Client Impact
Stories
We work with teams and organizations to drive wellbeing, performance, and transformation.
The below stories illluminate how we create space to support each employee as a whole person so they can thrive at work and at home.
"Higher education has never been in a more stressful period of volatility and change. We asked Pause to do resiliency and stress relief work with my leadership team, with our leadership development program, and also more general staff sessions.
It has been one of our best investments. Our people are better equipped to handle the pressures of the work, feel more engaged, and I believe we will see stronger retention for those who completed a Pause workshop. It feels like we can breathe again. We knew Pause worked with some of the highest performing companies in the US. Now we know why."
PAUL LEBLANC
PRESIDENT, SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY
Higher Education
ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT
Executive team at leading online university combats burnout and stress amidst rapid change.
Our client’s senior leaders were overwhelmed and stretched thin due to abrupt growth and a complex transition from in-person learning to all virtual systems during the pandemic. They were looking for ways to support their team’s mental health and wellbeing during this time of uncertainty and rapid change.
We helped their key leaders alleviate stress, heal symptoms of burnout, and feel more emotionally resilient by delivering a 6-module resilient leadership program.
Participants Achieved:
reduction in
stress + burnout
14%
increase in
emotional intelligence
12%
increase in
focus
9%
Participant Insight:
The deep breathing exercises had a noticeable positive impact on my stress level, and I developed my capacity to be non-judgmental when finding myself becoming distracted or losing focus. [This…] had a huge impact on my productivity.
PERSONAL IMPACT
Single mom turns chaos into calm during bedtime routine.
During our second training session, Serena – a single mom of two kids – shared a huge win. She explained how she was always overwhelmed and pulled in multiple directions with the million things she needed to do in the evening (laundry, pack lunches, backpacks, etc). She'd been struggling to get her kids to sleep in their own rooms, which was exhausting and left her feeling like a bad mom, frazzled and distracted.
She applied SINGLE-TASKING (a resilience tool we introduced) to their evening bedtime routine by giving herself permission to focus on one kid at a time. She let her son watch TV for 10 minutes while she went into daughters room and focused solely on her until she swiftly fell asleep. Then she focused on her son. She gave herself permission to not care if her laundry was done or if there were dishes. Instead, she just single-tasked – focused on the moment, grounded herself, let go of her emotions, and told herself there was nothing else to do, just this. Her son also quickly fell asleep, and then she had the best sleep in her life! The kids didn’t come into her room at night and she had space for deep rest.
She felt empowered to manage their evening routine with more ease, and with better sleep, she was far more refreshed to meet the demands of her work during the day.
Names have been changed to protect the privacy of program participants.
Sportswear
ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT
Boosting mental fitness, focus, and response flexibility in senior leaders at global apparel company.
Our client’s leadership team was feeling distracted, anxious, and like they were constantly putting out fires early on in the pandemic. They were looking for a customized program to help them better manage endless WFH distractions and shift from a reactive to responsive mindset when dealing with daily pressures.
Through a 3-month partnership, we coached a team of 18 leaders to strengthen their concentration, see opportunities within challenges, and build their mental agility to navigate unexpected hurdles more skillfully.
Program Impact:
of participants reported that the program improved their wellbeing
100%
decrease in
stress
14%
increase in
response flexibility
11%
Participant Insight:
I became much more aware of when I was multitasking and when I needed to switch to single-tasking. It was also very helpful to learn how being present impacts your health and especially your mental wellbeing. I would offer this to every leader as I think it's incredibly valuable.
PERSONAL IMPACT
Leader shocked to find program was “not at all hippie-dippie” and instead “practical and life-changing.”
After our final training, Jason lingered on Zoom with a big grin on his face. He shared with us that when the training was first announced, he immediately thought:
“Oh no….I don’t want any part of these hippie-dippie, sandal wearing, incense burning people.”
He was shocked to discover that we were “highly relatable, heavy on the science, and extremely professional.” He went on to share that the program changed his life, specifically in how he was able to communicate with his wife and teenager, how he could maintain a more positive outlook with work issues, and how much he was “able to enjoy the little daily things that brought him satisfaction.” He had a new understanding of what it meant to actually be present in his life and that had given him back a sense of “vitality and purpose.”
Names have been changed to protect the privacy of program participants.
K-12 Education
ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT
Educators mitigate panic attacks and increase resilience during pandemic.
