Managing workload effectively is something that affects every team.
Stress and burnout are present across industries, roles and levels of seniority. We talk a lot about resilience, sustainable performance and employee wellbeing, but what I have learned through facilitating our Workload & Recovery workshops is surprisingly simple.
People often already know what they need.
They just rarely have the time or space to stop long enough to see it.
Two hours can reveal a lot
I have been amazed by what can happen in a carefully designed two-hour workshop.
We begin by slowing down.
I guide participants through a structured creative process that gives them time to reflect on their own workload, stress and recovery. Instead of starting with a discussion or asking people to immediately explain how they feel, we begin by painting.
There is a reason for this.
Creativity opens up different channels for thinking. It allows us to approach something familiar from another perspective.
As thoughts and feelings gradually become visible on the canvas through colours, shapes and images, something interesting happens. We can almost step outside them and look at them differently.
Stress is no longer simply a feeling of “too much”.
It becomes something we can see, explore and begin to understand.
The source of stress is not always what we think
One of the most interesting things I have noticed in these workshops is how often participants discover that the real source of their stress is not what they initially assumed.
It is easy to think: Work is stressful.
But what does that actually mean?
Sometimes it is the volume of work. But sometimes it is constant interruptions, unclear expectations, lack of boundaries or the feeling of never finishing anything.
And sometimes the biggest source of stress is not work at all.
There may be things happening elsewhere in life that affect how much capacity we have available when we arrive at work.
Painting gives people a way to explore this without having to immediately find the right words.
There is also something incredibly relieving about simply getting those feelings out of your head and onto a canvas.
Participants often describe the experience as therapeutic, although it is important to be clear that this is not therapy. It is a facilitated process of creativity, reflection and conversation.
But expressing something that has been sitting inside us can, in itself, bring relief.
Then we realise we are not alone
The next part is equally important.
We share.
Not everything. Nobody is required to disclose anything they do not want to share.
But when people begin talking about what they have noticed, something changes in the room.
We start seeing our colleagues as human beings rather than simply the roles they perform at work.
Everyone experiences stress.
The reasons may be completely different, or surprisingly similar.
Someone may be overwhelmed by constant meetings. Someone else may be struggling to switch off after work. Another person may be carrying responsibilities outside work that nobody in the team knew about.
When these experiences are shared, people begin to understand one another differently.
There is often a visible sense of relief in discovering: It isn’t just me.
That creates connection.
It creates empathy.
And it creates a kind of humanity that can easily disappear from working life when everyone is busy delivering, performing and moving from one deadline to the next.
The answer is often already on the canvas
This is probably the part of these workshops that fascinates me most.
Once participants can actually see their sources of stress in front of them, we begin looking at what could change.
What is within my control?
Could I approach something differently?
Where might I need stronger boundaries?
What helps me recover?
Is there something I need more of?
And what could I let go of?
I have yet to have a participant who could not identify something they could do differently.
That matters.
Because the workshop is not about telling people how to manage their lives. I am not standing in front of the room giving people ten tips for reducing stress.
The answers come from them.
And that creates something much more powerful than advice: agency.
People recognise that while we cannot control everything that happens around us, there are often aspects of our workload, boundaries, recovery and everyday choices that we can influence.
They leave with their own next steps towards more sustainable ways of working and better recovery.
The solution was not something I gave them.
In many cases, they already knew it.
They simply needed the space and a different way of thinking to uncover it.
There is a team benefit too
Workload and recovery are personal, but they are not purely individual issues.
How we work affects the people around us.
When team members understand each other’s pressures better, there is more empathy. Open conversations about workload also help teams respond before someone reaches breaking point. And if colleagues understand that someone is under pressure, behaviour that might otherwise be interpreted as impatience, disengagement or poor communication can be seen in a different light.
That shared understanding matters for psychological safety, team cohesion and sustainable performance.
It also helps create a culture where wellbeing is not something we discuss only when somebody is already struggling.
Prevention becomes part of how the team works.
And then there is what painting itself does
There is another dimension to all of this.
Painting is relaxing.
You can feel it in the room. Conversations soften. People become absorbed in what they are doing. Shoulders drop. There is laughter. People stop checking their phones.
And research supports what we observe.
A Drexel University study measured participants’ cortisol levels before and after 45 minutes of art-making. Cortisol is commonly used as a biological marker of stress. The researchers found that cortisol levels decreased significantly for the majority of participants after the creative session.
What I particularly like about this research is that artistic experience was not important.
You do not need to be “creative”, and you certainly do not need to know how to paint.
All you need is permission to stop doing what you normally do for a while.
A serious subject does not require a serious atmosphere
Workload, stress and burnout are serious subjects.
But that does not mean a workshop about them needs to feel heavy.
Our Workload & Recovery workshops have plenty of laughter. People experiment with colours, make a mess, talk, reflect and often surprise themselves with what appears on their canvas.
For two hours, colleagues get to meet one another differently.
They learn something about themselves and each other, while identifying practical steps towards better recovery and more sustainable ways of working.
And they have fun together.
That combination is important.
Because workplace wellbeing does not have to be another programme employees are asked to complete.
Sometimes it can simply begin by creating space for people to stop, think, express what is happening and listen to one another.
The real value of prevention is not only reducing stress.
It is helping people recognise what is happening early enough to do something about it, and reminding them that they often already hold more of the answer than they realise.
Continue reading
Why Creativity Builds Psychological Safety in Teams
The Power of Painting for Teams
Why Teams Struggle With Change
Why Change Management Fails When We Forget Feelings
About the author
Peppi Stünkel is the founder of Team Creativity, helping organisations improve communication, collaboration and innovation through structured creativity. Her workshops use painting as a practical thinking tool to create meaningful conversations, fresh perspectives and stronger teams.
