With over 35 years of experience in high-growth organizations, ORCA’s Conscious Manager Academy© is a proven program that focuses on skills development, self-awareness, and stress management.
How Understanding Stress Through the Neuro Lens Creates More Trusting Teams
Over the last couple of decades, the business world has changed dramatically. Work expectations used to be more traditional, focusing on stability, long-term employment…
How Tech Companies Can Manage Stress Through Assessments
Workplace stress is at an all-time high and those in the tech and IT industry are shouldering more than most.
According to Gartner, Inc., by 2025, nearly half of cybersecurity leaders will change jobs, 25% for different roles entirely due to multiple work-related stressors. Employee burnout and anxiety are leading to record attrition rates, and organizations that rely on the knowledge and dedication of their workforce are facing a significant threat to their security teams.
Although many of these companies know that workplace stress is an issue, often it can be considered an individual issue, not something the company itself needs to change. Or if a company does want to address stress, they aren’t sure how to diagnose, make changes and measure that change. That’s where stress assessments and workshops can help to give good data and actionable steps to make an impact.
But first, let’s talk about the issues that cause stress in tech organizations.
The damage of workplace stress when left unaddressed
When employees experience stress, it can have a significant impact on the organization as a whole. Prioritizing the wellbeing of employees by taking steps to manage stress levels is critical for organizations, and leaders, who wish to create a healthier and more productive workforce. Workplace stress can cause:
- Burnout: a common result of prolonged stress, can cause employees to feel exhausted and disengaged from their work. This can lead to decreased productivity, lower morale, and increased absenteeism.
- Attrition: employees who experience high levels of stress are more likely to leave their jobs, seeking opportunities with better work-life balance or lower stress levels.
- Work Quality: when employees are stressed, they may make mistakes, miss important details, or fail to take necessary precautions, leading to an increased risk of errors.
- Security Threats: employees who are stressed and burnt out are less likely to follow security guidelines and protocols leading to a higher risk of data breaches.
Security threats are especially concerning for the IT and cybersecurity sector where insider threats such as data theft, sabotage and malicious activity require constant vigilance from employees. Mismanagement of critical security tasks can lead to data breaches and compromise an organization’s sensitive data which could easily result in fines, penalties and punitive consequences.
Diagnosing stress through assessments
Workplace stress can be a complex issue that manifests in different ways depending on the individual and the organization. Without a proper diagnosis, it can be difficult to determine the root cause of workplace stressors. For example, you may not be aware of which departments or roles are most affected, what specific stressors are present, or how stress impacts individual or team performance. Without this information, any solution or intervention implemented may be ineffective or even counterproductive, as they may not address the underlying causes. Not to mention, without a clear understanding of the problem, it can be challenging to measure the effectiveness of any interventions.
Assessments, like the TTI SI assessment offered by ORCA, are powerful tools that can diagnose issues like stress on an individual, team or organizational level. This allows for real data that can give companies a baseline of where they are at now as well as showing improvements over time. As we all know, without data and measurable results, C-suite leaders and board members are less likely to take action.
Addressing stress individually for leaders
Leaders who take an active role in managing stress at their organization create a more positive and productive work environment that benefits not only their team but the organization as a whole. When leadership is involved it sends a clear message to staff that their wellbeing is a top priority, leading to increased engagement and a more positive work culture. However, our philosophy is that leaders must show by example and manage their own wellbeing first before they can help others. Actions from leadership trickle down and sets the tone for the whole organization.
That’s why helping leaders identify their individual stressors is vital to the organization as a whole.
When working with ORCA, the TTI SI Assessment is paired with ORCA 4 A’s of Conscious Leadership framework so leaders can identify their stressors and take action to solve them.
Diagnosing stress within teams and organizations
Similarly, assessment can also be utilized to diagnose workplace stressors within teams or in the organization as a whole. Organizations can:
- Determine how stress is impacting productivity
- See if work demands are spurring discontent
- Uncover unresolved issues across teams
- Have the prompts to address stress head-on
This helps companies then implement programs and actions to reduce the specific stressors that are most important.
Companies that proactively address and effectively manage workplace stress are seen as more attractive places to work and will help retain and attract great talent.
Get a sneak peek.
With stress being such an issue for many of our clients, we’ve created some additional free resources so you can learn more about how to actionably diagnose and manage stress in your organization.
I’ve created a free 15 minute mini-course on 7 ways you can diagnose organizational stress—AND 7 ways to actionably address that stress, now.
