No Place for Stress in Teams
Within teams, stress can impact performance, quality of deliverables, team spirit, and turnover. A smart leader would prevent or catch symptoms early and ensure corrective measures.
In an art class, the teacher asked seven-year-olds to draw pictures of their mothers. One little girl drew a picture of a woman with a laptop, carrying a huge bag. When the teacher asked about the picture, the girl replied: “Mommy is always working on the laptop. Daddy says she carries a lot of stress, but I can’t see it.”
Like the little girl, many of us experience stress but cannot — or refuse to be — aware of it. In a workplace, ignoring stress can have detrimental effects at the individual and team levels. In individuals, stress may manifest as minor deviations in behaviour or physical symptoms, but then surge into burnout and chronic health issues.
Stress Checklist for Teams
Have you noticed a recent increase in absenteeism or presenteeism in many team members?
Have there been recent dips in overall performance of the team?
Is there an increase in squabbles and arguments in the team?
Is there an increase in employee turnover?
Do you find changes in team dynamics following the appointment of a new manager?
Have teams stopped having fun together?
Small Steps Can Beat Workplace Stress
Monitor: An observant leader can catch early symptoms and effect positive changes. Tools such as WebNeuro can assess many factors related to self-regulation, emotion, feeling, and thinking.
Motivate: History suggests that great leaders use motivation to lead their teams to victory. Beating stress should be relatively easier.
Mitigate: Stress can never be good. Many leaders who recognise this offer adequate means to de-stress. Encouraging physical health and fitness also pays off — you have a healthier team of better performers.
Given today’s deadlines and high-pressure work scenarios, it is important to take steps that can prevent stress at the workplace. Awareness is the key to get started on the journey from “stressed” to “de-stress.”
Understand Your Stress Response Genetically
Genomepatri by MapmyGenome reveals your genetic predisposition to stress, anxiety, and burnout — including the warrior/worrier gene balance — helping you and your team build more resilient, personalised wellness strategies.
