Pressure as Part of Reality
For the past 6 years, I’ve been working as a People Partner in the IT industry. And honestly, the word “pressure” for us isn’t something abstract — it’s part of the reality we work and grow in.
In our world, pressure isn’t just about deadlines. It’s about releases with uncertainty, shifting priorities in the middle of a sprint, scaling teams, and responsibility to the business. Your decisions affect more than just a single task.
You feel it the most during transition periods: when the team is growing, new directions, are launching, structures are changing, and the market brings new challenges.
And in moments like this, people tend to work a bit longer, talk less about how they feel, and slowly get used to being tired.Challenging periods at work are normal. The real question isn’t whether they exist — it’s what we, as a company, do about them.
Common Risks of Overload
There’s a pretty typical scenario:
- talking about your state is seen as a sign of weakness;
- overload becomes the norm;
- people shut down.
And eventually, people ask for help only when everything is already “on fire” or someone is already burned out. Not because someone is doing a bad job — but because many company cultures simply don’t allow for anything different.
Support for Comfort: how we actually do it
At Trading Space, one of our principles is Support for Comfort — just like you need the right gear in the game, we provide the equipment and support to help you perform at your best.
And this is not about “softness” or lowering standards. It’s about maturity and responsibility for people.
Support is built into the entire employee lifecycle — not just the role of a People Partner.
So what do we actually do?
💡 Regular 1:1s — not as a checkbox, but as a real conversation.We talk about workload, what drains energy, what can be adjusted before things get critical.
And yes — we always ask about life outside of work, because it’s all connected.
💡 Revisiting priorities — it’s completely normal for us to say: “At this pace, we’ll lose both quality and the person.” And then work with the manager to find a better way forward.
💡 Flexibility and recovery — extra days off, redistributing tasks when needed.
💡 Early signals —we don’t ignore them. If someone drops out of communication, works constant overtime, or shows signs of mental fatigue — we act.
For example, we have Support Boxes.
When we see someone struggling, we send them a box with things they actually like — snacks, cozy items, small personal touches.
And always a note with real words of support.
Support is action — but words matter too
We talk about burnout risks before they become a problem.
But we also don’t underestimate simple things — sometimes a person just needs another person and a few honest words of support.
And we mean it. Not as a script.
The role of a People Partner is not control or “HR supervision”. It’s a point of trust — a place you can go to before things fall apart.
We also have a clear internal rule: if someone says something should stay confidential — it stays confidential.
This wasn’t accidental. It was a conscious decision from our HRD to build real, not declarative, psychological safety.
People have different experiences with HR. For us, it was important to become a partner and support system — not just a function. And yes — People Partners don’t “pass things along” that shouldn’t be shared.
Because trust is either there — or it isn’t.
And what about cases?
Сase 1️⃣
The team was entering a challenging release. There were a lot of tasks, priorities kept shifting, the pace was high, and fatigue was already there — but no one was openly talking about it.
Together with the managers, we:
- openly discussed the real situation: high workload and the importance of the release;
- greed on hiring to distribute the load;
- planned mandatory time off after the release.
As a result, the team felt real support and valued. The release was successful — and people didn’t burn out in the process.
Case 2️⃣
A strong spacer had been working at a high pace for a long time. To prevent burnout, we:
- revisited delegation and workload distribution;
- expanded the team;
- after onboarding new teammates, the person returned to a sustainable pace.
These are not heroic actions. This is basic, mature work with people that supports culture and long-term stability.
Balancing Ambition and Support
Support doesn’t mean lowering the bar. Our standards, responsibility, and expectations stay high. But support makes it possible to sustain that level over time — without running people into the ground.
It leads to real outcomes:
- less hidden tension;
- healthier, more mature teams;
- stable productivity;
- open and honest communication.
In a system where Support for Comfort is consistently present, people feel safe. They can speak openly and get support before problems escalate.
And again, this is not just a feeling.
Before launching a training program for new managers, we ran an internal survey and saw a high level of psychological safety across teams.
For us, that’s a strong signal we’re moving in the right direction.
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We often say that together we can do more — and for us, it’s not just a phrase.
Together, we create, support and grow as a team that actually has each other’s backs. Because at the end of the day, people are not a resource — they’re what everything here is built on.
That’s why for us, people truly come first — not as a slogan, but as a way we work Trading Space is not a “comfortable place without expectations.”It’s a place with real responsibility and ambition — but also real support and care for people. And this balance defines who we truly are as a company.
