Attorney Launches Mental Health Pledge to Combat Workplace Burnout

Shannon Kobylarczyk, a Wisconsin-based attorney and former corporate legal leader, has launched her Personal Mental Health & Resilience Pledge, drawing from her professional experience in governance and her personal journey balancing career, family, and well-being. The initiative emerges against a backdrop of alarming workplace stress statistics, including findings from the American Psychological Association that 77% of employees report work-related stress and nearly 3 in 5 workers experience negative mental health impacts from their jobs. Kobylarczyk's approach applies corporate principles of clarity and structure to personal wellness, arguing that resilience involves rebuilding rather than pretending everything is fine, and that effective leadership requires addressing one's own mental health proactively.

The pledge centers on seven concrete, daily commitments that promote mental health awareness, boundary-setting, and sustainable performance in demanding careers. These include taking uninterrupted daily breaks without screens, scheduling non-negotiable weekly wellness activities, speaking openly about mental health in appropriate settings, setting clear work-hour boundaries, conducting weekly stress check-ins with trusted individuals, prioritizing sleep as a leadership responsibility, and seeking support early rather than at crisis points. Kobylarczyk emphasizes that mental health "doesn't wait its turn" and must be addressed proactively through practical, structured habits that individuals can implement immediately, regardless of broader systemic changes.

Complementing the pledge is a comprehensive Do-It-Yourself Mental Wellness Toolkit featuring 10 free actionable steps anyone can take, such as taking phone-free walks, identifying stress triggers with corresponding boundaries, setting work "hard stop" times, and replacing social media scrolling with reading. The toolkit also includes a 30-Day Progress Tracker structured around weekly themes of awareness, boundaries, communication, and sustainability, encouraging users to reflect on lasting changes after one month. Kobylarczyk invites professionals, working parents, and individuals to join her in this commitment, sharing that while the path won't be perfect, consistently showing up for oneself builds genuine resilience and sustainable performance in both personal and professional realms.