In just a few minutes, I’ll give you an overview of:
- Why stress management is important for organizations
- The 7 factors of stress in the workplace
- How to measure the 7 factors of stress individually, as a team, and as an organization
- Determining actions to manage and address organizational stress
Once you’ve completed the mini-course, you’ll also have access to try out the TTI SI Assessment for free. This way you can see what’s included in the report and experience the value it can provide for your organization.
Get access to the mini-course and your free assessment here.
How CHROs Can Lead (Consciously) During a Shallow Recession
We know 98% of CEOs are forecasting a shallow recession in the next 12 to 18 months. As more and more CHROs and People Officers are included in overall business decisions, these roles will be important in determining how well the business does. While CEOs and CFOs promote caution in expenses, how can CHROs help lead, consciously?
Provide support + guidance in talent management
CHROs can help by ensuring employees are motivated and committed to the organization’s success during a downturn through programs that promote employee well-being and foster a positive workplace culture.
Talent management can not only survive but evolve during an economic downturn. Adaptation is the fourth step in our Conscious Leadership framework, because now that we’ve become aware; acknowledged where we’re at (in this case, on the verge of a recession); and taken action toward our preferred outcomes, now we can adapt. Guiding what recruiting will help the organization be most productive at this time will be an adaptive process CHROs can impact greatly.
Help identify + retain key employees
CHROs can help the CEO to identify and retain key employees who are critical to the organization’s success in higher-growth business lines.
With the highest tech layoffs since the dot-com crash 20 years ago, retaining key employees will be crucial to keep business going. Encouraging feedback and input from employees; fostering an atmosphere of flexibility; and placing an emphasis on clear work objectives are all routes to greater retention and employee engagement, but one thing we see as an even bigger barrier for CHROs to help through is stress management.
Keep an eye on stress management
A shallow recession is a time of uncertainty, which can lead to a high level of stress for CHROs and other leaders.
According to recent data, more than one-third of working Americans reported experiencing chronic work stress, and just 36 percent said their organizations provide sufficient resources to help them manage that stress. During a recession? That number is sure to be higher.
It’s really important to take care of yourself first, prioritizing effective self-care. You can’t fill others’ cups without first filling yours.
Being open and empathetic goes a long way. Everyone will react differently to change and a recession and everyone is impacted differently. Taking strides to reduce stress across the organization will be more important during this time.
Raising the consciousness and competencies of your organization starts with your leadership. Leaders are multipliers and when we bring our whole, conscious, intentional selves to the table, people thrive and flourish (and therefore our businesses thrive and flourish).
Be proactive with stress management for recession-proof HR
CHROs need to be ready to come to the executive table with an actionable plan to lead during the upcoming recession. If you’re a CHRO and need help developing your organizational leadership objectives and execution, reach out to our experts at experts@orcahrsolutions.com.
Or take a complementary stress assessment and 30 minute consultation to see how you can use it within your organization. Email experts@orcahrsolutions.com to request yours.
Getting out of reactive mode at an organizational level
CHROs, People Officers, and team leaders are finding that stress is pervasive in workplaces right now more than ever. Find out if your organization is at a tipping point and what you can do. And get a complementary stress assessment.
In today’s workplace, managing stress is #1
The link between stress, emotional intelligence, + highly productive teams in tech organizations
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, now more than ever, workplace stress in America has become a serious threat to workers’ overall wellbeing and health, ultimately threatening and weakening organizations. But what exactly counts as work stress? It’s not the challenges that energize you psychologically and physically and that motivate you to learn and problem solve (“good stress”). It is when job requirements fail to match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the employee, causing negative and often harmful physical and emotional responses (“bad stress”).
With job stress becoming an increasing problem, researchers have conducted numerous surveys and studies to find out how many employees are affected and what type of mental and physical health problems they are experiencing as a result. Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report shows that in 2021, stress among the world’s workforce reached an all time high, with 44% of employees experiencing stress a lot of the previous day. In the U.S. and Canada, that number is higher with 50% of employees experiencing daily stress that can be categorized as “bad stress.”
So how do you, as a CHRO, reduce workplace stress?
On the front lines of tech stress
As technology progresses, we are pushed further into an online world. As a result, there are more and more security issues with hackers trying to breach and disrupt companies and organizations in this online space; at ORCA HR, we work with many tech companies, and see stress in the cybersecurity sector as a particularly acute scenario.
One concern of a past client from a cybersecurity organization was how these security breaches were impacting the workers who had to prevent or fix these issues, especially since these breaches caused severely negative PR.
