At Thompson Dunn, we love to explore the views and ideas of everyone we work with. One of our student associates, Gena Mazreku, has written about how leaders can better understand and lead when it comes to stress management. Check out her piece below!
After two years of adapting to the challenges of a global pandemic, the focus on stress has slipped down the agendas of many leaders and employees. With organisations now planning for how workplace operations will look going forward, be it a hybrid model or a full return to the office, it is critical that there is a refocus on stress management and that it climbs back up the leader’s agenda.
Stress management and mental wellbeing are vital for both employees and organisations. Stress can be a significant factor in mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. However, it is not always visible and clear cut. Stress affects our body physically inside and outside, increasing our heart rate and blood pressure. This results in increased cortisol levels, a hormone that regulates a wide range of processes throughout the body (e.g., our metabolism). Cortisol is helpful to the brain as it makes the brain more plastic, better able to think and better able to remember. As a result, some stress can be good for us as we deal with the environment around us. However, research shows that stress is only helpful on an acute, short-term basis. Chronic, long-term stress is damaging and neurotoxic to the brain, and this is one of the prominent causes of mental ill health. Increased and sustained levels of stress results in the body shutting down it’s immune system because the body is expecting to deal with acute stress and not to deal with longer-term inflammation; the body’s immune fight against harmful agents such as viruses and bacteria. As a result, sustained exposure to stress results in people getting coughs, colds and infections.
Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of stress can help organisations ensure that stress is detected early and to not allow long-term stress to accumulate. However, despite increased focus and discourse surrounding mental health issues, still the topic carries stigma. It is therefore important for organisations to foster a company culture that seeks to encourage and adopt wellbeing initiatives.
A critical factor that enables effective stress management is communication. Poor communication exacerbates workplace stress and therefore leaders need to increase their focus on open and consultative dialogue with their employees. Utilising various tools to recreate an internal culture of communication and openness can help employees feel safe to express their concerns to their managers. In seeking to personalise and customise their communication, leaders can provide a way to improve dialogue that will increase employee engagement - creating a feeling of being valued and heard.
Great leaders know that their employees are at the heart of the business. By offering open communication, a more flexible working environment, setting clear goals for team members and supporting wellbeing, leaders can reduce stress in the workplace and enhance a healthier way of working and living.
By Gena Mazreku