Holidays are behind us, and the stresses and strains of work are upon us once again. Wellbeing, including stress, is fast becoming one of the most talked about workplace topics of our time. So how do we recognise and cope with stress in the workplace? Jessica Dooley, Chief Chemist at Deloitte explores how Business Chemistry® can improve the art of relationships in a business environment.
Stress affects us all. It manifests itself in different ways depending on how we prefer to work. While some level of stress can be beneficial to getting things done, excessive levels can take a toll on individuals, team productivity and performance, as well as our overall physical and mental wellbeing. But how does our working style affect how we cope with stress? How often are we stressed? And do some people experience more or less of it in the workplace than others? Deloitte’s Business Chemistry team conducted a study* to find out.
Business Chemistry® is a system used by Deloitte to identify and talk about similarities and differences between people’s working styles. It reveals primary patterns of characteristics associated with four Business Chemistry types”: Guardians, Integrators, Pioneers and Drivers. Guardians value stability, and bring order and rigour. Integrators value connections and draw teams together. Pioneers value variety, the art of the possible and spark energy. Drivers value challenge and results, and generate momentum. But how do they react under stress?
The majority of survey respondents said they felt stressed only rarely (15 percent) to sometimes (57 percent). Overall, 25 percent said they’re stressed often, and just three percent, almost always.
When we take a Business Chemistry lens to this we see something else; one third of Guardians and Integrators revealed they felt stressed often or always, compared to their Driver and Pioneer colleagues, where less than one quarter reported the same. Drivers and Pioneers said they work best under moderate to high levels of stress as opposed to the Guardians and Integrators who said the opposite.
We asked which situations people found stressful. Realising one had made an error caused stress for 82 percent of respondents, with around half the respondents reporting feeling stressed due to heavy workload, conflict, urgency, and face-to-face interactions. Although all Business Chemistry types reported feeling stressed about the same things, the study revealed that Guardians and Integrators found each of these instances to be more stressful than did Drivers and Pioneers.
The potential benefits of cognitive diversity such as sparking innovation and mitigating Groupthink have been known for a while, but under stressful working conditions are we losing out on these? What can we do to help reduce the impact of stress?
It’s important to recognise that people respond differently to stress. A particular event may not feel stressful to you but a team member may feel differently. You may also want to remember that not everyone uses the same strategies for coping with stress. Knowing how others prefer to cope can help support each other when stress levels are high. And if you’re a leader hoping to get the most from your team, you may want to consider how to reduce stress levels for those who feel less effective under such conditions, most notably Guardians and Integrators.
Understanding the differences between people is a powerful step for teams looking to improve their working relationships and team performance at any time, but particularly during periods of stress.
For more information on Business Chemistry visit, www.deloitte.co.uk/businesschemistry