Suzanne Mercier - Monday, April 12, 2010
One final piece to the Stress story I've talked about over the past couple of days. The first troop of baboons Robert Sapolsky studied, experienced a tragedy 10 years into the study that changed the culture of the troop from that point forward. They discovered a tourist facility and began raiding their garbage for food. Unfortunately, they consumed meat tainted with TB and half the troop died. The deaths weren't random ... they were all the alpha males of the troop, presumably because they could take whatever they wanted and consumed the "lion's share" of the available food.
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So the troop were left with the "nice guys" and the females. Behaviour
changed and the troop began to exhibit high levels of social
affiliation. They groomed each other and cared for each other more than
they had when the alpha males had run things. When new adolescent males came into the troop, they
exhibited all the alpha male aggression that had characterised the troop
at one stage. But ... after 6 months, they adjusted their behaviour
and fell into line with the more nurturing and socially affiliated
culture of the troop. that nurturing behaviour has persisted in the original troop for the past 20 years.
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This troop no longer exhibited signs of stress - such as high blood pressure, changed brain chemistry. They typified what could happen for humans in a world of acceptance, harmony and co-operation.
The lessons for our corporate world are obvious:
- aggressive behaviour creates stress on those who are being treated poorly and stress creates health issues that impact on productivity, morale and absenteeism in the workplace
- aggressive behaviour can also create uncertainty and loss of control for those further down the "food chain" which can trigger or exacerbate feelings of 'not good enough' and a full flight experience of Imposterhood.
- "you get more flies with honey than vinegar" was a saying my mother used frequently and which reflects the changed experience of the first baboon troop Sapolsky studied and the benefits that came from increased social affiliation, nurturing and reduced stress. Taking that into the corporate environment, this underpins the Gallup finding that people join organisations and leave managers. If the manager treats his or her staff poorly, they will either leave literally or emotionally. Certainly poor and aggressive management negatively impact on productivity and the contribution of discretionary effort beyond job descriptions, which literally increases bottom line.
- happy people work together. They want to create something great; something meaningful. They enjoy the social interactions and support they receive. The certainty and feeling of control that come from being nurtured and guided lead to significantly higher levels of productivity and contribution.
I think it's worth an investment in reducing the stress in our people. What do you think? I'd love to hear.
All the very best
Suzanne
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