Workplace stress is at an all-time high. Depression and anxiety jumped by 25% globally during the pandemic. In every workplace Sara is engaged with, folks are struggling. But designers often sweep their issues under the rug. “Other people have it worse. I shouldn’t worry about myself right now,” we tell ourselves. “We just need to push through a little longer, this product launch is too important,” we say to one another. But we can't design healthy, inclusive experiences if we’re working in unhealthy ways ourselves. In this talk, we explore why that is, and what you can do about it.

We’ll cover:
Why understanding and processing your stress is essential to doing responsible design work—and how to get better at it.
What you can do to develop a healthier relationship to your work—without letting go of the passion that brought you to the field.
How we can build the community and solidarity needed to challenge design industry norms like perfectionism and overwork
Why we all need to become more trauma-informed in our design work, our teams and our leadership approaches