According to a report from IBM, the majority of cybersecurity incident responders think the rise of ransomware has exacerbated the stress and psychological demands—with 67% of cybersecurity incident responders said they experience stress and anxiety in their daily lives as a result of responding to an incident.
To help this company, we created a stress management workshop that helped workers identify, acknowledge, and control their stress, which was becoming pervasive even when there wasn’t an active breach.
Discovering your workplace stressors
One tool that we like using to assess stress is the TTI SI Stress Quotient Assessment tool. This is a diagnostics tool that focuses on workplace culture and helps to determine and measure one’s stressors. It does so by analyzing stress in 7 different dimensions to help pinpoint which areas your team might be struggling in.
The seven dimensions include:
- Workplace Demands
- Effort and Reward Balance
- Control
- Organizational Change
- Management Issues
- Social Support
- Job Security
Each of these categories have their own set of characteristics and responses which can affect performance on an individual or team-wide level.
Understanding where stress resides within the seven dimensions of the workplace
- Workplace Demands
- Stress resulting from excessive demand happens when workloads become overwhelming or skills or talents don’t match the position.
- Reflect: Is my job even designed well enough in terms of what I’m expected to do?
- Effort and Reward Balance
- When high levels of output and effort are met with minimal rewards – whether that be compensation, a promotion or simple recognition for a job well done – an individual’s stress can skyrocket. Without an effort/reward balance, an employee can feel disconnected, unmotivated and even angry.
- Reflect: Is my effort and the reward I receive in balance?
- Control
- Feeling powerless is a universal cause of job stress. Lack of control comes from high responsibility paired with low authority, not being heard, not being involved and others not understanding your work.
- Reflect: Do I have autonomy in my role?
- Organizational Change
- Changes within the organization– from management restructuring to new policies and procedures – impact individuals differently. For some, it brings apprehension, insecurity and confusion – all which can raise stress levels when changes are not properly communicated or understood.
- Reflect: How much organizational change is causing stress?
- Management Issues
- Reasonable directives from your boss should be expected. It’s when he or she creates enormous pressure or challenges, to the point of it hindering your workload, that cause stress to increase.
- Reflect: Is your manager equipped to handle the increasing scale of the work?
- Social Support
- An unsupportive social environment can cause workplace stress. Managers who don’t provide clear and consistent information and co-workers who fail to assist one another leaves employees feeling unengaged and unproductive.
- Reflect: Am I receiving support from others around me?
- Job Security
- Fearing for your job is extremely stressful. However, stress can also be caused by lack of advancement, being promoted too slowly or being promoted too quickly to be successful in the job.
- Reflect: Do I feel secure about my job?
When you’re not aware of certain things, they are going to control you
Workplace stress is something that can have a large negative impact on productivity and employee flourishing if left unchecked. Through the use of the TTI SI Stress Assessment, we are able to analyze stress from many different viewpoints; not just individual stress but also organizational stress. If you can look at the whole system people work in and break it down into types of stress, then you can find the particular stress that needs to be addressed.
Once we are able to pinpoint and defuse the stressors, we are able to begin making progress to reduce their control and impact on performance.
Is your team (or even your whole organization) struggling with stress?
Take a complementary stress assessment and 30 minute consultation. Email experts@orcahrsolutions.com to request yours.
Test Assumptions in TRUST
Why assumptions limit growth for both you and your company
To have workplace success, implementing trust in your team and testing assumptions is crucial. But what does that look like? It is working with and trusting your team in finding the best way to work relationally—efficiently and effectively—while also continually reassessing and making improvements as needed.
Regulating and understanding TRUST
Creating trust in an organization can be as simple as TRUST:
Test Assumptions
When we use this model as a roadmap, we can be aware of our mindset, intentions and impact. This puts us in our prefrontal cortex where we’re best suited to make the decisions and connections that move our companies forward.
Assumptions can hold back innovation
Assumptions are a natural component of workplace interactions. But what is an assumption? An assumption is a thought or a hunch based on our past experiences and our formed biases.
Here are some examples of common workplace assumptions:
- “This is the way it’s always been done, so why change it?”
- “Management doesn’t understand!”
- “Nobody ever listens, so why speak up?”
- “If someone has an issue, they will speak up, so I don’t have to ask their thoughts.”
If not constantly and consistently challenged, these types of assumptions can affect decision-making and stifle growth, not only on a personal level, but also on an organizational level.
Bridge the gap between Assumption and Reality
Part of steadily improving is to test our own assumptions as well as the assumptions of those around us. The goal of these tests is to figure out and define what are the real roadblocks and what can be overcome with change.
