MILWAUKEE, WI — Shannon Kobylarczyk, an attorney and former corporate legal leader, today announced the launch of her Personal Mental Health & Resilience Pledge, a set of seven personal commitments designed to address the growing crisis of workplace stress and burnout. The initiative draws on her professional experience in governance and accountability, as well as lessons from her own journey balancing career, family, and personal well-being.
The pledge focuses on practical, daily behaviors that promote mental health awareness, boundary-setting, and sustainable performance. According to the American Psychological Association, 77% of employees report experiencing work-related stress, and nearly 3 in 5 workers report negative mental health impacts from their jobs. The National Alliance on Mental Illness notes that 1 in 5 U.S. adults experiences mental illness each year, and over 60% do not receive treatment.
"I spent years taking care of everyone except myself," said Kobylarczyk. "Eventually, that catches up with you." Her pledge includes commitments such as taking at least one uninterrupted 10-minute break daily without screens, scheduling one non-negotiable wellness activity per week, speaking openly about mental health, setting clear boundaries around work hours, and prioritizing sleep as a leadership responsibility.
Kobylarczyk believes that clarity and structure—values she applied in corporate governance—are equally essential for personal wellness. "When people understand expectations, they perform better," she said. "That includes the expectations we set for ourselves." The pledge is accompanied by a Do-It-Yourself Mental Wellness Toolkit offering 10 free actions anyone can take, such as taking a 10-minute walk without a phone, writing down three stress triggers and one boundary for each, and setting a daily 'hard stop' time for work. A 30-day progress tracker guides users through weeks of awareness, boundary-setting, communication, and sustainability.
The initiative highlights the economic toll of mental health issues: the World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion annually in lost productivity. Kobylarczyk emphasized that while systemic change is slow, personal habits can change today. "Big systems change slowly," she said. "But personal habits can change today."
Kobylarczyk, a Wisconsin-born attorney based in Milwaukee and Jackson, Wisconsin, has a career spanning accounting, securities law, corporate governance, ethics, and compliance. She is also a mother, reader, traveler, and advocate for proactive mental health awareness. The pledge invites individuals, professionals, and working parents to adopt the seven commitments and begin a 30-day reset focused on sustainable performance.
