Building resilience at work and school
Our approaches to school and work are changing. Success isn’t just about masochistically pushing yourself beyond your limits anymore — it’s about nurturing sustainable relationships with your studies and your career. At the same time, nobody said it was meant to be easy. In this episode, host Bianca Rego speaks with BCIT’s Gurleen Bhatia and Laura Vail, experts who are evolving our learning and working environments to be more human-centric. Next, she’s joined by Diosa Femme -one half of the hard-working podcasting duo behind Locatora Radio – to talk about “multi-hyphenate careers” and avoiding burnout.
In this episode
SPEAKERS
Bianca Rego 00:00:04
Stiff upper lip, grin and bear it, blood, sweat, and tears, nose to the grindstone, fighting tooth and nail. There’s this notion that work and school need to be tough, painful, maybe even a little bit masochistic. When we used to think about the word resilience, it was more about simply enduring, getting through it. It happens at work at every level, in every industry. In restaurants.
Speaker 1 00:00:34
At the end of my shift, I could not find my sneakers and it turns out one of the cooks had taken my shoes, stuck them in one of those busboy trays, filled it with water and stuck it in the freezer.
Bianca Rego 00:00:45
In the military.
Speaker 2 00:00:46
And you’d end up in a room where they’d introduce smoke and tear gas, and you’d have to take your mask off and run around in a circle. The odd person would try and bolt out of the room, but you couldn’t.
Bianca Rego 00:01:02
In grad school.
Speaker 3 00:01:04
Writing essays till midnight while having to get up and work in the morning, getting ready to defend a final paper and having an anxiety attack about doing that.
Bianca Rego 00:01:17
And, of course, in medical school.
Speaker 4 00:01:19
I trained as a registered nurse and the most stressed during my school training was definitely a 10 out of 10.
Bianca Rego 00:01:29
Every sector and profession has their version of this kind of treatment. The idea that resilience is just about pushing through, being strong enough to continue, surviving. But what if resilience wasn’t simply about getting through the next shift, the next deadline, the next whatever you need to do, no matter what it did to your psyche or your body? What if resilience was about taking care of yourself so you could continue operating at a high level over a career? They say it’s better to burn out than to fade away, which is a romantic notion of youth, but it’s not exactly a playbook for sustainable professional existence anymore. Coming up, how we are evolving the way we work and study to be more thoughtful, empathetic, and sustainable.
I’m Bianca Rego, and welcome to Fireweed, a podcast brought to you by the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Fireweed is the first plant to grow back after a forest fire. We’re tapping into one of the fireweed’s best qualities, its resilience. We’re exploring stories of adaptation and meeting people who are changing their behaviour to meet the future head on. If you have a great story of shifting your pattern to fit the new normal, email us at fireweed@bcit.ca
Today, we’re talking about building resilience at work and school. How are we evolving our approaches to career and academics, and how do we find the sweet spot between ambition and burnout? I currently have four jobs. I’m a producer for 980 CKNW, a news talk radio station for Corus entertainment based in Vancouver, a traffic anchor for AM730, and as you may have gathered, the host of the Fireweed podcast. In the evenings, I’m the head server at El Guapo, a Latin fusion restaurant in the heart of Yaletown. Prior to this schedule, I was a journalism student who was juggling internships and also working full time on top of going to school. I have always struggled with work-life balance. It sounds weird to even say that out loud. How do you reconcile the need for self care and support with a competitive world? If you don’t seize the opportunity, someone else probably will. Putting up your boundaries is important, but so is putting in your dues. So, how do you calibrate your school or career trajectory to hit sustainable success rather than overshoot into burnout or fall short of your goals?
To explore this topic, I spoke with three women, Laura Vail, Senior Director of Student Success at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Gurleen Bhatia, Faculty Instructor in the Occupational Health and Safety Diploma Program, also at BCIT, and Diosa Femme, a Latina feminist podcaster, writer and community organizer who’s managed to successfully navigate an ambitious multi-hyphenate career while still leaving plenty of time for self care and self-awareness. So, let’s start with Gurleen.
Gurleen Bhatia 00:04:52
To briefly define what occupational health and safety really means is essentially to be able to anticipate, recognize, evaluate, and then eventually control any work, health and safety concerns, any hazards, any issues that workers might come across at a work site.
Bianca Rego 00:05:10
Some of this language evokes factory floors and steel- toed boots and hard hats, but our work environments have changed so much in the last half century and even in the last five years. How has the occupational health and safety lens shifted?
