Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

Check out new research to see why people deal differently with stress.

It comes down to chemicals we carry around … and you've likely noticed how some people hit mental bankruptcy … while others grow chemical dividends for well being. How so?

People who bank serotonin, remind us how to take control of that out-of-sorts feeling. They also model ways to avoid the kind of cortisol an angry customer might zap into a day when you least expect a lightning strike.

Research suggests that at least 22 stressors hit you daily.

What do these look like?  

1. The alarm goes off in your deepest sleep and it feels like a Mack truck hit.
2. You drop coffee on your shirt on the way to work.
3. People talk incessantly when you’d like them to listen too.
4. Your gas shows empty but you are already late.
5. A detour sends you in an unfamiliar direction away from where you're headed.
6. Somebody’s parked in your spot – again – and the lot is full.
7. Your top client quit and told your boss you’re to blame.
8. Your supervisor criticized every suggestion you offered at the last meeting.
9. You forgot project plans after spending an entire weekend on them.
10. The air conditioner broke and you dressed for a very cool workplace.
11. Your assistant called in sick and you’re being evaluated today.
12. A junior employee applied for the position you wanted and got it.
13. You forgot your lunch after you called for a working lunch today.
14. Negative reviews of your work came in with anonymous criticisms.
15. Your cell phone goes off in a meeting that banned phones.
16. Your allergies break loose and you have no Allegra with you.
17. A guy gossips about you and then smiles kindly when you enter
18. Your co-worker calls in sick ... for the next week.
19. A fellow worker plays  jazz loudly, and you hate jazz.
20. You were to take minutes at the meeting you forgot to attend.
21. The woman next to you tells a long, silly joke for the fifth time.
22. Fill in your last stressor … or one you predict will hit next….

Yikes!  22 stressors in one day!  No wonder some workplaces seem chemically bankrupt. How about yours?

Do you go after stressors with serotonin responses? Or do daily stressors stir up cortisol hormones for anger, stress or anxiety?

What strategies work well where you work … when stressors strike?