Each quarter I post a review of a leadership/motivational book I recommend to colleagues and friends. Some may be old favorites, others are hot off the press. I am always open to suggestions for books to review. If you have a favorite you'd like to share with others, please contact me.

The Impact of STRESS on the Survivors of Downsizing
by David Drehmer

Downsizing is commonplace in business today. Many companies carry out reduction-in-force efforts with little regard for those who remain and their capacity to produce. Let us examine a fictional company as it downsizes through the eyes of one employee.

Terry works for Castle Technology, a value-added manufacturer, reseller, and innovator in medical imaging systems. The corporate culture supports risk-taking and truth telling in a highly trusting and nurturing climate. The employees feel affirmed and return the favor by fully engaging in challenging, stimulating work. People have assigned roles and each feels responsible for the outcomes of the organization. According to Terry, "We are an awesome team of creative resources--no problem is too big." Terry believes this mantra is true for virtually every employee.

One day, Fred, VP of Human Resources stops Terry in the hall and says, "Terry, please provide a list of your successes in the company. I need to do a little PR work." Now Terry understands that some belt tightening is likely, as budget projections are more pessimistic than originally projected. Still, the company is profitable, with each division contributing. So he is unconcerned when the blue suits from Acme Consulting begin poking around, asking questions about how operations could be more effective. Terry thinks, "We could probably tighten travel expenses and the photocopying budget. We might close some deals faster and better service our customers--keep 'em loyal and dependent." What Terry does not realize is that these helpful souls have more drastic solutions in mind. They are actually lumberjacks painting "X's" on the backs of people soon to be pulped.

Then the unexpected happens. Fourteen workers from Terry's division, including Susan, receive termination notices, along with dozens more from other sections. Fred says the cutbacks are necessary, based on reduced resources. Those remaining discover just what that means. Terry declares, "it isn't like culling a few trees, but more like clear cutting the forest."

When Terry arrives at work the next morning, he cannot believe his eyes. Susan's furniture is gone. A few workstations and empty offices dot the open expanse that just yesterday had been an intellectual hive. Terry's terminal screen reads: "We know you are thankful that you've been selected to remain here at Castle Technology. We have no shortage of work, as we have canceled no projects nor reduced their scope. We expect to meet all project deadlines and to continue uninterrupted service to your customers, despite our restructuring. We desire to transition to a very healthy profit picture by the end of this quarter. Your extra effort during these times is expected." Suddenly Terry speculates, "Maybe Susan is the lucky one!"

The Stress Response
Survivors of downsizing, like Terry, are thrust into a frightening, chaotic situation that has the power to shock and wound well-adjusted people. The resulting stress, like that experienced by Terry, mobilizes a physiological reaction that increases mental tension and sabotages wellness and productivity.

The stress response is triggered by two events. First, a perception of a threat to one's physical or psychological safety must be present. Second is a loss in the belief that effective resources are available to cope with that threat. When the repertoire of coping strategies fails to target the threat, our bodies invoke the stress response in preparation to fight or flee. Adrenaline is released into the bloodstream. Our heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate increases while blood sugar levels rise and blood shifts to peripheral muscles creating a tension and bracing for action. When the stressful situation is resolved, either by removing the threat or by finding a way to deal with it, the fear, anxiety and mobilization of our physiology give way to relaxation.

However, the stressors do not always immediately improve. Faithful to good engineering design, we all have a backup system to deal with chronic stressors. For example, if we are unable to successfully navigate the situation, the body releases cortisol to convert fat and sugar into fuel. Platelets in our blood stream become sticky so wounds will clot, and endorphin is released to shut down pain. In short, the body diverts physiological resources like digestion and immune response system from long term maintenance to short term survival.

A few hundred thousand years ago, this response made sense. Today we no longer need to escape saber-toothed tigers, yet our bodies react as if we are under attack. Unfortunately, evolution has not caught up with our civilization.

The stressors we face in downsizing require new responses. However, our physiological reactions limit our ability to process information and hold us hostage to old behaviors that may no longer work effectively. Turning off the stress response seems essential to successfully navigating such situations.

Why Some Sink While Others Swim
Salvatore Matti and Suzanne Kobasa, researchers from the University of Chicago, asked why some people faced with stress seemed to have mental, physical and behavioral breakdowns while others escaped. Their findings from studies of Bell system executive during the AT&T's reorganization help us understand better how people experience stress.

Executives who were optimistic about the future and decisive in their coping style could buffer stressful events. They suffered fewer heart attacks, were less angry, and were more efficient at their tasks. Others were more likely to be mentally exhausted and less efficient in processing information; they exhibited narrowed perception, coarse and imprecise memory, inability to learn, and a tendency to persevere in old routines that no longer worked. They were also more likely to become ill.

