Workplace Culture and Stress

This topic is discussed in my latest book

For more information, see Tom’s book, The Stress-Reduction Pyramid: A Guide to Managing the Greatest Threat to Employee Health and Productivity, available on Amazon. Also check out the articles in the Stress and Stress Management category.

A career in banking can seem very attractive: high salaries (for some anyway), good working conditions and prestige. But beware. Employees in corporate banking jobs across 26 countries experience higher stress levels than people in other finance careers, according to a recent study.¹ One person described a job in banking this way: “You will be required to work very, very, very hard (even if it sounds fun, it’s not) … Your day life will be full of stress, your stomach will start to hurt and you will not be able to sleep well at nights waking up randomly screaming.”²

Given this level of workplace stress – random screaming? – how can a bank (or any other organization) address harmful sources of stress, promote employee well-being and boost productivity? Effective action is called for, but how to identify the right things to do?

When we surveyed people in companies across the U.S., Survey respondents view their current cultures, overall, as task-oriented, centralized and manager-directed. They also experience their workplaces as predominantly procedural, risk-averse and analytical. To increase the potential for greater work fulfillment and reduce stress, people said their work cultures would need to exhibit:

Greater orientation toward people and less toward tasks – Increased consideration for employees’ personal well-being as essential to higher productivity and less stress, rather than an afterthought
More opportunity for self-direction – Greater autonomy for employees to determine when, where and how they will accomplish their jobs
A longer-term planning horizon – More opportunities for challenging work that is, to the greatest extent possible, free from unrealistic, onerous deadlines and contributes directly to individual growth and lasting organizational success
Stronger focus on innovative solutions to problems – More chances for employees to exercise creativity and rethink established, conventional approaches to work.

The effects of culture are among the chief causes of workplace stress, the context in which stressors are created or removed, lessened or heightened, the landscape in which stress management efforts succeed or fail. Business strategy may direct competitive tactics and initiatives, but organization culture determines the quality of execution and, to a large extent, the health of the enterprise and its people. As business legend Peter Drucker may have said (the source of the quote is disputed), “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”