“Making Change Successful, not Stressful” .. MCSS
Why it works: Evidence-based model of how change impacts our “Can Do” wellbeing & “Will Do” performance
It’s been said that “The only person who welcomes lots of changes is a baby with a full diaper”. This dark humor captures the truth that, while some degree of change at work is stimulating, too much change too quickly, creating many uncertainties, is simply stressful … draining both our psychological wellbeing and our on-the-job performance. The two are closely related … see diagram below.
Rising, chronic stress, as shown in 30 years’ of our Institute’s research, is only the first of the early warning signs in an unfortunate spiral that can be set in motion. Stress builds up because we feel we need to stay revved up, both to be ready to do extra work and to “defend” ourselves in unfamiliar situations which we often feel as threatening.
In the second stage, gradually both our effectiveness and our wellbeing are drained rather than energized by the high octane hormones of stress. Our “Can Do” drops … seen in sleeping problems, fatigue and running-on-empty, difficult relationships, roller coaster up and down emotions, aches and pains, or more frequent colds / flu’s that last longer.
People also begin to ask, “What am I getting back from everything that I’m putting in?”. Many find that while their old work satisfiers have disappeared, new work-day enjoyments are pretty scarce.
In stage three, with higher stress at work not being offset by new sources of satisfaction, it’s understandable that we look to blame someone. We can feel like a victim. We feel less positive about our employer and about uncooperative co-workers. To deal with a sense of being (ab)used, many of us disengage, pulling back, caring less, and being less involved with our work and co-workers. Our “Will Do” motivation begins to evaporate.
This three-stage downward spiral … draining both our wellbeing and our performance … typically repeats itself in us personally and often in whole teams. Why? Simply because >90% of us still want to enjoy our work life, even though we know our workplace has changed. But, staying disengaged usually feels strange and uncomfortable. So … most of us try to re-engage, now raising our stress to even higher levels than in our first cycle through the spiral. On it goes. This stress-of-change spiral feeds itself.
Our “Making Change Successful, not Stressful” coaching model … focusing our personalized, confidential online coaching sessions, or e-learning based … is evidence-based, specifically designed, first, to interrupt this draining spiral, and then to reverse it. Improving levels of psychological wellbeing and worklife re-engagement reinforce eachother.
Click on our “How it works” link to discover how MCSS coaching has since 1993 continued to produce these results: ♦ 32% reduction in work stress ♦ 38% improved work satisfaction and ♦ 62% improved work engagement.