You’re sitting quietly at your desk, working, when you notice some of your colleagues coming out of the conference room looking stressed. They seem to be in the middle of a tense conversation – frowning, laptops in hand – and you wonder what the problem is.
You start to feel a little stressed yourself. Your breathing quickens, you feel uncomfortable, and your mind starts racing. The thing is, these colleagues have very little to do with your work – so any problem they face is unlikely to affect you or your work.
So why is the mere presence of her cause stress You do you feel stressed?
When we hear the word contagious, we usually think of viruses like the common cold. But research suggests that mental conditions, including stress, can be transmitted from person to person in a similar way to infectious diseases.
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A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that stress in the people you spend time with can lead to feelings of stress yourself. Even babies sense their mothers’ stress and show corresponding physiological changes, such as increased heart rate, a separate study led by UC San Francisco found.
There are many reasons why we mimic or mirror the emotions of others. First, it is an evolutionary mechanism designed to help us stay safe. Stress triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which increases our alertness and can help us react in a new or dangerous situation. Being around someone who seems stressed signals to us that we should feel the same way – because danger may be imminent.
Additionally, because we are naturally social creatures, we can catch stress, as emotional contagion helps foster social closeness. Unfortunately, however, studies show that negative emotions are more contagious and last longer—which may indicate that we can protect ourselves by paying attention to these signals.
Even if we don’t have to defend ourselves against predators in the workplace, this psychological uncertainty remains. Therapist and counselor Ellie Rowland-Callanan points out that stress can also spread due to our behavior when we feel under pressure.
“Stress can be contagious because stress creates stress,” she says. “Let’s take an example from the world of work: A manager is given a deadline by management that he cannot meet. Management thinks that this will motivate them.
“They feel the pressure when a member of their team comes to them needing their guidance on a project and also has a pressing deadline,” says Rowland-Callanan.
“They want to be a good manager, but they are the ones who have to deliver results to the company’s board of directors. Instead, they yell at their subordinates that they are too busy to ‘care.'”
Preventing stress contagion is difficult, but reducing overall stress levels among workers can help solve the problem.
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For individuals, it’s important to set boundaries. For example, if you have a colleague who likes to complain and listening to them every day affects your mood, it might be best to limit the time you spend with them. There are other proven ways to reduce stress, too, such as taking regular breaks, spending time outside in nature – a local park will do – and switching off from work outside of work hours.
However, it is arguably even more important for employers to focus on reducing stress because if an employer places high demands on an employee, they are unlikely to feel able to take a break when they need it.
How employers can help stop the spread of stress
Rethink the urgency
“Employers can take into account the individual workload and check whether it is appropriate. If it is not, they can take appropriate action,” says Rowland-Callanan.
The term “sense of urgency” has become increasingly popular in companies in recent years.
“This is intended to increase focus and complete projects faster. This term comes from the colonial practice of viewing people as resources,” she adds. “While urgency is essential in life-critical settings like emergency departments, it can cause disproportionate stress in non-emergency department settings.”
Rethinking common organizational concepts like this can help employers see employees as people who care about more than just their productivity.
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Psychological safety
The term “psychological safety” was first coined in 1999 in a paper by Amy Edmonson, an organizational behavior scientist at Harvard University, and describes a climate in which it is possible and desirable to express one’s opinion.
Promoting psychological safety in the workplace is important to prevent stress because it allows people to talk about their problems without fear of getting into trouble.
“It can help promote employee autonomy and build authentic working relationships. When employees are treated with respect and integrity is shown by management, employees are statistically less likely to experience unhealthy stress,” says Rowland-Callanan. “Employees also tend to be more engaged and happier, and less likely to take their stress out on their coworkers.”
Attention: 52% of Americans would accept a 20% pay cut for a better work-life balance
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