Gurleen Bhatia 00:05:29
Occupational health and safety, as you mentioned, definitely no longer ‘You’ve got your safety boots, you’ve got hard hats, you’re good to go.’ It’s in the 2020s, much more than just about getting workers back home at the end of the day with ten fingers, two arms and two legs, right? It’s just no longer about mitigating immediate harms or serious injuries.
It’s about sustainability. It’s about this long range, long term planning. Building resilience, planning, and making sure that the workers are going to have a long, healthy working relationship with an employer. We’re talking about being able to control occupational diseases that may not show up for 20 years, and so we’re thinking long term. We’re thinking about things like psychological safety. The term that’s probably recently coined, I don’t even think in ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, psychological safety was even a top of mind for anybody, so it’s about that. It’s about looking at that, looking at violence and bullying and harassment, so that’s what encompasses psychological safety. Then, of course, obviously can’t forget about infectious disease and the pandemic. We’re literally living through that right now. It just has really come tothe forefront of people’s minds. I never thought I’d read a newspaper and see terms like engineering controls, ventilation, PPE talked about in a common context.
Bianca Rego 00:06:58
From your standpoint, how has the concept of resilience evolved in the workplace?
Gurleen Bhatia 00:07:05
I think it’s drastically evolved. In the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, even ’90s, the concept of resilience was more about showing the attitude of no weakness, “being strong.” That’s what resilience meant. Not to complain much, continue working regardless of the working conditions and keep your head down. As long as your body can handle that pressure, handle that stress, you’re good. That’s resilience. I’m resilient. I can continue working even if I have a sore shoulder or a bad whatnot. That was a concept of resilience in those days.
Obviously, that perception was greatly enforced when injuries and illnesses are not very visible. If the worker is not visibly hurt, you’re not considered injured. Noise induced hearing loss or mental health stress or bullying or harassment, those things really didn’t really fall on the radar as much. The concept of resilience these days has drastically changed, the perceptions changed. Resilience now means to be able to hold on to a worker for a long time. To be able to keep them healthy, mentally in a good condition so that they can last long in a working environment and in their working lifetime. Resilience means to be able to look at chronic diseases, to be able to provide resources to the worker so they know, “I think I need to get help,” or “This is enough for me, or I think I need a mental health stay,” or something like that. I think that’s changing now. That’s definitely different than the mid 20th century, for sure.
Bianca Rego 00:08:45
Clearly, in the last half century the concept of occupational health and safety has moved beyond the factory floor. But specifically in the last half decade, a lot of us have found ourselves further away from the actual physical workplace itself. Now that we’re in this post- industrial, post office hybrid digital world, what are some other non- traditional safety concerns that you’re looking at?
Gurleen Bhatia 00:09:13
You’ve hit it right there. We’re seeing as we’re moving post-industrial era, a lot of non- traditional work settings. You’re seeing less serious injuries, less losing of limbs and fingers and arms, and more soft tissue injuries, repetitive injuries, musculoskeletal illnesses. Most of the claims for compensation are related to things like overexertion or the soft tissue injuries. A lot of our jobs are sitting in front of a computer.
Bianca Rego 00:09:45
My conversation with Gurleen was game changing. The evolving idea of resilience in the workplace isn’t just a sentiment. There’s an entire occupational health and safety industry out there redefining what it means to be safe, no matter what your career is?
My next stop was with Laura Vail, the Senior Director of Student Success at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her department is geared towards helping students access services that revolve around the school’s wellbeing and resiliency framework. I started by pointing out to her that earlier generations have been all about, and feel free to pick your favorite cliche, but a stiff upper lip or what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Many students are goal oriented. Basically, they’re used to jumping when people say jump.
Laura Vail 00:10:42
The boot camp mentality, this idea that if you can get through our programs, you can make it anywhere. Sure. But I also think about how can we support all of our learners?
Bianca Rego 00:10:51
There’s been this idea that you should pay your dues by being way overworked, which is something that I definitely have experience with. How have you seen this sentiment evolve?
Laura Vail 00:11:03
It certainly evolved a lot. The newer generations are looking more for flexible learning opportunities, the ability to build their own career, as opposed to just slot into pre- existing conditions for them. Something that’s a little bit more unique, a little bit more theirs, and so how can we be more flexible to meet those goals?
Bianca Rego 00:11:24
Millennials and Gen Zers are changing jobs a lot more rapidly these days. They’re even creating their own positions, as you mentioned. How is this affecting the job market and the way that organizations are hiring?
Laura Vail 00:11:37
Young people are far less likely to be loyal to an organization. I look at my dad for example, and my dad works for the same organization for over 35 years. You don’t really see the younger generations doing that anymore. They’re going to look for organizations that fit their lifestyle and their values instead of just looking for a paycheck.
