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April is Stress Awareness Month and who canāt use some good pointers for how to keep calm and carry on. We reached out to three senior leaders at Birmingham-based Protective Life Corporation to get their top tips for stress management. Hereās what they told us.
Meet 3 senior leaders at Protective
Wendy Evesque: Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Wendy leads Protectiveās human resources team, with a focus on people and culture. In her off time, she loves spending time with her family, reading and being outside.
Pooja Rahman: Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer

Pooja leads Risk Management for Protective and engages on a broad range of issues and company decisions. Family time and daily outdoor walks fill up her day outside of work.
Matthew Kohler: Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

At work, Matthewās responsible for Protectiveās entire IT operation, from cybersecurity to business systems. Hobbies are the secret to reducing stress. When heās not at work, youāll find him building, fixing, creating or fishing on the Cahaba River.
Since all three work in demanding leadership positions at a company thatās focused on protecting peopleās well-being, we knew theyād have some things to teach the rest of us about stress management.
Wendyās top tips for handling stressful situations

1. Stay focused on the critical few.
From Rich Bielen, Protectiveās CEO, sheās learned to stay focused on what matters and has the most impact.
Wendyās learned that she can āreally only successfully keep three to five significant items in the air at one time.ā
2. Itās not personal + itās probably not about you.
āEarly in my career, a mentor coached me to always take a step back and look at the big picture. Sometimes people get emotional, but most of the time, they have good intentions. If you focus on understanding the underlying situation and how to help others, you get to a good place.ā
3. Breathe.
āI had the benefit of going through the Momentum Executive Leadership Program years ago. Barbara Royal always told us to breathe. Meaning literally, breathe, but also making time and space to slow down, take care of yourself, and reflect⦠even if only for a moment or two.ā
4. Have a strong network.
You need people you can trust, talk to and learn from.
5. Experiment + find what works for you.
This will shift and change as your career and personal life evolve.
6. Work + life are a blend.
āThe lines are blurry and itās hard to separate the two. I donāt even try any more. I wish I had learned that earlier.ā
Poojaās favorite coping strategies for stress management

Hereās what Poojaās learned over the years:
1. Manage what needs to be managed now.
Solve the problem thatās right in front of you.
2. Circle back around to see if broader changes are needed.
Once things have calmed down, go back to see if broader solutions might help you achieve better outcomes over time.
3. Remember that you have the power of prioritization.
This helps individuals and teams refocus and feel a sense of control. Not everything can change, or needs to change, today.
4. Communication is key.
āDirect, honest and respectful communications can make even the most stressful situations a little bit better.ā
Matthewās tips for keeping cool when things are heating up
1. Really good trusted working relationships make all the difference.
If youāre going to have to roll up your sleeves and solve problems in a crisis, it helps when you and your colleagues know youāve got each otherās backs.
2. Have a common goal to solve the problem and do the right thing.
Putting the needs of the company first can help everyone stay focused on solving the problem at hand.
3. Donāt abandon what makes you feel fulfilled.
āHobbies help you get away from work when youāre not at work. And, depending on your role and interests, you need to make sure youāre satisfying those additional interests outside of your core job to feel more satisfied in your personal life. Ultimately, this helps you handle stress on a personal and professional level.ā
Employee benefits can go a long way toward decreasing stress + advancing employee well-being

Finally, we asked Wendy about the benefits Protective offers their employees to make their lives less stressful.
She said they recognize that people are in different places personally and professionally, so they aim to provide a broad variety of well-being resources to meet them where they are and provide the support they need.
Here are just a few:
- Time + place
- Workplace flexibility
- Paid time offāfor any reason you need it
- Service timeāgive back to the community
- Mental well-being support
- Online resource center and mobile app with quick tools and videos
- 1:1 counseling through BetterHelp for short-term or acute uses
- 1:1 counseling through a mental health provider for chronic or ongoing issues, including anxiety, depression and addiction
- Physical well-being support
- Online well-being platform that offers educational modules, virtual exercise classes, access to health coaches, points for logging healthy behaviors + the opportunity to participate in walking challenges.
- 1:1 coaching provided by an on-staff dietician
- Plus, in the Birmingham site, thereās an onsite health clinic, a gym and massage therapy.
- Parental support
- Paid parental leave benefits: 12 weeks paid leave for delivering mothers + 6 weeks paid leave for fathers
- MavenāMaternity + Paternity support: health advisors can provide support around birth plans, delivery, adoption, return-to-work planning, breastfeeding + more.
- Breast Milk Shipping services: for nursing mothers who travel for work.
Does this sound like a place youād like to work? Protectiveās hiring. Check out their jobs listings today.
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