What is Stress (and Why Does It Matter?)

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Presented by:

Dr. Daniel CrosbyPresident of IncBlot

For More From Dr. Daniel Crosby, visit:MonsterThinking.com

Hello!

Dr. Daniel Crosby

President, IncBlot

www.incblot.org

Organizational Psychologist = Business Shrink

Select, Perfect, Persuade

Need a new head shot

“Discovering” Stress

First coined by Hans Selye in the 1930’s

Thought he’d discovered a new hormone

The process was the problem

Met with skepticism

WHAT IS STRESS?

Specific response by the body to a stimulus, such as fear or pain,

that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium

of an organism.

“If you are a normal mammal, stress is the three minutes of screaming terror on the savannah, after which either it’s over with or you’re over with”.- Dr. Sapolsky

Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy (things) we don't need.

We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place.

We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives.

We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars.

But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very (upset).

Stress and Modernity

?

Social

Physical

Many professionals have secured their basic physical needs but wrestle with more enduring, ethereal needs such as belonging and meaning.

Anatomy of Burnout

Alarm Resistance Exhaustion

(TRICK QUESTION)

Is Stress Good Or Bad?

Good Stress?

Eustress Distress

Stress and Performance

Having too much stress ends in results that are identical to being lazy or bored (and isn’t nearly as fun).

Stress and Retention

A survey of 1,626 people showed that over 50% were looking for new jobs that were less stressful – Envisia Learning

People will often flee a good/insecure job for a worse/secure job

“The Devil that you know…”

Stress and Wellness

75% of all visits to a GP are caused or worsened by stress

Imagine the impact on health costs

Consider the impact on absenteeism

Reflect on wellness and engagement

Stress and Wellness

Causes us to store visceral fat

Shown to stunt children’s growth

Increases risk of CV disease

Intensifies symptoms of diseases with autoimmune components (e.g., arthritis)

Root cause of much anxiety and depression

Implicated in hypertension, ED, infertility, colds, and insomnia

Stress and Smarts

Studies show that we lose IQ and EQ points when under stress

When we need our smarts most, they are least accessible to us (without proper coping mechanisms)

Stress and Leadership

A Swedish study shows that people who worked for bosses that were poor leaders were more likely to die of a heart attack

The Five Tools and Stress

Leaders must make extra efforts to manage stress to avoid “stress contagion”

Stress and Profitability

Stress-related missed work and underperformance is estimated at 10% of GNP

That’s a whopping 1.47 trillion dollars/year

That’s trillion, with a “T”

Stress and Creativity

On average, our minds can hold seven “chunks” of data

Think about a phone number for an example of “chunkiness”

Worry literally takes up space in our head that crowds out creativity

Stress makes you mean, stupid and dull

In Summary

Stress = Getting out of balance

Can be good and bad

Too much is as bad as too little

Has an enormous, measurable impact on profitability, engagement, retention, leadership, creativity and intelligence

Be prepared to speak to the quantitative impact of stress to get buy-in!

Any Questions?

Ask away!

I’m more approachable than my headshot would suggest.

Think of ‘em later?

@incblot – Twitter

daniel@incblot.org

www.incblot.org