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First Mid receives Lender of the Year award
MATTOON — First Mid Bank & Trust has been selected as the Small Business Administration Central/Southern Illinois Community Lender of the Year.
This award is presented to the community bank with the best overall performance record for lending to small businesses in Central and Southern Illinois throughout 2022. This year marks the eighth time the Mattoon-based bank has received this award.
“This award speaks volumes about our willingness to take care of our communities and small businesses are at the heart of that,” said John Barnett, regional president and community lender specializing in SBA loans.
Within the last year, the SBA also awarded First Mid Bank & Trust its Preferred Lender Program status based on the bank’s years of experience. To earn the PLP designation, lenders must establish a successful track record and display a thorough understanding of SBA lending policies and procedures.
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Macon Co. Sheriff’s Office earns national recognition
DECATUR — The Macon County Sheriff’s Office recently received national recognition for implementing high-quality forensic standards and practices.
American forensic science guidance is published on the Standards Registry of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC). OSAC is sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and its national forensic science Standards Registry is a repository of technically sound standards, guidelines, and best practices.
In August, OSAC issued a certificate recognizing forensic standards implementation by the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, the first such recognition of an Illinois forensic science activity.
The Macon County Sheriff’s Office is one of the hundreds of law enforcement agencies in America providing finger and palm print (latent print) examination and facial identification forensic analysis to help rapidly solve local crime.
Sikich named a Best of the Best firm
CHICAGO — Sikich has been selected as a Best of the Best Firm by Inside Public Accounting.
This is the first time the firm, which has an office in Decatur, has been named to the exclusive list, following multiple years of significant growth.
For 20 years, Inside Public Accounting has annually named the top 50 Best of the Best Firms based on analysis of its annual Practice Management Survey – focusing on key areas of management, growth and strategic vision. This year, more than 600 companies participated in the survey and were evaluated on 50 metrics including revenue growth, profitability, productivity, staff turnover, diversity and more.
Dohrn Transfer earns Quest for Quality Award
Dohrn Transfer Company, a leading less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, is the receipt of a Logistics Management Quest for Quality Award.
The Quest for Quality Awards are the gold standard for customer satisfaction and performance excellence for carriers, ports, and logistics providers worldwide. This is the first time the Rock Island-based company has received the honor.
“We are honored to receive the prestigious Quest for Quality award for being the best Midwest carrier. This recognition is a testament to our unwavering commitment to service excellence, our dedicated team, and, most importantly, our loyal customers,” said Heather Dohrn executive vice president chief commercial officer.
Quest for Quality Awards are the culmination of a six-month research project conducted by Peerless Research Group.
Dohrn Transfer Company operates a terminal in Decatur.
Community Foundation earns national reaccreditation
DECATUR — The Community Foundation of Macon County has received reaccreditation with the nation’s highest standard for philanthropic excellence.
National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations establish legal, ethical, effective practices for community foundations everywhere. The community foundation was first certified in 2006.
“Meeting the National Standards benchmarks is a rigorous, comprehensive process,” said Randy Royster, board member of the Council on Foundations. “This accreditation is a significant accomplishment that indicates The Community Foundation of Macon County demonstrates a commitment to transparency, quality, integrity and accountability as it carries out its mission.”
Director of Finance Chasity Casey serves as the foundation’s National Standards accreditation coordinator and prepared and reviewed all documentation required for accreditation.
5 tips for managing workplace burnout
What is workplace burnout?
When people are burned out at work, low energy, indifference, lack of excitement about tasks, workplace pessimism, and cynicism about the future take over. The World Health Organization also warns that when people are burned out, they start to feel unaccomplished. According to the American Psychological Association, they suffer—and so do the innovative ideas and productivity they might otherwise bring to the table.
In an economy where productivity is at a premium, employees face increased workplace stress, which can lead to burnout if not managed in healthy ways. Using information from leading business schools and academic research, Wysa compiled five useful tips to help manage burnout at work.
A survey commissioned by management consulting firm Deloitte of 1,000 full-time U.S.-based professionals found that 91% of respondents experienced unmanageable stress levels and frustration at work. And 77% of respondents reported suffering from burnout at their jobs. Most said they’ve encountered burnout more than once at their workplace.
And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which sent stress and burnout rates skyrocketing, according to the American Psychological Association.