Asking questions is one way to gain insight on which hypotheses are limiting progress. An effective analysis of Scenario #1 listed above might involve the following questions:
- “Could this assumption be incorrect? Maybe there hasn’t been a better alternative suggested yet.”
- “Has the environment changed? What resources do you have available now?”
- “How has the situation changed? Are there new requirements that make this suggestion more relevant today?”
After acknowledging our assumptions, take action to implement change
At this point, you have identified some of the beliefs and expectations that might be holding you and your team back. Now is the time to push forward and overcome our limitations.
Work to answer these questions in order to succeed:
- “How are these assumptions limiting us?”
- “What should we do differently going forward? Identify two or three commitments to action.”
- “How will we hold ourselves accountable to these commitments?”
- “What can we do to continue to challenge future assumptions?”
With Test Assumptions concluding our Organizational Trust series, look out for more tips on building workplace trust by signing up for our newsletter.
For additional information and to schedule time with one of our experts, email us at experts@orcahrsolutions.com.
Shared Success in TRUST
Could quiet quitting be a symptom of low trust?
Each year, many companies set out to accomplish more ambitious goals than the year prior. With these raised expectations, employees are expected to work harder and achieve more. Leaders often don’t do enough to share success and celebrate achievements, despite company emphasis on the importance of meeting or exceeding goals.
You may have heard stories about “quiet quitting” circulating around social media lately, and for good reason. Are employees motivated to put in more of their energy, passion and effort into their career, or just showing up for the task at hand?
Quiet quitting is less about employee’s willingness to work more creatively and more about leadership’s ability to build a relationship built on trust, so the team isn’t just counting down the minutes until they can log off for the day.
Moving from transactional to transformational leadership
Can you recall a time in your career when you had a leader who made you feel undervalued or unappreciated? Perhaps you felt like the bare minimum was all you had to give, based on your manager’s behavior. Isn’t this a transactional relationship, where you check in and check out?
Then there are inspiring mentors and leaders motivating you to be your best self—you want to show up for that energy, and want to do everything you can to accomplish the goals and objectives. Isn’t this a transformational relationship, where many positive outcomes are possible?
A big difference between these two scenarios, which happen to many of us as we encounter different work environments and situations, is the ability to share success within and across an organization.
Regulating and understanding TRUST
Creating trust in an organization can be as simple as TRUST:
Shared Success
Test Assumptions
When we use this model as a roadmap, we can be aware of our mindset, intentions and impact. This puts us in our prefrontal cortex where we’re best suited to make the decisions and connections that move our companies forward.
Sharing success creates a more positive environment
When leaders share success between teams and individuals, whether it comes from completing a project, meeting or exceeding financial goals, or gaining new clients, we have a higher sense of self-worth. We also feel more connected to and in tune with the organization, including having more trust in it.
As an employee, how does it feel if success is not shared, credit not given, and accomplishments go unrecognized?
Tips to share success with employees:
- Reflect on and acknowledge the work. It doesn’t have to be an extensive breakdown but can be something like: “because of the work that went into x,y,z tasks, we were able to successfully achieve x result.”
- Give credit where credit is due. Recognizing hard work and acknowledging the employees who helped in the process gives employees validation and encouragement.
- Celebrate! Reward employees by taking their minds off of work. A team lunch, extra break time, or a fun workshop/ activity are great ways to build relationships and show employee appreciation.
Stay tuned for the next and final article in our Organizational Trust series, where we’ll dive deep into Test Assumptions. For more information and to schedule time with one of our experts, email us at experts@orcahrsolutions.com.
Understanding in TRUST
How listening to understand moves colleagues from transactional to transformational relationships
Trust in organizations, institutions, and leaders is at an all-time low in the United States. When people lose their trust, it’s nearly impossible to get ahead as an organization; additionally, with job cuts in the tech sector, that can mean less people in your organization.
Making sure the people you do have in your organization have a high level of trust with one another and the shared mission is crucial.
Regulating and understanding TRUST
Creating trust in an organization can be as simple as TRUST:
Understanding
Shared Success
Test Assumptions
When we use this model as a roadmap, we can be aware of our mindset, intentions and impact. This puts us in our prefrontal cortex where we’re best suited to make the decisions and connections that move our companies forward.
Understanding leads the way
Human beings thrive on connection and affirmation. We wither in the face of criticism and judgment.
