the business physics of pressure

The Physics of Business™

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Do You Have Any Idea How Much Pressure We Are Under?!

Chris Reich, CEO




People are under a lot of pressure today. They experience pressures we know nothing about. It isn’t necessary to add pressure to people’s lives at work.

Chris Reich, BizPhyZ™, the Physics of Business™



Physics?

We can learn business from Physics? Yes!

BizPhyZ was developed to facilitate thinking about business.

How does it work?

First, we talk about a concept from physics.

Then we apply that to business and open it up for discussion.

Here’s another example of how I use physics in my work to improve businesses.



Pressure

Everyone knows we are under pressure.

• Pressure from life

• Pressure from work

• Pressure from family

• Even pressure from the atmosphere!

Note:

Almost a bad pun. The lack of pressure in the tire adds

pressure to get somewhere on time----maybe work?



Pressure

Let’s look at these questions:

1. Do we understand how much pressure people are under?

2. Can we do anything to reduce the pressure on our employees?

3. If we can reduce pressure on employees, should we make that a priority?



Do we understand how much pressurepeople are under?

I’m going to say “no”.

We don’t know everything happening in lives of our employees. Some people are dealing with very big, very serious life issues right now.

Employees don’t tell us about everything they are dealing with. You don’t tell them everything. They might be waiting for the results of a medical test. They might be worried about a child. I can’t list all the things that can be adding pressure to someone at this moment.

Maybe you are under big pressure outside of your work.



Do we understand how much pressurepeople are under?

So we agree that we can’t know how much pressure people might be under. Right?

I’ll bet you don’t know how much pressure you are under.

Aside from the pressures of work and life, the atmosphere is putting a lot of pressure on you.

That’s right, the atmosphere.

Yay! The physics part!



The Pressure on Us All

First, the basics.

The atmosphere is like a sea. It’s less dense than water but it’s like a sea.

We are underneath a lot of it. Miles of it.

The troposphere, which makes up about 80% of the atmosphere’s mass, extends from the surface to 4-12 miles up. (Depends on conditions)

Think about that.

Right now you’re under about 8 miles (we’ll average it) of air/sea. See?

So? It’s just air.




So?!

That’s a lot. Ever swim to the bottom of a 12 ft. pool? You can feel the pressure in your ears.

On the surface of the earth, where you are likely reading this, there is nearly 15 pounds per square inch of pressure being exerted on you right now!

Get some dice. Put 1 on the back of your hand. Now place a bowling ball on that die. Ouch. That’s a lot of pressure.

Oh, but you say the pressure is spread out so it’s not so bad. Don’t exaggerate, Chris.




Not so fast cowboy.

Using the area of your head and shoulders as roughly a little more than1 square foot, let’s say 160 square inches…then…

1 foot = 12 inches 12 X 12 = 144 square inches. A little more = 160 sq. inches.

Now, 160 square inches under 14.7 pounds per square inch?

160 x 14.7 = 2,352 pounds of pressure on your head and shoulders!

That’s over a ton. You, without any added pressure, literally have a ton on your shoulders.




And that’s not all. In addition to that ton pressing down on you, gravity is pulling you down as well! (We’ll do that calculation another time)

1TON




Let’s recap question #1

Do we understand how much pressure people are under?

We now understand more about pressure. We are all under a lot of pressure. In fact, we all have a ton on our shoulders.

To that ton we add the pressures people are facing that we don’t know about.

We have to remember too that people handle pressure differently.



Question #2: Can we do anything to reduce the pressure on our employees?

We can’t do much about the atmosphere, or can we?

We can. We certainly can. What’s the atmosphere like at your business?

If an employee is worried about losing his job, his performance will suffer. The worry will drive most to stay under the radar instead of up into the spotlight performing and doing their best.

Is the atmosphere tense? If so, are you willing to fix it?

Improving bad atmosphere greatly improves morale and productivity. It reduces work lost to sick days. It improves customer service. It improves internal cooperation which in turn improves productivity.

The atmosphere is already a ton on our shoulders! Don’t add to it.



Question #2: Can we do anything to reduce the pressure on our employees?

What else adds to employee pressure?

• Lack of clear expectations and objectives

• Poor communication

• Poor working environment Poorly lit

Dirty

Uncomfortable

Hostile

• Unreasonable time demands



Can we do anything to reduce the pressure on our employees?

Well, those items certainly can be corrected.

Agreed?



If we can reduce pressure on employees, should we make that a priority?

Last question. If we can reduce the pressure on our employees, should we try to do it? Should that be a priority?

Here’s the real question: If we can reduce the pressure on our employees, do we have a moral and ethical obligation to do so?

I think we do. At least I believe we do have an obligation to correct the items listed on the previous pages.

We have no moral obligation to get involved in people’s personal lives.

And we certainly have a moral and maybe even legal responsibility to be very careful about the number of hours we require people to work.



Is Working for You a Source of Stress?

• 35% of Americans say their stress increased in the past year.

• 69% of those with high stress say their stress increased in the past year, compared with 13% of those who report low stress (a 1, 2 or 3 on the scale).

• In the past five years, 60% of those surveyed have tried to reduce their stress; 53% are still trying.

• Top stressors include money (69%), work (65%) and the economy (61%).

• For Millennials, top stress sources are work (cited by 76%), money (73%) and relationships (59%). The economy came in fifth, at 55%, just behind family responsibilities, cited by 56%.

Survey of 2,020 U.S. adults 18 and older, conducted in August by Harris Interactive for the American Psychological Association.



What Are the Consequences of Working Under Excess Pressure?

You know these things:

• Health risks• High Blood Pressure

• Obesity and all of the problems that go with it

• Depression

• Reduced productivity

• Higher absentee rates

• Higher employee turnover

• Lower employee loyalty

• Diminished quality and service



Isn’t It Worth Reducing Pressure?

If you don’t see the obligation, at least consider the value.

Not reducing stress and pressure where you

can is just burning money.



Summary

We’re all under a ton of pressure. We’re built to take it.

Many of us have added pressures that greatly add to our burden.

Some pressures are outside of work.

Some pressures are work related.

We can reduce many of the work related pressures if we make it a priority to do so.

Because we can, we should. It’s the right thing to do.

There are measurable benefits to reducing the pressure on employees.



Commentary

Sometimes taking on an imitative like this, to improve working conditions of the employees, is best piloted by an outside party.

Yes, true, this is a pitch for you to hire me.

But consider the reality. If your business needs to fix the things listed in this presentation, won’t that be rather difficult from within? It is always easier to have an outside person who sees problems objectively and can offer guidance without any concern for internal politics.

That’s a reality of business.



Your comments on this presentation are invited. If you believe these points are reasonable, you can help me spread the word by sharing this presentation with people you know.

I want to see improvement in our workplaces because I believe that happy employees are the key to our ability to compete in the coming years.

Chris Reich

BizPhyZ™, the Physics of Business™

[email protected]

(530) 467-5690

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