Posted by Updated November 2025
Crushing Workplace Fear in 2025
In 2025, work can feel like a tightrope act—trying to appear calm and capable while the world beneath us keeps shifting. Economic uncertainty, global conflict, climate anxiety, and post-pandemic burnout all add to the pressure. One thing to remember: nearly everyone feels it. Most of us have lost someone—to COVID, addiction, or mental health struggles. Millions of young people still battle depression amplified by screen life and isolation. Parents juggle work with digital homework duty long after hours. And too many are still searching for steady employment. The truth is, nobody’s got it completely together—and that shared reality may be the most unifying fact of modern life.
Showtime
All the world’s a stage. In the working world, it seems we’re in a contest to see who adapts the best or who best can hide the nagging anxiety. Understanding that we all are having a common experience is in itself healing and unifying. Talking about it is even better (so long as you keep the politics out of it). If ever there was a better opportunity for a manager to create a more relaxing and fun workplace, it’s right now. Many of us have forgotten how to have fun. It’s up to leadership at all levels support a compassionate corporate culture, perhaps offering group sessions for sharing personal pandemic experiences. Nobody survived the past year unscathed, including the stiff upper lips in top management.
Remote teams are really in the same boat as office staff, even more so if they live alone. While they have freedom and flexibility, working in your pajamas can be downright depressing. Being social animals, we all get lonely in isolation, even when we are not physically, but emotionally isolated. Getting out of the emotional slump means getting social — the entire team — either face to face or by teleconferencing.
If absence makes the employee’s heart grow fonder, then a team reunion in cyberspace or at the office can reignite relationships that have been in hibernation for a year.
Virtual Team Building
At Venture Up, we’ve been able to keep up the pace during isolation working on Cyberthon virtual team games that turned out to be a big hit.
Cyberthon is probably the most addictive (in a fun way) set of games we have offered since we began in 1983. During the last six months alone, Southern Company, CSG and USDA Puerto Rico have run repeat programs.
Venture Up (est. 1983) is the original team building company, helping organizations build trust and collaboration through real-world experience.
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