How the Brain Can Sabotage the Working Individual!

In non-threatening, non-ambiguous scenarios, the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the executive region of the brain, is in charge, allowing us to think rationally and logically – but when the brain detects a threat, the amygdala, which is the emotional region of the brain, takes over and the PFC goes offline, giving full control of the amygdala, an event called the Amygdala Hijack. When this happens, we go on “fight or flight” mode, ready to address the perceived threat.

What we experience is an increase in heart rate, the mouth going dry, becoming sweaty – all symptoms of stress and anxiety. This definitely helped our ancestors survive real life threatening situations like the risks of being mauled by a saber-tooth tiger while hunting for lunch, but the brain cannot tell the difference in intensity levels of threats, and treats them all the same way.

So, an angry-sounding e-mail from the boss might be perceived as a threat by the brain, along with some of these other workplace-scenarios: * Not being considered for a promotion * Having a subordinate constantly come late for your Monday morning meetings * Working for a leader who looks like your very mean high-school teacher * Experiencing high levels of anxiety when presenting to senior leaders * Getting agitated when people are not on time for meetings, or when meetings run later than was informed

Feeling anxious when confronted with an angry customer *Given an assignment that seems unworthy The brain under threat is a very mentally taxing condition.

The threat response uses high levels of oxygen and glucose, diverting it from other parts of the brain, including parts that are responsible to keep us productive, like the working memory function that is responsible for our ability to think analytically, to have creative insights and to solve problems – and these can lead to unproductive professional relationships, poor performance even by high achievers, low morale and engagement and decreased overall productivity.

The brain under threat can impact one’s psychological safety, which is the ability to speak one’s mind without the fear of making a mistake, and because an attack to one’s psychological safety can have a deeper and longer lasting impact on the brain as a physical punch to the face (Eisenberger, 2012), creating a psychologically-safe environment at work is of great importance. The practicality of understanding these two primary brain functions especially in how they impact on how we function in the workplace is pivotal, because when the brain detects that it is under threat, it can unintentionally sabotage how we perform in the workplace and relate, react and respond to our colleagues, subordinates and leaders.

In a Workplace Stress and Anxiety Disorders Survey, 56 percent of employees surveyed claimed that stress and anxiety most often impact their workplace performance; 51 percent said that it impacted their relationship with co-workers and peers, 51 percent said that it impacted their quality of work, and 43 percent admitted that it affected their relationship with their superiors (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2006). Anxiety can have a negative impact on how we think, lead and make decisions at work, and it doesn’t help that anxiety is one of the leading causes of mental health issues globally (Ritchie & Roser, 2018).

Workplaces can use knowledge and awareness of how the brain functions to produce a more psychologically safe environment for employees, leaders and teams. A two-year study on team performance at Google revealed that the highest performing teams are those which practice psychological safety (Rozovsky, 2015).

Reference: The_Brain_Saboteur_or_Success_Partner_Ex.pdf