not the positive habits that bring us comfort. Get up and move! We all know the many benefits we can enjoy from a little exercise. It is the one sure way of elevating our mood – creating a bubble bath of chemicals in the brain!  Taking a 20-minute walk outside, building in some stretches or yoga into our day, or jumping into the sea if we have access to the coast will help to reinvigorate our energy levels. Incorporating any movement into your day is vital in counteracting the damage of sitting crouched over your laptop for eight hours or more. The most important aspect here taking it day-by-day and step-by-step. Change your mindset This is easier said than done but can pay dividends to our mental health. Instead of reminding ourselves how hard the current lockdown is, how bored we are, how we miss our friends and family, or how much we need a holiday, try practising acceptance instead. Repeating the same negative mantras can retrigger your despair and frustration. By reframing your negative thoughts into more positive ones of acceptance, life starts to look very difficult before too long. Learning about re-framing the negative from someone like Edith Edgar in her book The Choice is a good place to start. She asserts that happiness is a choice, and acceptance is a key part of this. This strategy helped her survive and thrive despite spending years in Auschwitz’s concentration camp during the WWII.  She explores how we can be imprisoned in our own minds and shows us how to find the key to freedom. As Oprah Winfrey said of her story: “The Choice is a reminder of what courage looks like in the worst of times and that we all have the ability to pay attention to what we've lost, or to pay attention to what we still have”. And, so to sleep. It cannot be overstated how important getting plenty of shut eye is.  It is the one single wellbeing routine that we can practice which delivers the biggest return on our health. An optimum of 7-8 hours allow us to enjoy 5 REM cycles which is key in obtaining that deep sleep so important in maintaining our circadian rhythms which keep us physically and mentally fit. Avoiding caffeine from 12 noon and blue light two hours before bedtime, while ensuring a cool, completely dark room will all help you maintain a great sleep routine. Dee France, manager of CA Support. Members and students who need emotional or wellbeing support, can contact CA Support on 01 637 7342 or 086 024 3294, by email casupport@charteredaccountants.ie or online at www.charteredaccountants.ie/casupport

Three Chartered Accountants talk to Accountancy Ireland about what worked and what didn’t in 2020, and the changes they have made to ensure success in both their work and personal lives in 2021. As we moved into 2021, so did the pandemic, lockdowns and working from home. Three members of Chartered Accountants Ireland – Larissa Feeney, CEO of Accountants Online; Maeve Hunt, Associate Director at Grant Thornton; and Kevin Nyhan, Credit Manager at AIB – describe what made their 2020 difficult, how they overcame those challenges, and what they hope to change this year. Goal-setting and disconnecting Larissa Feeney, founder and CEO of Accountant Online, has found that making realistic goals and not loading up her task list has kept her going during the pandemic. As a company, we were lucky when the pandemic hit as we were accustomed to remote working and automation, but adapting to working from home during a lockdown is challenging for everyone. I put a routine in place from early on: get up at 6.30am to do some reading, yoga and meditation before going for a walk. I am ready for work at 9am. If I keep to that routine consistently, it keeps me focused for the day and on an even keel.  Every Sunday evening, when I am relaxed, I set out all my weekly goals – both work and personal – and there is a great satisfaction to ticking those off during the week. At the start, I tried to motivate myself by putting lots of things on the list but that only served to make me feel stressed, overwhelmed and anxious, so I ensure the list is realistic and follows SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) principles. All my weekly goals contribute towards my monthly goals, my annual goals and my five-year goals. I know that I have higher energy in the early part of the week, so I take on the harder tasks during those days.  I have three children at home, so homeschooling means that you can’t give both home or work life 100%, but we are all doing our best. We have to go easy on ourselves and know that we cannot operate at the same level as before the pandemic, but we will get back to those levels one day.  To disconnect, I read in the evenings – but books that are good for the soul, rather than the business and leadership books I read in the mornings. Walking and getting out in the fresh air always helps. At home, a different person makes the lunch and the dinner every day and we take turns to pick a family movie to watch together.  Apart from ‘getting back to normal’, what I would like to change this year is the further evolution and development of the team and further investment in automation and innovation. Personally, I will continue to work on the home/business divide, which can always do with improvement. Stick with a routine in 2021  Maeve Hunt, Director of Audit and Assurance at  Grant Thornton, first thought the same day-to-day routine would get her down, but it has proved to be a winning habit.  When the pandemic hit last March, we scrambled to leave our offices and head home with monitors under the arm (quite literally) to enter this new way of working. For many, it was a balancing act of working at home in shifts and looking after children. For others, it was an isolating moment in time with no one sharing their working environment. What we needed was a new ‘routine’ of working. Is there a word that is more uninspiring and dull than ‘routine’?  It is a word we want to escape from. We want to travel the world and hide from routine, and seek exciting new opportunities. Can we be creative if we are in a routine?  If we have learned anything from the last year, it’s that routine may be dull, but it is familiar and dependable. A good routine has been key in order to live a somewhat enjoyable and productive working and personal life through the pandemic.  What worked for me was starting my working day earlier, taking an extended break in the middle of the day to ensure I homeschool my five-year-old and play with my two-year-old.  