Stressproof

Richard Sutton

Description

The world faces a ‘giant storm’ of stress and burnout that is exacerbated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Learning how to navigate the world going forward is something that everyone has to do. How can leaders help themselves, their employees and their businesses to thrive in the face of these and other challenges?

Stressproof speaks to the crisis currently facing the professional landscape. It outlines the conundrum of stress and its performance advantage versus its destructiveness; and it focuses on the stress-related challenges facing decision makers in the world of business today.

Practical, insightful and based on case studies and real-world examples, Stressproof provides a game-changing action plan to help managers, leaders and those who are making decisions.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Bien-être émotionnel
• Bien-être émotionnel
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Self-help
• Occupational therapy
• health
• Self-Management
• Stress Management

Informations

• Publié par: Pan Macmillan South Africa
• Date de parution: 04 janvier 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770107830
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

To my wife, Gaby, and sons, Isaac and Joshua; you are my world and greatest blessing.

StressPROOF
The Game Plan
RICHARD SUTTON
MACMILLAN

First published in 2021
by Pan Macmillan South Africa
Private Bag x 19
Northlands 2116
Johannesburg
South Africa
www.panmacmillan.co.za
isbn 978-1-77010-782-3
e-isbn 978-1-77010-783-0
© Richard Sutton 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Editing by Jane Bowman
Proofreading by Claire Heckrath
Design and typesetting by Triple M Design, Johannesburg
Cover design by publicide
Author photograph by Jason Crouse


Contents
preface : where it all started
introduction
1 . The Conundrum
Stress – the performance advantage
A system in overdrive
Stress and digestive issues
Stress and our immune system
Under siege
Linking autoimmune conditions to chronic stress
Perfectionism may be destroying our youth
Autoimmune diseases – once the exception, now the norm
What chronic stress does to the human brain
Altered structure, reduced function
Stress – the greatest leadership challenge of our time
2 : Why Now?
Everything is changing
Poverty and hunger are increasing
Hunger and malnutrition impact mental health and emotional stability later on in life
The science
The all-consuming stress of financial pressure
Productivity – a disappearing act
The ‘high-performance’ culture
The implosion of the ‘high-performance’ model
The labour market – is employment becoming a luxury item?
Pushing harder to stay in the race
Earnings not aligned with basic living expenses
Corroded self-worth and personal value
Businesses struggling to stay in the game
The new challenges we all face
Our current skills are on the endangered list
The growing divide
The future of jobs
Skills and training
Rising prevalence of job and employment insecurity
Economic downturn and recessions are creating heightened uncertainty and insecurity
The psychological contract
The impact of job, employment and economic instability
Physical pain hurts your business
Future-proofing for perceptions of fairness and injustice
Future-proofing for job and employment insecurity
Connection and unity create a significant source of strength
A recalibration of work
The benefits
The downside
Trust and success
All on its head
The overwhelming stress of uncertainty and a lack of control
Coronavirus – we’ve got your number
Stress triggers, responses and resolutions
A lack of control plus one
3 . The Impact of the Giant Storm
Badge of honour
Solving the burnout puzzle
Why we need to take stress more seriously
Stress around the world
The European stress landscape
European companies acknowledge the need for action
Is the other side of the Channel any better?
Across the pond
South Africa – A nation on its knees
The unemployment calamity
Profit over people
Increasing demands on South African professionals
What is being felt on the ground in South Africa?
Mental health in South Africa
4 . The Action Plan
Acknowledge your role
Looking for leadership
The expanded portfolio
Changing the script
Lead
The connection factor
Empower your people
Solve problems
Regardless of your title, be a CEO
Boosting productivity
The PRODUCTIVITY silos
Wellness programmes
Poor health has a high price tag
Quantifiable returns
Get ready to be amazed
Why wellness programmes often fail
The time factor
Not addressing the root cause
Underexposure to the new vision
A wellness programme that works
A story of leadership
Wellness programme fundamentals
Give more control and authority to your team
Create an environment of mutual support
Listen, always be fair, consistent and authentic
Nurture an effort-reward balance
Tackling overcommitment
Tackling the external factors
the game plan
acknowledgements
the stress code app


