Beating stress in the office

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn,” says American author John Maxwell.

Seeing mistakes as learning opportunities is one way to cope with stress, says psychiatrist and University of Stellenbosch business lecturer Renata Schoeman.

Schoeman applies the medical lessons she learnt on how the brain works to teach corporate managers to build resilient teams in a stressful work environment. Today’s global work environment is full of change and uncertainty, which cause stress.

“The volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity we have in the new economy by nature make people uncertain, because of how quickly things change,” says Schoeman.

This attacks people’s sense of belonging or being in control.

She says: “A little bit of stress helps us because we release neurotransmitters that aid us to focus, give us drive and energy. But too much stress too regularly has the opposite effect. It decreases the good neurotransmitters in our brain, which can lead to burnout, anxiety and depression.”

Schoeman says the best question to ask your team is “what would it take to [achieve] … ?” She explains this question acknowledges others as the experts, uses their ideas and has them commit to the outcome. It could give staff a sense of autonomy in an uncertain environment.