When Routine Becomes Burdensome: Navigating Work in Uncertain Times

Since I last posted here, the world has picked up speed, and sometimes every day feels like a whirlwind of appointments, expectations, crises, and bad news. I’ve found it difficult to think clearly or write, and it remains challenging to gather my thoughts and focus.

Photo by Davi Moreira on Unsplash

When everyday life becomes more difficult: Working in uncertain times

I have been feeling exhausted for some time now. The news is full of conflicts, crises, and disasters, and it seems as if there’s hardly a break from all the negative headlines. It isn’t just the sheer volume of information; it’s also the feeling that everything is happening at once. The global political situation is tense, and democratic values are being tested more than ever before—uncertainty is permanent and has become the norm. Navigating this uncertainty is a major challenge, but it’s also the skill we need most right now.

Functioning as a duty: Living between roles

To be completely honest: I’m scared. And yet I have to keep going. I have to cope with everyday life in all my different roles. I look at my phone and see countless unanswered messages, appointments, and to-do reminders. It’s getting harder and harder to find moments of peace. It’s as if this uncertain world demands a little more from me every day—even though my inner battery has long since reached the red zone. I find it increasingly difficult to do everything justice, and hiding my vulnerable side only exhausts me further. Even though I am no longer the strong one, I pretend to be for the sake of others.

And then, in my everyday working life, I have to appear as professional and confident as possible. When I arrive at the office in the morning, all these worries should take up little, if any, space. The wishes and tasks of colleagues, superiors, and customers take top priority. When I look around the office, the world here still seems to be in order. I hardly notice anyone’s fears, worries, or conflicts. So every day I balance between powerlessness and professionalism—pretending that everything is fine, pretending that I can function. I even once had a supervisor who told me during my divorce that he assumed it would have no impact on my work.

The exhausting silence

I now realize that keeping everything inside does not help me. It is an ongoing learning process that requires courage. For so long, I believed I had to “function” regardless of what was happening inside me. But the more I try to carry everything on my own, the heavier it becomes. It takes so much energy to maintain the façade. This silent endurance doesn’t make me stronger or more professional; it mainly makes me tired and creates distance—from my own feelings and from my environment. By denying my vulnerability, I miss out on real connections and mutual support.

The courage to be vulnerable: Rethinking strength

That’s why I have slowly started to give myself permission not to be strong all the time. For me, strength no longer means hiding, but allowing. This shift makes vulnerability a source of real strength. For example, when colleagues ask me how I am, I no longer answer “great” or “fine,” but try to respond honestly in that moment. This increasingly helps me be seen not just in my functional roles—as an employee, colleague, or consultant—but more and more often as a human being. Those honest exchanges lead to conversations I would never have had otherwise. A small gesture, an attentive sentence, a moment of closeness—all of these help share the burden of everyday life. And that leads to people around me opening up, and I realize: I am not alone with my stressful thoughts.

Together instead of alone: The power of sharing

It’s not about us all having to share and know everything, or constantly talking about problems and burdens. It’s more about not being alone with what’s on our minds. Finding allies who support us simply by listening takes courage. Sharing our own vulnerability and finding connection in it allows us to enter into relationships, shape them, and share thoughts, feelings, and experiences without fear of judgment. In my experience, this courage is worth it.

Shaping our interactions

I would like to see workplaces where it’s acceptable to be quiet, express doubts, or simply take a deep breath. I envision structures that foster a healthy performance culture while also valuing care, empathy, and genuine cooperation. Environments where openness is seen as a sign of trust and interest in connection, not as a weakness. Where we don’t just talk about results but also listen, encourage, and create a climate in which human vulnerability is just as welcome as any other strength. We must treat mental stress with the same seriousness as physical stress—recognizing mental health as an integral part of our responsibility to one another and as a key factor for effective collaboration in organizations.

Because only when we are seen and accepted as whole human beings—with everything that makes us who we are, including our vulnerabilities—can we truly work, perform, and grow in a sustainable way.

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Feel it, write it

Now it’s your turn to write, to connect with your feelings and thoughts – your inner self. Here are three prompts for your reflection:

1. Word stream against powerlessness: Set a timer for 5 minutes and write down everything that comes to mind about the state of the world without stopping. Don't worry about structure or evaluation. It's about liberation, not perfection.

2. The “little hope” list: Every evening, collect three small moments that showed you that there is also light—a smile, a good sentence in a book, the smell of coffee. This exercise sharpens your eye for the positive.

3. Letters without addressee: Write a letter to “the world,” to “your fear,” or even to “the news.” Say everything that moves you, complain, hope, ask, wish—completely freely and directly.

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Join my next Creative Mornings FieldTrip

When we write, we create spaces for ourselves where we can retreat – to reflect, to muse, and to become aware of ourselves. Because writing helps to escape from daily routines. To put our thoughts and feelings on paper, reveal ourselves and free ourselves from worries to head off for new adventures.

Meet me at my next Creative Mornings FieldTrip “Feel it, write”. I will guide you through some therapeutic writing exercises. There won’t be breakout rooms and you don’t have to share your writing.