Written by Reeva Misra, CEO and founder of Walking On Earth
Wellbeing is a subject that’s rightly been moved up the agenda for employers. However, instructions from employers to ‘establish boundaries’ and ‘disconnect’ are sufficiently vague and there seems to be little in the way of practical, real life advice that works for professionals in high-stress environments like finance.
It’s therefore perhaps unsurprising that 83% of the working population in the UK and US are regularly experiencing dangerous levels of stress. Recent research indicates the financial industry places fifth on the list of most stressful industries, resulting in 2,140 out of 100,000 workers reporting a stress-related illness. Work has a huge influence on our emotional wellbeing, but that doesn’t mean daily work stress has to negatively impact our health and wellbeing. Instead, we need to think about how we can shape the work environment to make inevitable stressors manageable.
A big part of this is about understanding who we are and what triggers our stress response. Key stressors in the financial sector are heavy workloads and long hours, coupled with a drive for consistent high performance and efficiency. Most of us will have an immediate response to a stressful situation, but the skill lies in whether we can control it.
Training mindset to work like a muscle
One of the factors that determines this is how we navigate uncertainty. The inability to tolerate uncertainty is a big contributor to chronic stress, particularly because there will always be stressful events that we can’t control, in both our professional lives and our private lives.
Building a tolerance to uncertainty to improve our overall stress response also involves being able to identify when a particular situation is evoking a good stress response (eustress) or a bad stress response (distress). A core problem we face is when one-off stresses, like a big meeting or client requests at the end of the tax year, become chronic because we sustain a heightened state of stress and do not downregulate our nervous system by building in moments of recovery.
Research such as Alia Crum’s work supports the notion that our perception and mindset play a significant role in how stress affects us. One of her notable findings is that people who view stress as a challenge rather than a threat tend to experience healthier physiological responses – such as changes in heart rate, blood vessel constriction and hormonal responses – all of which can affect overall health.
This is unique to every individual, and something we need to train ourselves to learn, just like you would train a muscle. As we build our knowledge and ability to self analyse, we will eventually be able to discern in each stressful situation if we need a positive ‘challenge’ response, or if we simply need to let go, release control and know that it will pass.
Navigating workplace stress that is out of your control
In the workplace we each have a certain position or level within a hierarchy and our range of control over our resources gets limited the further down the hierarchy we go. This includes everything from the people we have to help, the level of decision making power we have, and whether the demands and deadlines asked of us are realistic. Having very little job control is a predictor of long term poor mental health, and even physical health, with the resulting stress linked to the early onset of cardiovascular disease.
Stressful working cultures with high workloads, long hours, toxic behaviours and limited support, are all key contributors to chronic workplace stress. Individual resilience skills can’t make up for unsupportive workplaces. To manage this, HR leaders need to create a supportive culture built on a foundation of psychological safety, one that prioritises wellbeing throughout the day, and provides the systems and tools that enable this.
The science of micro moments of recovery
Deep slow breathing, physical movement, laughter, creative expression and positive social interactions are all ‘micro moments’ that signal to your nervous system that you are safe. Neuroscience has shown that as little as a 60-second breathing exercise is enough to move from a heightened bodily stress state, the sympathetic state, to a calmer one, the parasympathetic state.
Solutions like these that break the cycle of chronic stress and are accessible in a workplace are surprisingly simple and easy to integrate into daily life. Implementing these micro moments of recovery is an essential part of building longer term resilience to chronic stress.
So often we feel we’re too busy in our day jobs to make time to invest in health and wellbeing activities like exercise which can take out a chunk of our day. However, a short five minute break, whether this involves taking some controlled breaths or stretching at your desk, can be enough to break the cycle of chronic stress, calming our body before or after a stressful event and enabling us to move on with a clear mind.
Wellbeing is no longer a box ticking exercise
Employee wellbeing is not just a matter of personal health; it is an integral part of a business’ overall strategy and success. Advisory firms that prioritise and invest in employee wellbeing recognise its pivotal role in achieving both individual and collective goals, creating a win-win situation where healthy, satisfied employees contribute to a thriving and prosperous business.
When employees are engaged, healthy and happy at work, they bring their best selves to work, go above and beyond what’s required, and are committed to helping the business reach its goals. A happier, less stressed, and less anxious workforce is a more productive workforce.
