WHAT YOU NEED TOKNOW ABOUT

WORKPLACE STRESS

Linda Ray

What you need to know

about workplace stressTHE RISE OF STRESS AND ANXIETY

Stress and anxiety is on the rise in the workplace. And whilst there are some

obvious contributors, with tough economic times and people being required to do

more with less, we propose that one of the most obvious contributors to stress

often gets overlooked – information and cognitive overwhelminformation and cognitive overwhelm. We also

believe that maybe we are viewing stress in the wrong way.

Information

What you need to know about workplace stress

What you need to know about workplacestress

Recent evidence suggests that for every dollar spent on wellbeing programs sees

as return on investment of 2.3 dollars. (Beyond Blue Workplace Stress Report

2014)

This begs the following questions.

1. Why aren’t we seeing a greater focus on programs which address stress and

build resilience in the workplace? and

2. Of the programs that do exist, are they broad enough in focus?

What you need to know about workplace stress

Information and Cognitive Overwhelm

Information overload and cognitive overwhelm are not usually an emphasis in

programs that try to address stress in the workplace. Yet we know that we are

bombarded by more information and distraction than at any time in human

history.

We are biologically programmed to pay attention to anything that might meet the

brains key organising principle to minimise threat and maximise reward, so our

brain is constantly on the lookout for novelty. This is why we are addicted to

constant email and social media checking.

At no other time in History have there been more invitations to distraction in our

environment. This calls for a need to get better at managing our attention and

focus.

What you need to know about workplace stress

Managing Distraction

Much of my work has been supporting individuals and teams to examine the

negative impact on productivity and stress levels as a result of the distractions

we face everyday

Distraction management audits identify the key distractors in theDistraction management audits identify the key distractors in the

workplace. workplace.

Research suggests that when we are in the middle of heavy cognitive thinking and

are distracted, it can take up to 25 minutes to get back into that headspace!

Imagine how many times that can happen in a day given the distraction rich

environments we operate within.

More and more of my coaching practice is focussed on supporting people who

identify as being stressed and overloaded.

CASE STUDYCASE STUDY

In a recent example, a person I was coaching reported a 50% perceived50% perceived

improvement in productivity improvement in productivity just by tweaking a few things in her workplace

and implementing a distraction management plan. This included educating

colleagues about the times she would work on approvals – once in the morning

and later in the afternoon. This action was taken to try and minimise

interruptions of up to 40 instances per day.interruptions of up to 40 instances per day. She also moved her desk so she

was out of sight of people who may be looking for another staff member or who

were themselves looking for a distraction. These changes resulted in These changes resulted in

signi cantly less distractions and interruptions.signi cantly less distractions and interruptions. These simple tweaks also

had unexpected results for her. She reported feeling less stressed andless stressed and

overwhelmedoverwhelmed and this had created the necessary head space to develop 2 new

reporting processes that had been on the back burner for over 12 months.

What you need to know about workplace stress

TIPS TO MANAGE DISTRACTION

The distraction laden environments we operate inThe distraction laden environments we operate in

contribute significantly to stress contribute significantly to stress

When we get to the end of the day and our ‘to do list’ is as big or sometimes

bigger than when we started the day, we can feel we have failed to be productive

and this can impact on our sleep as we tussle with overwhelm, guilt and panic. It

would seem imperative that it is time to broaden the focus of stress and resilience

programs to address factors in our contemporary workplace that contribute to

stress. This broader focus should include the following:

Build attentional intelligenceBuild attentional intelligence – we need to get back in control of our attention

and focus. When we manage our attention and focus this can support improved

productivity and minimise the stress we feel when our attention is constantly

divided. This includes stopping multi-tasking or task-switching and instead uni-

tasking.

Distraction audits and management plansDistraction audits and management plans – in an attempt to minimise stress

we need to uncover the factors that contribute to overwhelm and loss of focus. A

simple audit of all of the distractions that vie for our attention and a plan to

mitigate these can reduce stress and significantly improve productivity.

Brain breaksBrain breaks – we need to schedule down time in our work day. This means

when you feel you have hit the wall rather than pushing through, have a quick

brain break or do a simple mindfulness exercise. Whilst this may seem counter

intuitive to being productive, the research is clear when we have a break and

refresh, our productivity improves.

What you need to know about workplace stress

TIPS TO MANAGE DISTRACTION

NeuroCapability are a forward-thinking and passionate team that thrive

on helping people to harness the power of their most important asset -

their brain.

Using our human-centred brain-based leadership model, we train, support

and mentor leaders to build psychological safety in their organisations.

From our agship program, the Neuroscience of Leadership to our team

building BrainBites, we work with individuals and organisations

throughout the world to build cultures of psychological safety.

www.neurocapability.com.auwww.neurocapability.com.aufinibus.