Bianca Rego 00:11:57
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Okay, so we’ve been exploring this idea of resilience and work and school. We’ve heard from Gurleen and Laura, who are fighting the good fight to make sure students and employees have the tools they need to continue on their paths without getting taken advantage of. Gurleen, representing the workers and Laura representing the students. I want to end by talking to Diosa Femme, one half of the podcast and multimedia duo, Las Locatoras.
Clip from Locatora Radio 00:12:56
Locatora Radio.
Bianca Rego 00:13:02
As a duo, Diosa and her podcasting partner Mala’s content is peppered with quotable slogans. Things like, “All baddies go to heaven” and “Look good, talk mean.” In addition to their shows and channels, Diosa is an active community organizer, is back in school to pursue her Master’s, and runs her own creative agency. Did I mention she still holds down her day job? Talk about a complete inspiration. I spoke with Diosa about her approach to ambition, to self care and how to juggle work and school with a sense of resilience, all while avoiding burnout.
Diosa Femme 00:13:45
I host a podcast called Locatora Radio. We’ve been podcasting since 2016 and we formally launched a production house in 2021. In addition to podcasting, we also produce live events. We’ve filmed and directed a short film. We do all kinds of skits as party announcements, as season announcements. We like to think about what we do as pushing the boundaries of what podcasters can do?
Bianca Rego 00:14:14
I love that so much. What are the boundaries that you think podcasters have that you’re trying to push?
Diosa Femme 00:14:21
Obviously, the audio is the most important thing, right? You’re a podcast. The audio should be solid, the storytelling, whatever elements your podcast has. But for us, we saw a really big opportunity to really connect with community. We call the podcast a Radiophonic Novela because novelas, or telenovelas, are very popular and a central figure in a lot of Latinx or Latino households.
Bianca Rego 00:14:46
Oh, yeah.
Diosa Femme 00:14:47
We see it as an opportunity to connect with each other, for our listeners to connect with each other, for us to connect with them. Really being able to take the community aspect of it outside of the podcast and the audio feed, and be in real life, be in person, have parties, do all those kinds of things that we do.
Bianca Rego 00:15:06
That sounds like such a wonderful community and I, myself being Latina and Brazilian, my grandma watches so many telenovelas. It sounds great that you were able to push that into a podcast. As you’ve developed creatively and as a business owner, you’ve kept your day job. What is your day job, and why did you decide to keep it with such a successful company?
Diosa Femme 00:15:29
Yeah. I’ve had different iterations thus far of my day job. When we started, I was a community organizer at a nonprofit. A few years later, I started working at a multiple residential facilities. I was on the grant writing side, managing different services for folks with developmental disabilities. Really, I was looking for a 9:00 to 5: 00. I saw the potential for the growth, and so I wanted a 9: 00 to 5:00, Monday through Friday, clock in, clock out type of job, and that.
I was there for four years. I left this past year and I started working at a creative agency called Revolve Impact. That’s really where I feel like I can wear all the hats that I wear because I came in super honest. ” Hey, I have this startup, essentially a startup company. Y’all were a startup. You know that sometimes you have to have other jobs to get the business running, and I want to help you grow your social media channel in this way. I’m also still doing my own thing. There’s a value to it. I don’t think there’s a hindrance,” and they were down. They hired me on. They liked what I had to bring to the table, and so with them, I think I was able to really strike this really great balance and harmony of not having to lie about what I’m working on and really being able to be honest and say, ” Hey, I have a meeting over here. I’m going to do that, but I promise my work is done.” Being able to really be honest has allowed me to flourish in all the ways.
Bianca Rego 00:16:55
That’s phenomenal. I know because I myself have five jobs and having to sneak out for a meeting or sneak out for a recording is always so tricky to go around. That’s great that you found some support at your workplace.
Diosa Femme 00:17:09
Yeah. You can only lie for so long, let me tell you. When I was working at my last job, it’s like, you can only go to the dentist so many times. You can only have so many sick days, have dental surgery so many times. Really, the excuses start to run out and it also creates stress. That was partly why I decided I need to be upfront about what I’m doing because there’s so much value in it. Why should I be hiding it?
Bianca Rego 00:17:36
What’s your current schedule like?
Diosa Femme 00:17:39
My schedule is day to day right now. In addition to all the other things that I do, I also started grad school this past summer, and so yeah, I don’t have.
Bianca Rego 00:17:48
On top of all of that.
Diosa Femme 00:17:49
Yeah.
Bianca Rego 00:17:50
It’s wild.
Diosa Femme 00:17:51
I know. I can’t tell you what my schedule is. I just make sure I get my things done.
