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Workers Told: Look After Yourself to Stay Strong at Work
Clinical psychologist Fiona Charles-Richards has urged workers in Antigua and Barbuda to take personal responsibility for their mental well-being, drawing on her experience in national rehabilitation programmes to highlight the value of resilience and self-care.
Speaking at the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU) forum on workplace stress and mental health, Charles-Richards said toxic environments can quietly erode productivity and morale, but workers are not powerless.
She argued that cultivating healthier mindsets and practicing self-care are crucial to surviving—and thriving—in demanding jobs.
Charles-Richards, Director of the Family and Social Services Division, has spent her career reforming institutions and creating programmes aimed at restoring hope and structure for vulnerable groups.
She led the transformation of the Dennis Bowers Rehabilitation Centre, steering it toward restorative approaches for youth, and established national initiatives such as REACH and DIVES to expand rehabilitation pathways for children.
She told delegates that the same principles apply in workplaces: environments can either nurture growth or reinforce harm.
“The workplace you want starts with you,” she said, adding that resilience requires workers to set boundaries, practice stress relief, and recognise when to step back from harmful dynamics.
Charles-Richards also reminded employees that self-care is not indulgence but necessity, with stress hormones like cortisol directly linked to hypertension, diabetes, and cancer.
By prioritising wellness, she argued, workers not only protect their own health but strengthen their capacity to contribute meaningfully at work.
Her call for balance and responsibility echoed the wider theme of the ABWU’s 58th Annual Delegates Conference, which emphasised solidarity, adaptation to change, and preparing workers for the future.
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It’s important to remember that a workplace, at its core, is just a building. The environment is created by the people within it. When we talk about “toxic workplaces,” we often point fingers at the organization itself, but isn’t it really the workers who bring the energy, attitudes, and behaviors that shape that space?
A workplace only becomes toxic when individuals carry negative mindsets, poor communication, and destructive attitudes into it. Yet, instead of holding people accountable, we sometimes blame the institution and label it as toxic, giving businesses a bad name.
If we truly want healthier, more productive environments, the conversation shouldn’t just be about self-care programs or company policies, it should also be about encouraging workers themselves to stop perpetuating toxic behaviors. After all, culture is built by people, not walls.
It’s the people on the job that needs to change.