School districts throughout Oregon were witnessing sharp increases in panic attacks, overwhelm, and loss of heart in their leaders, educators, and administrators. They wanted to support their staff with skills to develop greater emotional stability and the space to connect authentically during such a challenging time.
We designed and delivered a series of multi-module resilience training programs to over 500 leaders, educators, and administrators state-wide. Across cohorts, we measured outstanding results.
Participants Achieved:
decrease in stress
18%
increase in emotional awareness
12%
increase in
self-compassion
9%
Participant Insight:
Prior to the program, there were times where I felt so overwhelmed I would just break down. I found myself changing the way I reacted to my thoughts or feelings. [I learned] to practice compassion towards myself instead of being critical. My practice has helped me maintain equanimity on the job. I have also found myself losing less time on the job due to distraction from the stress.
PERSONAL IMPACT
Teacher improves their life by spending as much time caring for their mind as their body.
Damion emailed us about halfway through the program to share: “this is the most impactful thing I have done for myself in years.” They explained how they’d spent the past 7 years slowly coaching themselves out of “couch potato mode” and into more physical activity on a daily basis. They were realizing that they wanted to approach their mental health in the same way.
The program helped them see how important it was to take care of their mind, just as much as their body. On one particular day, they were so mentally exhausted and overwhelmed they felt like throwing in the towel on their teaching career. They showed up to a Pause resilience huddle and later described the space as “safe, welcoming, and warm”. We opened the session with a slide that said “It’s okay if you fall apart. Tacos fall apart and we still love them.” Damion recognized, in that moment, that they had been mentally beating themselves up for struggling, when they were doing their absolute best in an impossible time…and what they needed was to let themselves feel exactly what they were feeling without any judgement. An immediate sense of “relief and compassion” washed over them. They discovered a renewed sense of purpose to keep going and to remember each day to offer themselves, their colleagues, and their students kindness and the space to honor however they feel.
Names have been changed to protect the privacy of program participants.
Finance
ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT
Resilience training boosts performance and engagement in the finance industry.
Our client – a regional bank – was looking for a holistic approach to help their employees reduce anxiety and stay grounded and focused during a critical shift in their organization. They were especially interested in providing a solution that cared for the “whole employee” – offering support and resources to both work challenges and home life.
We helped employees organization-wide feel more in control of their productivity and focus, access calm in the face of pressure (at work and home), and feel genuinely cared for by their organization.
Program Impact:
of participants experienced an increase in their wellbeing
100%
of participants felt calmer and more focused at work
97%
of participants felt better able to manage their work stress
100%
learned new tools to proactively take care of their mental health
100%
Participant Insights:
Realizing how I allowed distractions to control my day was life changing for me. Now I have tools and techniques to take a ‘pause’, refocus, and enjoy my day.
I felt a change of heart about my company that they would dedicate time and money to this type of service.
PERSONAL IMPACT
From despair to thriving: employee skillfully navigates painful divorce.
Halfway through our year-long resilience program, Naomi shared that she had been navigating a difficult divorce and in the past month or so, things had spiraled into a very negative place. Her and her ex-husband had two kids, so they were working through custody issues and Naomi was on the brink of losing her house (it was the house her kids were born in, which was very upsetting for everyone).
As this was happening, we were in the middle of the Pause module on emotional intelligence, and she described how taking pauses was giving her the space to think, process her emotions, and not punish herself for feeling negative ones. She was able to sit and breathe and "feel like I'm not in a catastrophe – that this is life just happening." She described how pausing created the nonreactive space for her to pick up the phone and call her ex to let him know honestly what she was going through. "We went from being enemies, to just a normal interaction and transaction. Because of the emotional space from pausing, I was able to improve our relationship. It allowed both of us to see the opportunity in this – and to make some sense of it. You should have seen the happiness and hope on my kids faces when they saw mom and dad acting as one team and being friendly and supportive. We even took my girl to her first day of kindergarten together!"
Through collaboration, Naomi was able to keep her house and finish the court case on a positive note. She shared, "This [program] is really, really powerful. I just can’t say how helpful it’s been for me. In the few months we’ve been doing this, I'm now in a much different space. I want to thank you for helping me get to this place of security and wisdom by taking small steps to rewire my brain."
Names have been changed to protect the privacy of program participants.