Workplace Stress Impacts Decision-Making, Burnout, Productivity, and Employee Retention

Congratulations American workers, employees, managers, and leaders!?

According to an annual survey by the American Psychological Association, Americans have set a new record for stress and anxiety. The most shared explanation for these high stress levels in the U.S. is the nation's extreme political polarization. Other factors include uncertainty about health care, medical bills, the cost of medication, the nation's future, money, work, social divisiveness, the economy, mass layoffs, low wages, climate change, environmental issues, and trust in government.

In my work with leaders in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, I see evidence of the same increased stress levels. They also list many of the same causes (excluding health care and medical expenses in Australia, Canada, and Europe — where national public health care systems prevail). So high levels of stress are not just an American condition.

We are all suffering the symptoms of the epidemic of stress sweeping the world today.

In fact, The Guardian newspaper reported that workplace stress costs U.K. businesses some ￡6.5B per year. While this pales to the estimated $500B per annum that workplace stress costs employers in the U.S., there is no doubt that workplace stress significantly impacts profitability and productivity worldwide. In many ways, we are all suffering the symptoms of the epidemic of stress sweeping the world today.

According to the American Institute of Stress (AIS) website, "Numerous studies show that job stress is far and away the major source of stress for American adults and has escalated precariously over the past few decades."

As a result, people must not only handle their own personal stress levels, but they also need to monitor and deal with the stress levels of their coworkers. Here are some of the statistics from the AIS website showing how stressful our workplaces are:?

• 40% of workers reported their jobs as very or extremely stressful.
• 25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives.
• 29% of workers felt quite a bit or extremely stressed at work.
• Job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than financial or family problems.
• Nearly half of workers say they need help learning to manage stress, and 42% say their coworkers need such help.
• 14% of workers had felt like striking a coworker in the past year but did not.
• 25% have felt like screaming or shouting because of job stress.
• 10% are concerned about an individual at work they fear could become violent.
• 18% had experienced some threat or verbal intimidation in the past year.
• 14% said they worked where workplace rage damaged machinery or equipment.
• 19% had quit a previous position because of job stress.
• Almost 25% had been driven to tears because of workplace stress.

Even worse, AIS estimates that 120,000 people die yearly due to workplace stress. That is 10,000 people every month!

No wonder the American Psychological Association identified Generation X as the most stressed generation in America! They now form the bulk of the workforce and thus are experiencing the kinds of workplace stress cited by AIS in the above statistics.

We all know that being in close proximity to someone who is in a foul mood can result in our own disposition souring. And leaders know all too well that their own negative dispositions and moods can, directly and indirectly, impact direct reports, team members, and colleagues. We are now learning that the same may be true for stress.

A study published in Nature Neuroscience showed that stress might be contagious and that even the effect of stress on the brain may be transferable to others. While this study was conducted on mice, what is initially proven in mice is often later confirmed in humans.

In this study, mice were exposed to mild stress and returned to their partners. The most remarkable result of this experiment was that the neurons in the mice not exposed to the stress became altered in the exact same way as their stress-exposed partners.

Again, while this has not been scientifically proven in humans, we would all be well advised to use mindfulness techniques to control and reduce our stress levels, rather than expose our stressful states to others in the workplace.

Reduce the Impact of Stress in Your Workplace

Stress impacts decision-making at all levels of your organization, causing less-than-optimal decisions to be made in reaction to people, situations, and events.

Stress and burnout also directly impact employee wellbeing and retention.

Two things to reflect upon as we enter Stress Awareness Month this week:

1. 83% of employees worldwide say their wellbeing is as important as their salary. (2022 research study from Gympass)
2. 70% of employees said they would leave their current job for another organization offering better resources to reduce feelings of burnout. (Visier study of full-time employees)

As you can see, stress and burnout also directly impact employee wellbeing and retention.

In conjunction with Stress Awareness Month, I can help you and your organization through:

Lunch and Learns – 45-minute webinars to help your leaders, managers, and employees learn the impact of stress on their decision-making, productivity, and results.

For all: How Stress & Anxiety Impact Your Decision-Making

For leaders and managers: What Leaders Can Do to Reduce Workplace Stress

Workshops – two-hour in-person or virtual workshops on Workplace Stress and Burnout will enable leaders and managers to recognize the early warning signs of burnout and implement actions to minimize the effects of burnout. They will also learn how to help team members reduce burnout risk.

I will offer similar programs in May on Building and Maintaining Long-Term Brain Health in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month.

There is no better time to tackle these important issues on behalf of employees and their families. Please contact me to discuss how to help leaders, managers, and employees excel at managing and reducing work-related stress. And how everyone, including family members, can take immediate steps to protect the long-term health of their brains.

Here is a link to my calendar: https://calendly.com/stevenhoward

Or email me: [email protected]

This article is excerpted from my book How Stress and Anxiety Impact Your Decision Making. It is available worldwide on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.?