Burnout is a serious condition with real health consequences. The APA reports that employees suffering from burnout are at nearly triple the normal risk of experiencing depressive disorders and have a 57% higher risk of being absent from work, an 84% higher risk of suffering from Type 2 diabetes, and a 40% higher risk of experiencing hypertension.
Integris Health, a nonprofit health care system in Oklahoma, notes the condition does not spontaneously appear but occurs and develops over five stages. It starts with the “honeymoon phase,” when people begin their jobs or a new project with lots of energy and optimism. However, no honeymoon lasts forever, and stressful periods come as responsibilities build up, moving to the stress phase.
The stress phase turns chronic as intense stress becomes a fixture in the workplace. Prolonged chronic stress finally leads to the burnout and habitual burnout phases, where burnout becomes chronic.
While stress can lead to burnout, many symptoms of burnout and stress are opposites, according to the Midwestern University Counseling Center. Stress is characterized by over-engagement, overreactions, and feelings of urgency, while burnout, according to the center, involves disengagement, emotional detachment, and feelings of hopelessness.
Unaddressed burnout can lead to problems in personal relationships as well as the workplace, depression, substance abuse, and, in some cases, self-harm and suicide. Licensed medical professionals can help those dealing with burnout overcome it and avoid it in the future.
Continue reading for five strategies that can help you manage burnout.
Connect with friends in your industry
Friendship and networking with people in the workplace and across your industry can help manage and reduce the risk of burnout.
According to a 2021 study from team-building firm Wildgoose, 57% of respondents reported having a good friend at work made their job “more enjoyable.” Harvard Business Review notes friendships and workplace connections improve the quality of workplace recommendations and job satisfaction and reduce turnover.
Making connections within your industry can also help build support systems for encouragement, mentorship, and advice. Networking can also help identify common problems within and across workplaces and may yield ideas for solving them.
Approach your boss
If you can, talk to your manager about feeling burned out. See if tasks can be delayed, shared with someone else, automated, or removed from your plate. Knowing what is stressing employees and burning them out can help managers make the necessary adjustments. Bosses should work to create a stigma-free environment where workers feel comfortable enough to be honest about stress and burnout concerns.
Seemingly small acts, like taking sick days for mental health, something a 2022 report by Wysa says American workers tend to avoid doing, can start an honest conversation about burnout concerns. According to the report, which surveyed more than 1,000 American employees, 40% of employees screened positive for symptoms of depression and anxiety, yet the majority were more likely to misrepresent it as a physical illness or go to work anyway.
As Ron Carucci wrote in Harvard Business Review, a key hurdle is a reluctance to be considered needy. Open communication is critical to ensure managers understand behavior by burned-out employees as intentional sabotage rather than exhaustion and overload.
Because some 70% of employees avoid difficult conversations with their boss, both parties can foster open communication by regularly practicing active listening and choosing direct, specific honesty in interactions
Set a defined schedule
Burnout can come from unclear or blended boundaries between work and life. Setting boundaries is a potent form of self-help, according to Psychology Today, which ensures your needs are met and your time isn’t abused.
Boundaries limit the ability of work—or coworkers—to intrude on other key parts of life, like family time, exercise, and recreation. Schedules delineating time for family, work, leisure, and self-reflection are valuable tools for setting boundaries. Schedules also help with avoiding procrastination, which can lead to stress before deadlines.
Perfectionists and people who are often afraid to say no may benefit from boundaries even more than others, finding help setting limits around people-pleasing or taking on more tasks than they can handle.
Take small breaks during the day
In general, as the workday progresses, employee productivity gradually decreases due to fatigue. That can increase stress, especially about finishing key tasks before the day’s end.
Breaks help refresh workers and keep them more productive throughout the day, according to Harvard Business Review, which reduces the likelihood of burnout. Breaks don’t have to be very long to be effective—even microbreaks with a stretch or a short walk can make a difference.
According to Michigan State University, taking breaks during work helps improve decision-making and focus. Breaks also help reduce the risk of sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease by helping manage stress.
Create space for fun and self-care
Self-care and fun activities help stimulate positive emotions, which are essential to avoid falling into burnout. Self-care must also go hand in hand with setting boundaries and planning a schedule to ensure that spending time in self-care doesn’t lead to neglect or running away from challenging tasks.
Additional research by Emma Rubin. Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.
This story originally appeared on Wysa and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Business Achievements celebrate new hires, promotions and business and employee honors. Send information to scott.perry@lee.net. Read more about these companies and individuals at herald-review.com.
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