SEVENTY per cent of employees are operating on autopilot and should be exposed to regular ‘positive’ stress at work.
A moderate amount of workplace pressure is a major contributor to productivity and job satisfaction, yet many people do everything they can to avoid feeling stressed at work.
Almost everyone wants to avoid workplace stress but the right amount can have a hugely positive effect on fulfillment and output.
Medium amounts of ‘good stress’ – the instant buzz from a sudden rush of hormones – can help people perform tasks more efficiently and improves the ability to make decisions.
The drive from short-term stress makes sure the right chemicals and hormones are stimulated to switch on the brain’s pre-frontal cortex. This is the brain’s CEO, responsible for decision-making, analysing, problem solving and prioritising – all the things that we need to thrive in today’s workplace.
The trouble is humans are wired to preserve as much energy as possible and, because of this, our preference is to work on autopilot. We rely on old instincts and old patterns that worked for us in the past. This takes relatively little effort but can erode our ability to perform at our best.
Constantly operating on autopilot is a serious resource problem happening in almost every workplace in Australia.
It’s called ‘presenteeism’, where people come to work but are switched off with low levels of productivity. This is costing the Australian economy billions of dollars every year.
On the other side of the coin, while workplace pressure can be positive, if we get too much of it – when a flood of hormones bombard your body longer than 24 hours – bad things can happen.
A 2008 report into workplace stress published by private health insurer Medibank Private found stress-related illness costs the Australian economy $14.81 billion a year. The direct cost to employers is $10.11 billion and, on average, more than three days are lost to stress per worker per year.
Many researchers also believe that chronic stress is the single most important causative factor in the disease process. Long-term stress at work that lasts weeks or months is blamed for high blood pressure, heart disease, exhaustion and depression.
In other words, companies cannot underestimate the importance of getting the balance right.
Most of us are terrible procrastinators, and without that bit of extra adrenaline, we don’t get started.
Employees should be frequently exposed to short bursts of pressure and managers play a critical role in making this happen. Good stress is giving an employee regular challenges that stretch them slightly out of their comfort zone, while ensuring they feel a sense of accomplishment and are rewarded for their achievements.
It can be anything from a complex problem to solve autonomously to a stimulating task with a fair but firm deadline.
Good stress is the equivalent of driving home on autopilot when suddenly you spot a police car in the rear-view mirror.
Suddenly you’re switched on. You get a bit more analytical, you check your blind-spots, make sure you are indicating and keep checking your speed. You just think more.
Excessively long hours, repetitive and unpleasant tasks, isolation, job hazards, toxic bosses, lack of job security, or conflicting demands are major causes of bad workplace stress.
That’s where it gets hairy. Higher amounts of stress cause the emotional centre of our brain to switch on and this tends to divert resources away from the brain’s CEO and back to the autopilot.
Research suggests that too much stress has a counterproductive effect and actually makes us quite dim-witted.
A recent Duke University study of elite American basketball players revealed that even they don’t perform better under pressure. The 2010 study found that, under pressure during the final few moments of a game, scores plateaued and the very best the players could do was keep their scoring percentage the same.
We act on instinct under pressure because it takes too much time to actually think, and also we need to preserve energy to either fight or flee.
When it comes to workplace stress, the message is clear – get the balance right or risk losing staff. Our brains are incredibly fussy machines. They need precisely the right amount of stress to perform at their best, and when they don’t it’s a downhill slide.