More important, Matti and Kobasa identified factors they characterized as a sense of hardiness to stress. Specifically, they found that people who were committed and involved in their work were more likely to buffer the external pressures of the stressor than those who felt alienated. People who framed their predicament as a challenge rather than a threat also were healthier. The key element was control. People who believed they could control their environment and be instruments of change fared far better. Additionally, people connected to an active support network were more able to navigate environmental stressors. In short, commitment, challenge, control, and connection create a hardiness that interferes with the second condition of stress; they perceive that they can cope and, therefore, do not mobilize the fight or flight response.

Stress Reduction Strategies
Several interventions may reduce emotional reactivity and set the stage for creative problem solving. Terry knows that business will not go on as usual. Change is often stressful because old familiar patterns no longer work. People often become stuck in dealing with change because they have not yet figured out how to adapt. If we eavesdrop on Terry's self conversation we might hear something like the following: "I can't do this work alone" or "I can't manage big projects."

Just as hanging a painting in a new frame changes our impression of it, reframing thoughts can have a similar effect. One simple device for changing such beliefs is to precede the self-statement with the words "Up until now." For example, "Up until now, I couldn't manage big projects." "Up until now" acknowledges the past and provides permission to change. It creates the possibility of control and reduces the threat--converting it to a challenge.

Often automatic thoughts are unrealistic and based on cognitive distortions. The thoughts are usually accepted as true because they are familiar. Identifying and removing the thought distortions is another way to restore control. For example, Terry might think "I'll never measure up to their standards. I'm going to be fired next. I'll never be able to get another job." These thoughts are distorted on several accounts. The statements reflect all-or-nothing thinking rather than continuous thinking; they may reflect the event of downsizing as an ongoing pattern of defeat; they may filter out positive messages and magnify negative messages all out of proportion to the evidence. When restated in a form that removes the distortion, these thought can also be true. For example, "Most of the time my colleagues express a high regard for my work. I am needed here and I am unlikely to be fired. Even if I am, I have many marketable skills and a wide active network of business contacts." The rational restatement is more realistic and promotes a sense of control, reducing the stress.

Work for most individuals is more than a means to an end. Work reflects identity. It provides a role and a place in society. Statements such as "I am an engineer," I am a trainer," "I am a product manager" tie work roles to personal identity and self-value. When people lose their jobs, more than the role is in jeopardy; a person's whole sense of self may be shattered. The truth is, for most of us, this is just one role in our lives. It might be equally true that "I am a parent," "I am a lover," "I am a learner." Recognizing multiple roles creates an opportunity to balance life commitments rather than investing in a single future. Reframing work as what you do rather than who you are may help in times of corporate restructuring. For example: "I work as an engineer," rather than "I am an engineer."

Clarity about values and purpose also helps reduce the impact of stressful events. Commitment becomes multidimensional and tasks are prioritized more easily. Accountants inform us that the first task in bookkeeping is to decide which areas of the business to track and control. They do this by setting up a chart of accounts. What if we set up our own chart of life accounts? These would probably include work and career, and might also include many other categories such as family, financial growth, spirituality, learning and education, recreation and leisure, home, friends, and personal development. By budgeting our resources and tracking activity in our life accounts, we can be aware of a big picture of life. When this picture helps us set priorities, commitment and control are enhanced.

Auditing our social support system may also be useful. Can we identify people in our life who serve a mentors, teachers, and helpers? Whom do we turn to when we are hurting or need advice? Do we have people to share problems with or to play with? Who challenges us or provides acceptance, approval, and nurturing? How useful is each of these people to us? Are any support roles unfilled? Is the same person filling most of our support roles? What would happen is we lost that person? What one thing can we do right now to enhance that social support system?

All stress reduction strategies may not be equally effective. For example, Terry may invest wholeheartedly in work, even to the exclusion of other life activities. Not meeting these life needs is stressful, and working longer and harder creates stress. When someone initially denies the effects of stress, a very seductive phenomenon occurs. In a chronically stressful situation, the body produces endorphin, which acts just like morphine to kill pain, both physical and emotional. The release of pain makes it more likely that he/she will engage in the very activities that produce the stress that releases more endorphin. Workaholism is a form of drug addiction. Excessive amounts of cortisol shift learning abilities, making memory storage and retrieval less efficient. The drugged workaholic, however, may be blissfully unaware of his compromised performance. Choice and control are illusory. The real effects of the stress play their insidious role until a person figuratively crashes and burns.

The effects of stress on the work performance of survivors of corporate downsizing are real. It is up to managers, human resource professionals and trainers to help people select effective stress reduction strategies.

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