Listening to understand and connect is more than just listening to confirm what you know; it’s truly about focusing on the other person without judgment, and without the need to confirm or reject what is being said in order to be right.
Dave Ulrich shares statements that help turn truth into trust. Depending on your leadership role and style, these include statements like:
- How well do I understand your point of view?
- Here’s what I propose given my values and goals. What would you suggest?
- I don’t know; can we find out together?
- What information do you have that may help us make a better decision?
- What is happening in your life that is causing stress? Let’s discuss so I can support you.
Full attention leads to understanding
Listening without judgment involves paying full attention to the person who is speaking, while consciously setting aside the tendency to judge them. Listening to understand and connect is an important component of creating a conversational space that creates deeper understanding and engagement rather than fear and avoidance.
Ask yourself: what is their perspective?
When you listen, it’s about THEM, not YOU. What is their perspective? Their fear? The results they want? Listening is our gateway to connection that leads to trust.
You’ll notice the word “listen” contains the same letters as the word “silent.” When we are truly listening, we are not speaking at the same moment, internally or externally. We turn off our mind chatter.
Consider:
- How does your connection change when you truly focus on the other person without judging or listening for points to counter or reject?
- How does the listener’s reaction to you change as a result?
- How do you feel when someone deeply listens to you?
- What do we do when we listen to connect?
- Notice the eyes: are they open or closed?
- Notice the whole person: is there a shift in their face?
Practice listening to understand in the next conversation you have in your organization. You’ll be surprised how far a simple intention can go.
Stay tuned for the next in our Organizational Trust series, where we’ll dive deep into Shared Success. For more information and to schedule time with one of our experts, email us at experts@orcahrsolutions.com .
Relationship in TRUST
How companies promoting workplace relationship benefit from happier employees
Trust plays a part in every conversation you have throughout the day. While conversing with someone, your conscious mind might not be thinking whether you trust them or their provided information. Your subconscious mind, however, is constantly analyzing their interactions with yourself and others as well as recalling past experiences and similar interactions in order to gauge their trustworthiness. Therefore, all conversations either build trust or break it down.
Over the years, workplace collaboration has become increasingly popular and important among employees. A Gartner, Inc. Survey shows that nearly 80% of workers used collaboration tools for work in 2021, which was a 44% increase since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
With increased collaboration within organizations, there is a stronger need to connect with others to build meaningful relationships and therefore trust.
Regulating and understanding TRUST
Creating trust in an organization can be as simple as TRUST:
Transparency
Relationship
Understanding
Shared Success
Test Assumptions
When we use this model as a roadmap, we can be aware of our mindset, intentions and impact. This puts us in our prefrontal cortex where we’re best suited to make the decisions and connections that move our companies forward.
With remote or hybrid work, workplace relationships are more important—and difficult to achieve—than ever
Traditionally, full-time workers often spend more of their waking hours alongside co-workers than they do with their spouses and families. In today’s environment with many employees still working remotely either full time or part time due to the pandemic, relationships play a significant role in interactions.
When you are staring at a computer screen all day, it’s easy to forget that on the other end of your emails and chat messages is another human being. Without much of a relationship, it can be hard to assess tone and intentions over these forms of communication. This opens the door for misunderstandings, negative encounters, and ill feelings toward co-workers. Ultimately, it can lessen trust between people.
So, what are some actions you can take to prioritize remote work relationships? Here are a few of our suggestions:
- Discuss issues over a call. You can really benefit from hearing each other’s voices and tone of voice.
- Take it a step further and turn on your cameras during meetings to see expressions and get that face to face value.
- Schedule non-work related meetings where you can get to know each other better. Try and find an online trivia game or other icebreakers that you and your team can work together on.
Workplace relationships allow employees to flourish
Whether working remotely or in-person, employees who invest in nourishing their relationships with team members feel more fulfilled and accomplish more. A Connected Commons study, where interviews were conducted with 160 leaders (80 men and 80 women) across 20 organizations, showed that workplace relationships proved useful with different aspects of: producing innovative solutions, executing work efficiently, and thriving at work.
They found that people who create energy, purpose, and trust within their workplace networks succeed over time at a stunningly high rate. Furthermore, these good relationships brought project opportunities, talented people who sought to work with them, and were able to generate greater innovation and creativity overall. With this information in mind, it is hard to underestimate the power of relationships.
Who can you build a stronger relationship with in your organization?
Stay tuned for the next in our Organizational Trust series, where we’ll dive deep into Understanding. For more information and to schedule time with one of our experts, email us at experts@orcahrsolutions.com.