Wellbeing for Cybersecurity Personnel: Finding Balance As You Protect Your Company's Cyber Wellbeing

I. Use Separate Social Media and Email Accounts for Personal Use

Algorithms make everything easier. They tailor our feeds to user preferences and interests, offering a more personalized online experience. Cybersecurity professionals rely on platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit and Twitter to keep up with related news and trends. However, algorithms cannot differentiate between your professional needs and personal interests. 

If you’re constantly seeing cybersecurity-related content even after work hours, it’s ging to create mental fatigue. To prevent this, set up different social media accounts for your professional and private use. Log off the moment you step out of work. This will let you be updated with relevant content, but on your own time.

II. Organize, Organize, Organize! 

Did you know that 97% of the C-Suite believe that the security team could provide more value for the budget allocated to them? When you don’t have a great support system outside your team, your members need to have each other’s back. 

The first step in achieving this (which will benefit your team’s work culture as well) is to have transparent communication within the team. Every member must know what everyone else is doing. This way, you can easily organize, schedule, and delegate each member’s work around each other’s. 

If you regularly review what each team member contributes, you can easily seek out and avoid having multiple people do the same task. 

Similarly, when it comes to keeping up with trends and industry-specific news, delegating different members to consume specialized information can save you all tons of time. Another plus of using this method is that you can bridge personal communication gaps between team members since they will be constantly engaging in conversation with their findings with others, making your team a friendly and responsive space. This will eventually improve your team’s overall performance. 

III. Take Steps To Improve How Your Team Shows Up For Each Other

Your teammates are probably as stressed as you are, if not more. Remember to have each other’s back no matter what. You’re all in the same boat. 

Prioritize fun activities with your colleagues to help your team recharge:

• Have a game night or office trivia to de-stress during the weekends.
• Throw in icebreaker activities to encourage a friendly space for new ideas to pour in.
• Break a sweat doing team sports or voluntary work and form stronger bonds.
• Indulge in simulation games that recreate your workplace challenges.

IV. Pave The Way for a Responsive Cyber Security Culture at your Workplace

While you should be strongly advocating for your team members, fostering a supportive security culture amidst colleagues from other departments will make life easier for you. It’ll help you to: 

• Add credibility to the security projects you undertake. 
• Demand the required budget for your security projects.
• Prevent your colleagues from accidentally leaking data (like phishing attacks).
• Keep your client information safe. 

Want an in-depth guide to building a pro-security culture at your organization? Read our detailed piece here. Five Tips To Drive A Cybersecurity Transformation In Your Organization.

V. As Redundant As It Might Sound, Exercise And Meditate!

We’ve already established that working in cyber security leaves you with a demanding schedule. But it’s essential to squeeze in some time for your physical health. Try your best to add in a 30 minute workout or meditation session twice or thrice a week. It doesn’t have to be an everyday practice. You could also revisit your favorite sport that you’ve perhaps lost touch with if exercise and meditation are not your cup of tea. 

Exercise can boost your energy, calm your racing mind, reduce stress and improve focus so that you can go back to your work recharged, make better decisions and perform better in high pressure environments.