Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 5, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 39 By Dr. Paula Fitzpatrick Paula Fitzpatrick is the director of the Center for Well-Being and a faculty affiliate in psychological sciences at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a certified Mindfulness Institute of Emerging Adulthood meditation teacher, and a mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor. 8) Set an intention for the workday. At the start of each day, before jumping into your to-do list, take a moment to set an intention for the day. For example, "May I experience joy in my work" or "May I support my cus- tomers or colleagues in my work." 7) Pause periodically throughout the day. Set a reminder to pause for one to three minutes every two hours. Pay attention to your breathing and bodily sensations, allow the mind to settle, and invite relaxation into any tight spaces within the body. 6) Appreciate nature. Spend a few min- utes each day in nature and notice what you see, hear, smell, and feel. This could be walking from your car or train to your office, or taking a lunchtime walk in a park. Depending on your location, it might be as simple as looking up at the sky. 5) Use an everyday work cue as a re- minder to breathe. Use the power of habit stacking to build mindful breathing through- out your workday. Each time you answer your telephone, respond to an email, jump on a Zoom call, or walk to a meeting, take two or three mindful breaths, noticing the physical sensation of breathing in your body. This helps you ground yourself in the present moment. 4) Eat your lunch mindfully. Choose to eat one or two lunches per week in silence, savoring the colors, sounds, smells, and flavors of the food. Or pause at the start of your lunch to express gratitude for your food and take three or four mindful bites, chew slowly, and enjoy the taste. 3) Connect with your colleagues. Having friends at work helps to boost well-being and work productivity. Take a few minutes each day to speak with close associates, preferably about topics not related to work. 2) Notice if you are rushing. When you are walking to a meeting, the restroom, or your car, notice if you are rushing. Explore if you can move without activating rushing energy. 1) Create a simple ritual to transition from work to home. As you are opening your door when you arrive at home, take a minute to mentally express gratitude for the comfort of your home. Helping neurodiverse students build financial literacy confidence BY SLOANE M. PERRON Special to WBJ I n the world of organic marketing and content creation, thought leadership is emerging as a powerful strategy for building brand awareness. When company leaders share their insights, experiences, and expertise openly, they not only provide value to their audience but also strengthen their own credibility. is exchange of ideas helps readers gain new perspectives and fosters trust both in the individual and the brand they represent. Find your niche. It is impossible to be an expert in everything. To position yourself as a thought leader, you need to assess where your expertise lies, and what your strengths are as a leader. ese unique insights are what attract Positioning yourself as a thought leader Calla Flannery is the assistant vice president of community and business development at Workers Credit Union in Littleton. BY CALLA FLANNERY Special to WBJ A pril was both Financial Literacy Month and Autism Acceptance Month. Financial literacy is important, but can be elusive for many people, especially young people. According to Moneyzine, 88% of Americans say they weren't fully prepared to handle money in high school and the percentage of U.S. adults demonstrating a low level of financial literacy has increased from 20% in 2017 to 25% in 2023. Many students living within the autism spectrum face unique challenges in accessing financial literacy in ways that will allow them to succeed, yet many support services in high schools end when they are 22 years old. In my role on the Workers Credit Union Community Business Development team, one of the ways that we engage our communities is by bringing financial literacy to schools. Our work revealed a need for inclusive financial literacy tailored to help neurodiverse students achieve independence and confidence in managing their finances. Together, with schools including RFK Community Alliance in Lancaster and Nashoba Regional High School Transitions Class in Bolton, Workers Credit Union strives to fill this need. e presentations cover budgeting basics, spotting scams, and the process of interacting with a teller to make a basic transaction. Special education professionals help ensure the lessons meet the students' specific needs.is includes adjusting the communication style and modifying visual aids to minimize sensory overload, as well as incorporating tools like closed captioning in the presentations. Interactive activities during the class help bring these concepts to life. A favorite game called "Keep or Toss" illustrates which documents should be saved, such as a pay stub, and which should be thrown out, like a food receipt. Students are able to get up and toss those documents they don't want saved, creating a fun learning environment. Another goal is to demystify financial practices, like filling out a check or completing a teller transaction. Workers Credit Union has a large erasable version of a check for practicing filling one out. Visiting a branch together makes the process of interacting with a teller a positive one. I've seen firsthand how inclusive financial education can transform the lives of young people in the neurodiverse community. I had a former student come up to me at a job fair. He told me that he still uses the do's and don'ts of debit cards he learned. Together, we can create a supportive environment where every person has the opportunity to thrive. 8 THINGS I know about... ... How to be mindful throughout the workday audiences. "Focus on what you know best and home in on that message repeatedly. It's more effective to go deep on a few topics than to spray across too many complementary topics," says CEO of Skaled Consulting Jake Dunlap in an interview with Business News Daily reporter Skye Schooley. Engage through relevant channels. Every industry's audience will have a different way of consuming content. Determining what content your targeted audience will be interested in is one obstacle while finding out what platforms to use will be another. anks to LinkedIn, thought leadership pieces are more accessible on social media, but other avenues such as public speaking, conferences, newsletters, podcasts, and so on, can be just as impactful. Ali Schwanke from Simple Strat recommends that aspiring thought leaders start by choosing the right platform, content type, and publishing frequency thereby creating a strategy that aligns with their audience and benefits their brand. Build audience loyalty. Trust is the name of the game in thought leadership. rough consistent content and genuine, informative messaging, business leaders can create brand awareness, and more importantly, audience loyalty. "Let's define precisely what brand trust and credibility are: ey are the degrees to which customers view a brand as an authoritative, reliable, and safe source of information, products, or services. Simply put, brand trust is a company's reputation online and offline," writes Dylan Duke for Forbes. W W W

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