Rescue your company from the Reptile
At a workshop for a large U.S. manufacturer, we were asked what leaders should be doing to help employees handle the mounting stress associated with the stalling economy.
 Companies need their people to be energized, creative and resilient. Instead they are watching morale dragged down by a sputtering economy, predictions of doom, “doing more with less,” higher gas prices, job losses, presidential politics and globalization fears.
The country probably hasn’t seen internal and external factors squeeze our workplaces like this in nearly three decades. Which means many of our managers have never seen this, while many of our front-line employees have.
To get through these times, it is helpful to understand how stress physically and mentally affects our business results. The “cognitive age” we are in requires us to respond in specific ways that foster learning by employees. When the reptilian brain (the basal ganglia or survival brain) is engaged, it shuts down the parts of the brain where learning takes place. When fear and anger are prevalent, it is extremely difficult for our brains to make good decisions.
So it would seem simple – create an environment that calms the reptilian brain and employees will stay engaged.
Is that even possible during times like these? Yes.
First, “Slow down to speed up.” The reptilian brain responds to predictability, repetition and processes. The more employers can do to create a sense of routine, the better employees will perform – from regular schedules to not changing little rituals, such as the rules for the office coffee pool.
Fun and celebration become surprisingly important. It may seem a stretch, but creating opportunities to celebrate incremental progress and encouraging humor and fun can keep the creative parts of our brain from shutting down during stressful times. Managers need to send the message that, even though there are tough decisions to make, the long-term solutions will come from creative and innovative thinking. Fear and creativity rarely occupy the same space.
Finally, managers need to encourage employees to find their own constructive ways to deal with stress. For many people, stress has become so common they don’t recognize what it does within their physical bodies or to their mental health. The stomachache, the headache, the inability to shake a cold – often these are the result of too much stress over too long a time period. So get people out having fun, exercising, even taking long deep breaths help.
When we are under stress, our energy is directed away from our core bodily systems (stomach, digestive, reproductive organs, and parts of the brain) to our large muscles (legs, arms) and heart and lungs that allow us to engage in a flight or flight response. One Rapid Change tool, relaxation, is very beneficial for an individual to alleviate the effects of stress in their bodies. It is portable, doesn’t cost anything and just using this tool once can begin to develop new muscle memory, new habits and, with practice, success.
- Dan and Ruth
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