Into the Headwinds: How to protect women’s wellbeing at work

Every August, during Women’s Month, we celebrate how far we’ve come while acknowledging the ongoing structural barriers women face at work. But as I sit down with female leaders, managers, and young professionals every day, I hear a familiar story: the weight of navigating modern workplaces is taking a heavy toll on women’s well-being.

But what if we could activate just three capacities that would give us an 8.6 times greater chance of experiencing high well-being and daily functioning regardless of our position on the corporate ladder?

A ground-breaking 2026 study analyzing over 43,000 women across 114 countries revealed a stark reality: women in middle management are experiencing the largest well-being declines in the workforce. They are caught in the “squeezed middle”—balancing demanding team responsibilities from below with expanding executive pressures from above.

Sound familiar? If you are feeling depleted, know that it isn’t a lack of effort or ambition on your part. It is often the result of carrying an enormous amount of unseen emotional labour in environments that don’t always replenish your tank.

Protect Your Energy – The Power of the Resource Triad

To understand how to protect your energy, it helps to think of your brain’s emotional intelligence like the smartphone in your hand.

Your brain relies on 18 dynamic “Brain Apps”—learned, practical talents that process emotional and cognitive data to help you solve problems, make decisions, and drive action. Just like the software on your phone, you have default apps you run constantly, while others sit in the background waiting to be opened.

The research reveals that out of all 18 possibilities, three specific “Brain Apps” form a vital Resource Triad that shields women against workplace depletion:

• Commitment: Staying anchored to what truly matters and aligning your internal drive with your long-term vision. This creates tenacity and perseverance.

• Resilience: Not just bouncing back, but bouncing ahead by finding opportunities within obstacles. You take ownership of solutions.

• Proactivity: Taking self-initiated action based on your internal values rather than operating in constant fire-fighting mode. You address challenges before they arise, you don’t wait for others, you harness your own internal drive.

In my next blog, I will unpack how to strengthen each of these three.

When women intentionally run this specific triad, the well-being gap between career levels drastically narrows. In fact, leaders who activate these three capacities are 8.6 times more likely to experience high well-being and daily functioning—regardless of their position on the corporate ladder.

Which Apps Are Running on Your Device?

Take a moment to reflect: Which of the 18 “Brain Apps” are you relying on right now? Are you overusing certain apps under pressure until your battery drains?

And more importantly—do you have Commitment, Resilience, and Proactivity open, or are they running in the background?

The beauty of “Brain Apps” is that they aren’t fixed personality traits you are born with; they are dynamic, flexible capabilities you can update and activate at any time.

A Note from My Heart to Yours: You do not need to master all 18 talents overnight. Even opening and strengthening just one or two of these core apps creates an immediate layer of protection for your mental and emotional bandwidth. Make the thinking visible with clarity on which apps you frequently download.

Take Your Next Step

Sustainable leadership begins with diagnostic clarity.

I invite you to take our Brain Talents Profile. In just a few minutes, this snapshot will reveal your top active “Brain Apps,” highlight where your energy is leaking, and give you an actionable roadmap to lead with clarity, resilience, and impact.

👉 Link: Discover Your Brain Talents

Let’s stop just surviving the workplace headwinds. Let’s optimize your inner operating system.

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