Bianca Rego 00:17:57
That’s incredible that you’re able to balance all of that. You are a seasoned writer and you cover a lot of topics, including self care. What does your self care regimen include?
Diosa Femme 00:18:15
I am very much all about running right now. The last year, I’d say since early 2021, I really started running. I would run occasionally. Now, I run two half marathons. I’m training for an ultra right now. It’s intense, but it actually, I love it and it gives me the endorphins that I need to just keep going. Part of scheduling is schedule in your self- care time, whatever that looks like for you. For me it’s, I’m going to get this 40 minute run in today. I’m going to get this long run on Saturday, whatever that looks like. I’ve really just kept at it for over a year now and it has really helped me. It’s also something for me because I’m a content creator and an artist. There has to be some pocket of my life that I’m not trying to push content or monetize. The running is like, well, I’m not trying to sell anyone anything about running. Would I love a Nike sponsorship? Absolutely. But am I doing it for that? No, I’m just doing it for me.
Bianca Rego 00:19:24
I’ve always been so jealous of people who like to run because I absolutely hate it, and I’ve tried so many times. Do you ever burn out with everything you’re doing and focusing on self care as well? How do you manage that without just completely burning out?
Diosa Femme 00:19:43
Yeah. I am very gentle with myself. When there are things that I can’t get done, I don’t get them done. It’s been a long process to get myself to that point where I’m not beating myself up or I’m not being mean to myself for not getting things done. I’ve had to just learn how to prioritize things. I think that goes back to having a partner. When I’m too busy, I have Mala. Mala works on things. She can keep things going when things are too much for me and vice versa.
Have I burnt out? Absolutely. I think all of 2020 I was burnt out, and it coincided with the pandemic. The pandemic allowed me to reevaluate my life and what I was doing and how I was going to burn out so fast if I kept going at this rate. That’s why I applied to a different job. I applied to grad school because I was trying to push my life in a different direction. I thought if the podcast is indie and is going to stay indie for a while, or for however long, I need to look at other things. Like I said, it all just aligned at the same time. Unbeknownst to me, I did not know this is going to happen, but it did.
Bianca Rego 00:20:55
Divine intervention, honestly, it’s serendipity. Can I put you on the spot for a bit of advice? I struggle so badly with anxiety. I’ve always just been the person with self doubt. I never want to disappoint anyone to a point where it’s a fault to me. How have you learned to let that go and to be gentle with yourself?
Diosa Femme 00:21:20
I’m a recovering people pleaser and I’ve been in therapy for five years. Let me just say that. Let me start there. It’s been a journey to be gentle with myself and to not let the anxiety take over. Really for me, what works is just taking things day by day and scheduling things out and really leaning on people. It’s okay to ask for help, even if it feels unnatural to us, even if we tell our families and friends, “I can’t go to this” or “I want to go to this, but I can’t because I have to rest. I have to take care of me.”
Being able to just really live your life for yourself, and that’s so hard to do for a lot of us, especially different backgrounds that we may come from. It’s really challenging. I’m not going to pretend like this grind is amazing. No, we’re not glorifying the hustle. I think if you can slow down, there are moments that pick up. There are moments that you have to really give it your all, and I think it’s just identifying what that looks like for you in your life? As podcasters and creating our own company is like, what kind of company do we want to be? What kind of bosses do we want to be? We have a very small team. Nobody’s full time except for us. Part of it is like, how do you show up as a person with everyone that you’re involved in and everyone that you work with? Do you want to be that type of person that no one wants to rest around? No. You want to encourage people to rest by also doing it too. You know what I mean?
Bianca Rego 00:22:49
Yeah, 100%. Work has changed. You are no longer expected to push yourself to the limits of your body and your mind for the sake of the next deadline or quota. As we’ve heard from Laura and Gurleen, if you find yourself in a situation where a boss or professor is asking too much of you, it’s okay to push back. There are increasingly systems in place to do so. Maybe most importantly, as we’ve heard from Diosa, if the voice pushing you hardest is your own, it’s especially okay to ask for some grace. You’re no good to anyone if you burn out, especially to yourself.
You’ve been listening to Fireweed, a podcast brought to you by the British Columbia Institute of Technology. I’m your host, Bianca Rego, and I’d like to thank my guests, Gurleen Bhatia, Laura Vail, and Diosa Femme. If you like what you heard, I hope you’ll keep on listening and sharing episodes. Help us spread the word about some of the incredible adaptation, ingenuity and resourcefulness we have in this region and beyond.
Do you have thoughts on this episode or a story to share? Email us a fireweed@BCIT.ca or DM us on Instagram @lifeatbcit with your tales of resilience. Thank you for listening to Fireweed and I’ll see you all next episode.