Why is everyone so stressed?

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.

-Bertrand Russell

Humans have needs that aren’t naturally met in a high-stakes work environment. Ignoring these needs for too long creates work environments described as toxic or stressful or even cut-throat. Can a business environment be both competitive and enriching?

Assume it’s already bad

If you lead an organization, assume your team is stressed out and each team member is on the brink of a nervous breakdown (even if you have no evidence of this). Could this be the case, and your team is good at hiding symptoms of stress? Perhaps you have done such a good job motivating your team that they are convinced that their work really matters. Perhaps your team is willing to sacrifice self-care to work nights and weekends. Perhaps all of this is happening right under your nose.

You are there to help

To continue the thought that Bertrand Russell had at the top of this post, another symptom of an approaching nervous breakdown could be the sinking sense of helplessness. As a leader, you are the lifeline to your team to not only let them know you are there to help, but then to actually help. That is your job.

Team leaders succeed when their people succeed. Period.

-Andrew Robertson, Leadership Is About People