Preface
Where it all started
In 1998, having recently returned from the United States (US) where I had completed a course under the tutelage of the leading authority on core training and athletic development, a medical supply company approached me to put together a talk on proprioception and core training. They had made a large investment in exercise balls and similar devices that, to their surprise, were not selling, and they were hoping that through a series of seminars they could create enough awareness to increase sales.
The equipment was readily available in the US and was being used in a therapeutic context by top teams and athletes. It was very familiar to me and so I was comfortable speaking about the area of focus and, in turn, promoting the equipment.
The company requested that I start with a pilot session with a small audience in a small town and gauge the response. I was nervous at the thought of public speaking but at the same time I was very excited. The opportunity to be paid for what I believed in and loved was inconceivable. But there was one small snag – I was petrified of group and public speaking and my track record of effectively communicating with more than two or three people at a time was unimpressive.
Looking back more than two decades, I recall how unprepared I was, with no slides prepared and no formal structure to the all-day session. But what I did have was passion and enthusiasm.
The organisers picked me up at 5.30am that day and we drove to a small physiotherapy practice two hours outside of Johannesburg. It was mid-July and brutally cold (by South African standards) and I hadn’t slept the night before as my fears and insecurities had been all-consuming and irrational. My 2am self-dialogue questioned what I had signed up for and that maybe I should cancel it all. Fortunately, by 5am I felt calmer and reconciled to the event.
We arrived at the physiotherapy practice where a modest-sized room had been set up. A group of nine highly experienced physiotherapists had graciously given up their day to learn about the new and innovative philosophy of training and rehabilitation that I was eager to share with them. They were warm and welcoming and after a super strong cup of coffee (in hindsight, not the best idea as coffee increases our stress response) I was standing in front of the group. I was so nervous that I could hardly get my words out for the first hour, which was interrupted by the occasional and involuntary tremble of my hands and chatter of my teeth. The group remained patient and extremely tolerant and my nerves abated as I became immersed in the content and engagement with the group.
The next few hours passed in what felt like minutes and the workshop became effortless and enjoyable. It turned out to be a great success, despite the lack of polish on my part, no dazzling keynote presentation, no impressive stage, no dramatic lighting or music effects or a designer suit. It was just me and a group of deeply caring women sharing a passion for knowledge, health and helping others.
This soon turned into a nationwide tour where the groups got bigger, the content was accompanied by a manual and my communication style became (a little) more refined. I never lost those initial nerves or that feeling of being completely overwhelmed but I simply resigned myself to the fact that the first five minutes might not be as coherent as the rest of the session and realised that nerves are a good thing and, when used correctly, stress gives us superpowers.
I spoke at clinics and private groups around the country and I was asked to speak at leading universities locally and, later, internationally. My audiences had become predominantly post-graduate students and the content far more academic, expansive and heavily evidence-based. I soon discovered a pattern and regardless of the topic, location or size of the group, the question of stress always came up. People constantly asked: What can I do for my stress? How can I better manage my stress? How will this help me with my stress? These questions were well-founded and working in one of the highest stress environments (that of elite level, professional sport), I had provided these kinds of solutions for my clients for almost 15 years.
This sparked an idea within me and I started preliminary research for my book, The Stress Code . Two years in, I was approached by the wellness team from a successful bank. They wanted to inspire and motivate one of their most influential leadership teams with health knowledge and personal awareness. I hadn’t spoken to a corporate team before but had always aspired to move into this space when I moved out of professional sport. In a briefing session, the wellness team stated that the said high-performing team was struggling with stress and they desperately wanted to provide them with additional tools for their health promotion. The brief was very broad and so I decided to cover a wide variety of health topics that included diet, exercise and trending health topics (at that time it was ketogenic diets).
I was extremely nervous going into the two-hour session. While I had become very comfortable speaking to students and scholars who spoke the same language and shared the same