When a team faces high-stakes pressure, the effects ripple through every conversation, decision, and task. Stress changes the way people interact, often in subtle but significant ways. Decision-making processes, collaboration quality, and the team’s overall dynamics can shift quickly when stress is involved—sometimes without anyone even realizing it.
Understanding how stress influences team performance is essential for everyone in the workplace. Navigating these tense moments effectively requires strategies for managing stress, whether guiding a team or simply trying to take care of yourself. Let’s explore how pressure changes the game in team settings and what can be done to keep collaboration and decision-making on track!
What is work stress?
Work stress occurs when the job demands exceed our capacity to manage them. This can manifest as physical, emotional, or mental strain and affects performance, mood, and relationships. Recognizing stress on your team can be tricky, as it often shows up in subtle ways like increased irritability, missed deadlines, disengagement, or a rise in conflicts. While personal life stress can spill into work, work stress is directly tied to job-related pressures such as tight deadlines, high expectations, or unclear roles. The key difference is the source: personal stress stems from outside work factors like family, health, or finances, while work stress is typically triggered by job responsibilities. Both types of stress can compound each other, making it essential for leaders to recognize when team members are feeling overwhelmed and intervene early to prevent burnout.
The Impact of Stress on Team Collaboration
When teams are stressed, several things happen that disrupt the normal flow of collaboration:
- Breakdown in Communication: Stress often leads to miscommunication or a complete lack of communication. Team members may withhold information, rush through tasks, or misinterpret messages. The brain’s ability to process information slows when under stress, and people may become more reactive and less thoughtful in their interactions.
- Reduced Trust and Psychological Safety: Trust is essential for collaboration. However, team members may become more guarded and less willing to be vulnerable or ask for help in high-pressure situations. This undermines psychological safety—the belief that one can take risks or ask questions without fear of judgment or retribution.
- Groupthink or Conflict: Stress can push teams toward one of two extremes. Some teams may succumb to groupthink, rushing to an agreement without exploring all options, afraid to add more complexity to an already stressful situation. Others may experience heightened conflict, as irritability and frustration rise to the surface, leading to unproductive arguments and blaming.
- Lack of Innovation and Creativity: Teams often revert to the status quo or play it safe in high-pressure environments. This stifles innovation. Stress reduces our ability to think creatively, and instead, we focus on survival or getting through the moment.
The Impact of Stress on Decision-Making
Stress also impairs decision-making. When people and teams are stressed, the following happens:
- Stress causes people to narrow their focus to what they perceive as the most urgent issues, which can result in overlooking critical details or potential solutions. This tunnel vision can lead to hasty or uninformed decisions.
- Some people become more risk-averse under stress, avoiding decisions that might exacerbate their stress levels. Others may go to the opposite extreme, making impulsive or reckless choices just to get things over with.
- Stress impairs cognitive functions like memory, problem-solving, and concentration. When under pressure, people tend to rely on automatic responses or previously established routines, which may not be effective in the current situation.
- When stress levels rise, emotions take the driver’s seat, often leading to decisions based on fear, frustration, or anger rather than logic or data. Emotional decision-making can lead to regrettable outcomes, especially if emotions aren’t acknowledged and managed.
Strategies for Leaders: How to Support Teams Under Stress
Leaders/managers and individual contributors need specific strategies tailored to their roles to manage stress effectively within a team. Leaders and people managers are responsible for creating a supportive environment, while team members can manage their stress and contribute to a healthier team dynamic.
| Theme | Leaders/People Managers | Individual Contributors |
| Communication | Ask team members to share concerns and regularly check in on their well-being. | Communicate when your workload is overwhelming and ask for realistic timelines. |
| Psychological Safety | Create an environment where people feel safe to express their thoughts and ideas. | Use short mindfulness exercises to stay grounded during stressful moments. |
| Workload Management | Help your team focus on what matters most and avoid overwhelming them. | Focus on what you can control. Break tasks into manageable steps and prioritize. |
| Breaks and Downtime | Set an example by taking breaks and promoting a healthy work-life balance. | Ensure you get enough sleep, hydration, and movement throughout the day. |
| Mental Health Resources | Ensure your team has access to resources and promote their use as part of maintaining high performance. | Create informal support groups with coworkers to share stress-reducing strategies and support each other. |
Stress is a natural part of any workplace, but its effects on collaboration and decision-making can be mitigated. You can weather high-pressure situations by prioritizing mental health, encouraging open communication, and practicing emotional regulation while maintaining collaboration, innovation, and trust. You got this!