We live in an era where stress is not just a personal challenge but a growing public health crisis. According to the American Psychological Association, stress levels have escalated across all age groups due to factors like the pandemic, geopolitics, and financial pressures—with younger individuals, LGBTQ people, racial minorities, and parents reporting significantly higher stress levels.
Within the workplace, the impact of stress is palpable: diminished creativity, decreased retention of talent, and a reduction in workplace enjoyment. Despite this, stress is often worn as a badge of honor in many corporate cultures, seen as a testament to one’s dedication and hard work. However, the real question leaders should be asking is not whether to address stress, but how.
From my personal battles with stress, I’ve come to see managing workplace stress not just as a responsibility but as a critical resource management issue, akin to handling a company's finances or energy. Stress, in its constructive form—eustress—can indeed energize and enhance performance. But when mismanaged, it becomes distress, leading to a slew of productivity and health issues.
Innovative companies like J&J’s Human Performance Institute, Google, Asana, and Nike have pioneered holistic approaches to managing stress. Consulting firms like Thrive Global have emerged creating elaborate new approaches. These programs are trailblazers, yet there's a risk in over-complicating solutions that could be straightforward.
Looking at learnings from real world examples, here are some best practices on how leaders can take things into their own hands:
Best Practices for Leaders to Manage Stress:
Initiate Safe Conversations: Create an environment where stress is not a stigma but a shared challenge to overcome. Use diagnostic tools to engage your team in identifying the sources of stress—both positive and negative. This critical thinking exercise can help teams better understand the interplay between work and stress. Such open dialogues help in distinguishing between normal stress and anxiety, the latter often requiring professional intervention.
Foster Human Connections: Be transparent about your own stressors as a leader and how you manage them. This openness will encourage others to share and seek support during vulnerable periods. At the same time, don't create expectations, or assume that your solutions are universally appealing. Legislating stress management initiatives can actually make people feel more stressed!
Change the Mindset: Acknowledge that while you cannot eliminate stress completely, you can implement realistic and supportive measures. Shift the narrative from seeing all stress as harmful to recognizing stress as a sign of engagement and passion. This Ted Talk from Stanford Psychologist Kelly McGonigal uses powerful data to demonstrate the postive impact of adopting a "stress is good" mindset. This article from Stanford builds on that, encouraging us to embrace stress rather than aim to reduce it.
The corporate world stands at a crucial juncture. Leaders who view stress management as a strategic resource have the opportunity to foster resilient, high-performing teams that attract top talent. Instead of delegating this issue to HR, leaders themselves should take proactive steps to reframe and demystify stress.
