According to recent studies:
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50.5 Million people in the U.S. quit their jobs in 2022 (federal govt. JOLTS report)
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50% of US workers are stressed, 67% of global workforce is disengaged. Cost – $7.8 Trillion, 11% global GDP (Gallup 2022 SoW Report)
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56% of women senior leaders are stressed, with 46% of women senior leaders burnout, 40% are looking for a new role (Deloitte Woman at Work 2022)
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Toxic Culture is the #1 rated predictor of attrition (MIT Sloan Review Jan 2022)
The question is why? The logistical realities of the pandemic are obvious. The fallout in terms of how people are thinking, feeling, and acting going forward is a paradigm shift that needs to be addressed if organizations want to sustainably succeed. Looking through the lens of the nervous system we can see that chronic stress is an amplifying underlying catalyst, particularly as it relates to the impact of leaders.
Given the statistics, both leaders and teams are stressed and burnout. Regardless of what lofty statements are written on the walls, who leaders are consistently being is the tone of an organization’s culture. Any incongruency between what is stated and done, is seen, heard, and felt by everyone, and now more acutely than ever. Neurologically speaking, congruence builds trust, incongruence builds mistrust.
As a leader of or in your organization it’s important to understand that you are the #1 domino of direction, communication, and your culture. Who you are being as you lead and communicate IS WHAT you are communicating and triggering through your organization.
That communication is not only heard through words and tone, or seen and felt through actions, it’s neurologically felt without ever saying a word. You’ve experienced it. Think of a time you walked in to speak to someone, and without them even looking up you sensed it was not the time to have the conversation you planned. Your nervous system picked that up before your brain did.
When we are triggered, the nervous system’s emergency mode of fight/flight/or freeze triggers specific patterns in how we think, feel, behave, and physical conditions result. The purpose is to ready the body and direct the energy of all it’s resources to fight or run. When the emergency is over, it switches back to restorative mode where clear thinking, digestion, repair, and consideration of others is possible.
However, when chronically stressed, it stays in emergency mode. Those patterns grow stronger and reactions can get more severe. Think of chronic stress as a pair of self-darkening sunglasses. You get used to the tint and don’t realize it is still coloring your vision, but other people can certainly tell it is!
How Chronic Stress Affects the Body/Mind :
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Thinking -As critical or cynical thinking, rash decisions or indecision;
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Emotionally – As anger/frustration, worry/anxiety, apathy, hopelessness, or depression;
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Behaviorally -As aggression & hostility, avoidance or disengagement
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Physically – As cardio vascular disease, high or low blood pressure, gut issues, weight gain, type 2 diabetes
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Equally important to note is what gets suppressed when chronically stressed:
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Ability to think strategically or creatively is suppressed.
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Empathy, compassion, patience and appreciation are not neurologically accessible in survival or chronic stress mode.
These traits are accessible only through the restorative/parasympathetic side of the nervous system.
We can see these patterns clearly in current society – from shorter tempers in traffic to the now common and far too frequent mass shootings.
The Question is: What patterns can you see in yourself and your leadership team?
If you want to feel better, and have greater success, a happier team, and a better culture, ask yourself these questions:
1. What emotions and behaviors are my typical auto reactions to stressful circumstances?
2. What domino effect does that start in my direct reports, and personally, in family members?
(To get an objective answer, ask those who you trust to give you an honest one. It’s likely a persistent theme in your life.)
3. What can I do to reset myself first to then communicate from your clear-thinking, team/organization focused, best self?
Need Support?
If you’d like to find out how resilience strategy and body/mind resilience training can give you tools to shift stress in the moment and get you and your organization back to focused, creative, and collaborative success, Contact us for a complimentary consult.
Kathleen Gramzay, LMT, Founder, Kinessage LLC, is a new CCNG contributor and has been a body/mind resilience innovator for over 20 years. As a board-certified massage therapist and educator, she first developed then taught Kinessage® Self Care for Therapists and Kinessage® Massage Through Movement, to physical, occupational, and massage therapists around the country. These new methods of self-care and massage use the nervous system and movement to release the chronic tension patterns underlying musculoskeletal disorders, like sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, strains & sprains without drugs.
