This Company Is Using Technology To Help Fight Work From Home Burnout

Recently I interviewed Irad Eichler the CEO and founder of Circles, the digital emotional support group platform connecting people going through similar struggles and helping them maintain their mental health by implementing a hybrid peer and professional support system. Eichler won the United Nations Project Zero Prize for impactful social enterprises in 2017 and was named Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the World Economic Forum.

I asked Irad to discuss how Circles is providing peer support to people who are dealing with emotional issues especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Here is what Irad had to say.

Gary Drenik: What is Circles mission? What issues do Circles users face when coming to the platform?

Irad Eichler: The inception of Circles was inspired by my own mother’s struggle to find a support group of people who understood what she was going through battling breast cancer. It’s a horrible disease and it didn’t leave her with many options for support groups as she was immunocompromised and couldn’t travel to be with people in one room to speak about her struggles. Although I was at her bedside day and night, she yearned to speak with someone else that understood exactly what she was going through. When she passed, I myself felt very lonely and didn’t know anyone who had gone through something similar to speak about my feelings.

Circles was born as a safe space for people who need to speak to others going through the same struggles. Peer support is core to Circles’ mission, alongside professional therapists that facilitates the gatherings.

We started out as a company using technology to help cancer patients to find people going through the same struggle, due to my personal story. As Covid-19 came into our lives I realized that so many people, on so many issues, need an online support group to help them with their life struggles. According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics Survey, 21% of people would want to go back to the office after Covid-19 is over. Circles also noticed a demand increase for people, aged 35-55 that are victims of Covid-19 unspoken side effects: burnout from working from home, struggles with our life partner, juggling kids in lockdown and our career and more.

Drenik: 64% of adults 18+ feel Covid-19 has affected their mental or emotional well-being, how can Circles assist with this?

Eichler: Circles has been helping our users cope with certain struggles prior to the emergence of Covid-19. Since the rise of the global pandemic and due to increasing demand, we have opened more offerings. Prosper Insights & Analytics Survey on mental well-being states that 40% of those working from home are experiencing heightened anxiety and 25% felt more lonely. We’ve seen our users utilize the platform to find mutual relief and encouragement and develop coping skills during these trying times.

We have groups that have been curated based on our technology to connect people dealing with various topics affected by Covid-19 and everyday struggles, such as Career, work-life balance, burnout, parenting, marriage and relationship, being a caregiver for elderly relatives, moving back in with parents due to a change in the financial status and more.

Drenik: What are the demographics and profiles of Circles’ users?

Eichler: Circles users are found globally from all walks of life. Our platform is online, accessible and an affordable alternative to 1:1 therapists. Our methodology focuses on creating a hybrid peer group of support with professional support in the form of a therapist. This approach has proven effective and allows our users to not only find mutual support but build personal resilience.

Research we conducted showed that the 2020 holiday season was about to be a very sensitive time. Holidays can be a very challenging time when you aren’t able to be surrounded by loved ones, and this was expected to take place in numerous homes due to Covid-19’s impact. We decided to initiate circles focused on managing holiday stress while balancing the new normal of working from home. The circles were free of charge and open to everyone. Hundreds of people joined and some of them said it was their holiday lifeline. Jenny from Arkansas lost her husband to Covid-19. She felt as if she had no one in the world and no one was wishing her a Merry Christmas. The holiday cheer was absent as she wasn’t going into an office to celebrate with co-workers. She was at home, by herself, grieving and trying to keep up with her work routine. She joined one of our Holiday Circles and was surrounded by a circle of support that connected her to others who helped her through the Holiday Season.

This is an example of how Circles is affecting users’ lives while lacking mental health help options in a remote setting.

Drenik: How is Circles method unique to other platforms offering emotional support during this difficult time?

Eichler: Circles’ methodology provides online support groups offering emotional support by connecting individuals with people going through similar situations, and according to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics Survey 17% of Americans 18 and older are experiencing anxiety from being confined to their homes, or the 15% worried about financial instability and running out of money to provide for themselves. Through small (max 10 people), secure online groups led by a professional therapist, the participants find collective relief and reassurance, establish skills to manage the challenges they face, and form individual strength.

As an example, one of the Circles’ participants lost her job 3 weeks ago, while another had the same experience 4 years ago. The benefits of meeting each other and sharing a circle are mutual: the first woman sees how life might look like down the road and that she will survive and prevail. The older woman sees what a path she has undergone and all that she has overcome. These women wouldn't have met if it wasn't for Circles.

Drenik: What kind of technology is Circles using to help work-life balance?

Eichler: Circles uses AI and ML to curate circles of people that are going through the same challenges and struggles. This technology is crucial in order to create a circle of support that is right for each person. Our technology sorts through demographics as well as specific struggles our users face, to better place them in a group of people who are going through the same challenges so they can feel empathy and relate to individuals in their sessions. We have found tremendous success using this technology and our users leave sessions feeling a sense of community, that they are not the only ones going through what they are going through, and most importantly, that they will get through their struggle, and become a stronger person because of it.

One of our users, Debra, was suffering from depression and hasn't gotten out of bed for weeks. She failed to “show up” to any of her conference calls and hardly communicated with her colleagues. Circles found people who are facing the same struggles and could offer peer support to Debra in a circle of support. Their mutual depression linked them and created a stronger bond with each other which gave Debra strength. After her second session, she felt empowered by her group and got out of bed for the first time in a long time and was able to continue her work and be present in her work meetings.

Drenik: Thanks, Irad, for your insights on the hybrid approach to support groups and mental health help and for enlightening us on the importance of accessibility to a platform such as Circles, that can really solve the greater pandemic that is spoken about widely.

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