Essential stress-management strategies for business survival
In today’s business world, most wind sector executives expect to be available 24/7 and to work an 18 hour day on average, but Cognitive Neuroscientist and Business Improvement Strategist Dr Lynda Shaw believes that executives and top management are becoming increasingly isolated and are struggling to cope with the pressures.
It is widely acknowledged that to have executive level of success you have to have a certain personality, drive and clear thinking, but Shaw argues that the increasingly fast pace of life this decade is causing executives to neglect their mental and subsequent physical health.
Dr Lynda Shaw says: “As executives are responsible for most high level strategic decisions in the corporate world, it can be incredibly intense, and dealing with this level of continued pressure can be detrimental to their own wellbeing and personal lives. Rising to the influential position of executive may seem the height of success and glamour on the surface with the wealth, authority and influence that goes with it, but the flip side is executive’s are increasingly sleep-deprived, stressed and lonely at the top.
“Sleep is more important than food in the short term for survival but long term sleep deprivation is also known to be linked to high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke and obesity. A lack of sleep and unpredictable sleeping patterns also affect your mood and behaviour tending to make us very irritable and short tempered, causing a strain on relationships. A severe lack of sleep will leave you energy-less, unable to do the things you enjoy in life which can be a part of the downward spiral leading into depression.”
Modern technology allows us to be available constantly 24/7 which has advantages but it also has huge disadvantages, as we are increasingly unable to switch off and relax without thoughts of work. Shaw says: “In evolutionary terms, the brain hasn’t structurally evolved for many thousands of years but one thing we do know is that the human brain adapts brilliantly. It adapts all the time. It is, however, vital that we don’t feel overwhelmed, for if we do cortisol the stress hormone plays havoc on neurotransmitters and our mental and physical wellbeing. In my opinion, it is incredibly important to seek respite from work on a daily basis, even if we love or are very driven by what we do.”
“It can also be very lonely making cut-throat decisions that can affect any number of people within an organisation. We get to the top because we are able to make those sorts of decisions but there is a tendency for executive’s to get caught up on the strategic side of a company and to lose touch with the company’s operations and staff, not to mention their own families and friends.”
