Brains At Work - HRMASIA.COM Magazine

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Brains at work 54 ISSUE 15.7

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A lot of factors are involved when it comes to keeping staff engaged at work. Guest contributor Dr Jenny Brockis says employers need to create an engaging work culture that allows for staff brains to perform at their best

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e spend around 90,000 hours in. Modern day stressors may look employees who appeared disinterested. of our lives at work. Wouldn’t different from those early predators His initial enthusiasm diminished; he it be great to enjoy those hours, doing in our evolutionary history, but they began to question whether he would be work that felt valued and doing it in an produce the same physiological better off looking for a job in a smaller environment where you felt supported, responses. company elsewhere. understood and stretched a little?

When Mark was offered a job in a Stress is nothing new to the human When Gallup revealed that only large, well-respected firm, he was brain. It has played an important role 13% of the global workforce is excited at the prospect of a in our evolution and contributed to our actively engaged, it sent a very massive career boost. On his survival. But it is essential we know strong signal that what many first day, Mark found himself how to manage our stress, because workers are looking for in their sitting in an office on his severe chronic stress diminishes our is nothing new to work isn’t being provided by own, with everyone else busy ability to use our prefrontal cortex, the human brain their employers. It’s about elsewhere. No one came to or “thinking” part of our brain well. more than just having a job, it’s explain what was expected Having certainty, being given clear about feeling that the work we do has of him, apart from one manager who direction, and feeling part of a team all meaning and is rewarding in some way. popped his head around the door contribute to our feeling “safe”.

What appears to be missing is the asking, “Got everything you need?

Janice was delighted when offered element of humanity.

Good, we’ll catch up at lunch”. a new position in a small company.

One result of our fast-paced and Lunch didn’t eventuate as the Her boss told her the work would be rapidly-changing world is that many manager was called away. Several demanding but to ask for help at any people now work harder and longer, weeks later, Mark was working hard, time if needed. Janice didn’t mind the and it’s making the distinction but he had no idea if he was doing what challenge, in fact she thrived on it, but between work and regular life more was expected of him and he still had some of her co-workers appeared to blurred. had little or no contact with his fellow resent the fact she would choose not to Workplace fatigue, multiple distractions and information overwhelm are contributing to an increase in the amount of stress we deal with every day. This can reduce our ability to juggle the many different facets of our lives, and leads to lower mental performance and disengagement.

For businesses that seek to remain relevant, competitive and successful in the future, the solution is clear. The requirement is to: • Elevate awareness about the need for a higher level of brain fitness; and • Create “brain safe” work environments.

We perform our best when we feel safe. If we find ourselves in a place that makes us feel uncertain or unwelcome, the body’s stress Dr. Jenny Brockis, Director and founder of Brain Fit responses (fight, flight or freeze) kick

Stress

“We perform our best when we feel safe. If we find ourselves in a place that makes us feel uncertain or unwelcome, the body’s stress responses (fight, flight or freeze) kick in” ISSUE 15.7

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stay late or do extra hours • Choose to give your The level of as they did when called work your undivided on. What they didn’t attention. It’s not know was that Janice was that we choose not to in the workplace is an indicator responsible for the care focus, rather we just of organisational health of her elderly parents as allow ourselves to be well as her own family, distracted. While very which included three useful, our technology young children. has been designed to distract us, The snide comments and putwhich it is very successful at. downs from her colleagues made it • Set your day for success . With a increasingly difficult for her to enjoy 10 to 15 minute session of quiet her work. Her well-meaning boss was reflection or meditation, you will frequently absent so she felt she had find yourself calm, centered and no allies to support her. Frustrated capable of dealing more effectively and increasingly miserable, Janice’s with whatever the day may bring. work performance dropped as the office tensions grew.

Create a brain safe environment The level of engagement in the workplace Supporting fit and healthy brains is an indicator of organisational health.

The 21st century workplace is busy, Whilst providing a place of physical complex and demanding, all of which safety at work is well accepted, the places more stress on our ability to mental health and wellbeing of staff can respond appropriately. often be less adequately addressed.

The temptation is often to push on Developing a brain safe work culture ignore the warning signs that we are recognises the value of: not managing our stress adequately.

• Feeling part of the tribe. Our social Creating a fit and healthy brain intelligence is our ability to relate requires checking in and looking after to and understand others. Being our brain with appropriate lifestyle included in a conversation, invited choices. This automatically elevates to a team meeting, or being treated our resilience and coping skills. Key as “one of us” promotes relatedness, strategies include: empathy and trust.

• Nourishing your brain with healthy, • Sharing a common set of values. If fresh, preferably unprocessed foods. your workplace culture is clear about Avoid skipping meals or eating on what it stands for and you share that the run. Your neurons do not store vision, this will lead to a greater glucose, so having regular meals sense of engagement. ensures your brain has sufficient • Providing certainty. Effective leaders fuel to power your day. communicate their messages clearly • Use your body to move. A sedentary and without ambiguity. Partial or lifestyle and long hours chained to incomplete information is perceived a desk reduce cognition and mental by the brain as a threat and triggers performance. Get up for a stretch the stress response. That’s why or stand and include thirty minutes the uncertainty generated by the of aerobic exercise into your daily announcement of “some jobs will routine. Exercise helps to burn off go” can quickly lead to widespread stress hormones and elevates those fear within a workplace. natural endorphins that enhance • Encouraging a growth mindset. Carol your sense of wellbeing.

Dweck, psychology professor and • Schedule your day to work with mindset expert, describes how choosing your brain’s natural energy flow, to develop a growth mindset provides us the ultradian rhythm that ebbs and the ability to learn from our mistakes, flows every 90 minutes. Schedule to see a challenge as an opportunity, your hardest and most creative work and to be open to new ideas and for your first few hours each day ways of doing things. It promotes when you are cognitively most fresh. “possibility thinking”, she says.

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• Promoting autonomy of thought.

Companies are often seeking new and innovative ideas to boost their business. Autonomy of thought provides the freedom of sharing new ideas without fear of ridicule, which stimulates curiosity and exploration of all options.

Workplace engagement requires our urgent attention. Rediscovering a higher level of motivation, commitment and enjoyment of our work is what can start to shift a workplace culture to one that is well designed to support all brains at work.

BIO BRIEF Dr. Jenny Brockis is a Medical Practitioner, healthy brain advocate and future mind planner. She works as the Director and founder of Brain Fit. An expert in brain fitness she teaches individuals and organisations how to stay brain healthy, eliminate poor thinking skills and boost mental performance.

As a professional speaker and author of three books, Jenny provides cutting edge insights into how the neuroscience provides the perfect pathway to navigate our increasingly complex, complicated and busy world.