are you working too hard (1)

8/8/2019 Are You Working Too Hard (1)

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What is stress?What is stress?

Stress is a physiological response to any

change, whether good or bad, that alerts

the adaptive fight-or-flight response

in the brain and the body.



The good and bad stress..The good and bad stress..

Good stress

y Good stress, also called "eustress," gives us energy and

motivates us to strive and produce.

y Anyone who's clinched an important deal or had a good

performance review, for example, enjoys the benefits of

eustress, such as clear thinking, focus, and creative insight.

Examples:

y elite athletes,

y creative artists,

y and all kinds of high achievers..



Bad stress

y Mostly referred to.

y

At work, negative stressors are usuallythe perceived actions of customers,

clients, bosses, colleagues, and employees,

combined with demanding deadlines.



Where is it going wrong?Where is it going wrong?

y Not addressing the rampant negative effects of workplacestress

y Low interest levels in employees

y This state of affairs is inexcusable- billions are lost toabsenteeism , turnover, disability, insurance costs, workplaceaccidents, violence, workers' compensation, and lawsuits, notto mention the expense of replacing valuable empioyees lostto stress-related problems.

y Fortunately, each of us holds the key for managing stress, andleaders who leam to do this and help their employees to dolikewise can tap into enormous productivity and potentialwhile mitigating these costs.



THE YERKESTHE YERKES--DODSON CURVEDODSON CURVE

y Stress is an essential response in highlycompetitive environments. Before a race, beforean exam, before an important meeting, your heartrate goes up and so does your blood pressure.

You become more focused, alert, and efficient.

y But past a certain level, stress compromises yourperformance, efficiency, and eventually your heath.

y Two Harvard researchers, Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson, first calibrated the relationshipbetween stress and performance in 1908, whichhas been dubbed the Yerkes-Dodson law.



What research reveals?What research reveals?

y Relaxation proved to be a powerful aspect.

y It was a deep rest that counteracts the harmful effects

of the fight-or-flight response, such as increased heartrate, blood pressure, and muscle tension.

y We found that by taking the stress level up to the top of

the bell curve and then effectively pulling the rug out

from under it by turning to a quieting, rejuvenating

activity, subjects could evoke the relaxation response,

which effectively counteracts the negative effects of the

stress hormones.



y As the brain quiets down, another phenomenon that wecall "calm commotion"- or a focused increase in activity-

takes place in the areas of the brain associated with

attention, space-time concepts, and decision making.

y In eliciting the relaxation response , individuals

experience a sudden creative insight, in which the

solution to the problem becomes apparent. This is

y a momentary phenomenon.

y Thereafter, the subjects enter a state of sustained

improved performance, which we call the "new-normal"

state, because the breakthrough effect can be

remembered indefinitely.



y By bringing the brain to the height of activity andthen suddenly moving it into a passive, relaxed state,

it's possible to stimulate much higher neurological

performance than would otherwise be the case.

y Over time, subjects who learn to do this as a matterof course perform at consistently higher levels.

Examplesy athletes

y creative artists

y businesspeople.



THE BREAKOUT

PRINCIPLE



STEP ONE:STEP ONE:

y Struggle mightily with a thorny problem.

y For a businessperson, this may be concentrated

problem analysis or fact gathering;

y Simply thinking intently about a stressful situation at

work -a tough employee, a performance conundrum, a

budgetary difficulty.

y Putting a significant amount of preliminary hard work

into the matter.

y Leaning into the problem to get to the top of the

Yerkes-Dodson curve.



y You can tell when you have neared the top of thecurve when you stop feeling productive and startfeeling stressed.

y You may have unpleasant feelings such as anxiety,fearfulness, anger, or boredom, or you may feellike procrastinating.

y You may even have physical symptoms such as aheadache, a knot in the stomach, or sweaty palms.

y At this point, it's time to move to step two.



STEPTWOSTEPTWO

y Involves walking away from the problem and

doing something utterly different that producesthe relaxation response.

y Ways to do this:

A ten-minute relaxation response

Exercise which calms your mind and focus on your out-

breath while disregarding the thoughts you've been

having

Jogging

y About the mental rearrangement that is the

foundation for new insights, soI utions, and

creativity.



y The key is to stop analyzing, surrender

control, and completely detach yourself

from the stress producing thoughts.

y When you allow your brain to quiet

down, your body releases the puffs of

nitric oxide that make you feel better andmake you more productive.



STEPTHREESTEPTHREEy Gaining a sudden insight- the actual breakout

y Breakouts are also often referred to as "peak experiences,´ "flow,"

or "being in the zone.´

y A breakout is experienced as a sense of well-being and relaxation

that brings with it an unexpected insight or a higher level of

performance.

y And it's all the result of a simple biological mechanism that we can

tap into at will.

y Elite athletes reach this state when they train hard and then let go

and allow the muscle memory to take over. They become

completely immersed in what they're doing, which feels automatic,

smooth, and effortless.



STEP FOURSTEP FOUR

y Return to the new normal state in which thesense of self confidence continues.

y Example:The manager whore organized herpresentation, for example, came in tbe nextmorning knowing all would be well. The

meeting did go well, and she receivedaccolades for her work from her bosses andcolleagues.



Is it the individual benefit

only, or does working inteams benefit??



Teams working together to feed off Teams working together to feed off

one another..one another..y The benefits of mind/body management are by

no means limited to individuals.

y Those skilled in these techniques have anexponential impact in groups or teams and can

work together to solve organizational

problems.



HOW THIS WORK S?



What a manager can do to What a manager can do to

evoke a break out ?evoke a break out ?

y Lay out a picture of an especially difficult project.

y Ask everyone to come to the meeting having thought

very hard about their particular task and how thattask affects other parts of the project.

y Open the meeting by saying what we were all trying

to achieve.

y Tell the group that we want to shift our thinking to

produce a break through idea, and we can do that by

evoking the relaxation response.



y A relaxed state of mind can help increase focus on the

assignment.

y It's very likely that more than one insightful solution

will emerge from the group.



Is the approachIs the approach-- soft?soft?

y It's a matter of learning to shift our internal biology at

will so that we increase production of the chemicals

associated with well-being and increased creativity.

y

y Most people experience breakthrough moments at one

time or another.

y Managers can doubtless recall times when they've had

an "aha" moment at the gym or on the golf course or inthe shower.

y It is possible to leverage this invaluable biological tool

when we want or need to.



EXAMPLE



The NEXT frontier The NEXT frontier

y It's clear that mind/body medicine is the third leg of athree-legged stool of health and well-being, the othertwo legs of which are Pharmaceuticals and surgery.

y

As people take more responsibility for their owncare through diet, exercise, and tools such as therelaxation response, they will become less dependenton the other two legs of the stool.

y

Companies that can bring these principles to bear willmaximize the brain capabilities of their entireorganizations, make them healthier and moreproductive, and help them compete effectively in thischallenging global economy. ^



THANK YOU

are you working too hard (1)

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