Inevitably, this meant working at night but I found that the shorter, focused periods of work I was completing actually made me more productive. That became a good motivator for me. What I found most challenging in that first lockdown period was how easy it was to go from day to day without talking to another member of my team. I quickly realised that the part I loved most about my job, and missed most during the health crisis, was collaboration.  Scheduling a daily chat with a member of the team has really helped with this. These social calls have helped me disconnect and give me energy for the rest of the working day.  So where do we go from here? There are many things I would change about the last year, but I think I’ve learned a lot about the importance of sticking to a routine that offers a bit of variety. It may not be the traditional working day in the office, but it is all about balance.  It is ensuring you disconnect in the day and take extended breaks. The beauty of working at home is the ability to get back time, cutting out commutes, inevitable down time and unproductive moments in the office. Use this time! Use it to clear your head, go for a walk, read a book, play with the kids. You will be all the more productive for it. A few tweaks to that dreaded routine, which we believe kills all imagination, might end up providing us with enthusiasm and energy for our daily life.   The importance of connections and disconnection  Kevin Nyhan, Credit Manager at AIB, has gone into 2021 wanting to reconnect with his colleagues and knowing the importance of leaving work behind at the end of the day. I was fortunate in that I had been able to work from home a few days each month before the COVID-19 crisis, so it wasn’t a completely new experience to me. However, there’s a big difference between doing it occasionally and working remotely on a permanent basis.  From the start, I’ve made sure to form and try to keep a daily routine, similar to what I did when I was in the office. I get up at the same time each day, try to start and finish at the same time, as well as taking breaks and lunch around the same as I would have done in the office. I have found that really helps to maintain some sort of difference between work and home.  Working on my own all day, I do miss the social interaction of work. At the start of the pandemic, like most, I tried group zoom calls and quizzes but, as we all know, it’s hard to have group discussions via video call. Instead, I now make the point of scheduling a short video call each week with a colleague or friend to have a coffee and a chat and that does help keep in touch with people. I’m fortunate to have a spare room to work from so I can close the door in the evening and try to leave work behind. However, it can be difficult to switch off when you’re just walking from one room to another at the end of the day. The commute between the office and home was useful to disconnect from work-mode and I do miss that break between home and work. I now take a short walk in the evening after I finish work. That 20 minutes really helps me to disconnect. Plus, my dog is delighted with all the walks he is getting these days.

Just five years ago, Jason McIntosh was working in practice and didn’t know what the next five years would hold. Now a Finance Manager at Seagate Technology, he answers our six career questions. Five years ago, where did you think you would be now? Have you lived up to your own expectations? Five years ago, I had not long qualified as a Chartered Accountant and was still working in practice. (It doesn’t feel that long, so quantifying it is quite scary!) At that stage, I wasn’t sure where I would be in five years. I probably had this idea about what it would be like to be an accountant in industry, but I wasn’t sure it would be for me.  Having worked in industry for almost three years now, I’m delighted to have been wrong about that – I have a job that I really enjoy, working with great people and getting the opportunity to gain loads of experience in a global role within a global organisation.  Have I lived up to my own expectations? Probably yes – mostly because I didn’t know what to expect! I’m a big believer in constantly challenging yourself, so in that regard I think I’ve probably done that plenty over the last five years.  What do you wish you had known earlier in life? On a professional level: it’s never too early to build your network. I was given this advice on my first day working as an accountant, and probably didn’t take it seriously enough then. But it’s true. As you progress in your career, your network will invariably become something that you rely on from time to time. Looking after it is important, too; stay in touch with the people you meet.  Personally, probably the importance of spending time with your family. When you’re young, life seems so busy and we probably don’t take the time to spend with our parents and our grandparents while we can.  Where do you see yourself this time next year? Hopefully in the office at least a few days a week – without face masks! Like everyone, I’m missing the human interaction of an office. I’ve been working at home full-time for almost a year.  In my current role, I can still see huge opportunities to learn and so this time next year, I’ll hopefully still be doing just that.  Who inspires you personally and professionally?  It may be a little cliché, but my family inspires me. My son is turning three this year, and he approaches life with a curiosity and sense of humour that is infectious. And my wife, who is also a Chartered Accountant, inspires me in so many ways, as well.  Professionally, I try to take a little bit of inspiration from as many sources as possible. You can learn something from everyone, even if it’s what not to do!  If you weren’t a Chartered Accountant, what do you think you’d be doing? That’s a tough question! I studied law at university, and I would probably have pursued that further as I did really enjoy it. That or playing in midfield for Manchester United.   What advice do you have for those who will soon qualify as Chartered Accountants? Treat every day as an opportunity to learn and grow. Early in your career is the absolute best time to soak in every bit of experience you can. Make sure that your job allows you the opportunity to constantly challenge and develop yourself. In a similar vein, actively seek opportunities to learn something new and to learn from others. The best Chartered Accountants I know have breadth of experience as well as depth.  Don’t be afraid to take an opportunity when one arises. Great things never came from comfort zones.