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We know from research that employees leave managers before they leave organizations. That is to say, they likely leave unprepared managers. By comparison, managers with comprehensive training are more able to create an engaging work environment where attrition slows and production increases.
Many companies are recognizing the importance of manager training and are investing heavily in manager development programs to ensure that their emerging leaders are well-prepared to navigate the challenges of their new role.
Join us as we celebrate ORCA HR Solutions’ 10th anniversary, reflecting on a decade of transformative leadership development. Discover what differentiates ORCA HR from other companies and learn about our commitment to conscious leadership.
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.
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…
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Similarly, assessment can also be utilized to diagnose workplace stressors within teams or in the organization as a whole. Organizations can:
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.
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:
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.
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?
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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?
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.
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:
Each of these categories have their own set of characteristics and responses which can affect performance on an individual or team-wide level.
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.
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.
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 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:
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.
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:
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:
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.