Surviving the Pressure Cooker: A look at Gallup’s 2023 Global Workforce Report
Surviving the Pressure Cooker: A Look at Gallup's 2023 Global Workforce Report
By: CJ McClanahan
The constant chase for more has driven us to such elevated levels of stress and anxiety that it’s becoming the stuff of global studies.
Gallup’s State of the Global Workforce: 2023 Report has this to say about stress:
“Forty-four percent of employees said they experienced a lot of stress the previous day, repeating the record high in 2021 and continuing a trend of elevated stress that began almost a decade earlier.”
When Gallup drilled down by country, East Asia and the United States/Canada topped out at 52% reporting elevated stress levels daily, whereas just 39% said the same in European countries.
But (we say) look at what we’ve accomplished! The United States and East Asia have the highest GDP in the world (when not taken per capita). And there’s so much more on the horizon to achieve - clean energy, social justice, that lake house...
Hard work does often lead to great achievement. And we want to aim high, hit our goals, and make ourselves and those around us better.
But at what cost?
I’ve spent decades helping overachieving professionals understand this vicious cycle of achievement and rethink the relentless pursuit for more. If you want to achieve big goals, transform your company culture, and create employee loyalty, these are the questions you should consider.
1. How do your people define their own success?
Every decision we make is heavily influenced by whether or not it will drive us toward or away from success. As a result, before anyone tries to improve anything, each person needs to first revise their definitions of what success means for them.
2. What makes each one unique?
Most overachieving professionals assume that with enough programs and benefits, anyone can be good at everything and motivated to exceed expectations. Not only is this premise false, striving to push someone to do something they don’t enjoy and doesn’t come naturally is zero fun. Each of us has unique talents. Engage your people to figure out for themselves how to inject those skills into their professional lives.
3. How are your people prioritizing meaningful relationships?
It’s impossible to be happy without positive relationships with the people you love. A great exercise for you to boost this personally is to make a list of the most important people in your life - keep it between 5 and 10. Then block time on your calendar for these people. It may seem heartless to delegate these special people to a calendar invite.
But trust me, it’s not. Prioritizing people is one of the most generous and beneficial acts you can do.
Your company culture doesn’t have to be another growing statistic on a chart of increasing stress. You can choose to stop the treadmill.
However, the best I can do is to inspire you to change your behavior. You’re going to have to do the hard work.
From one overachieving professional to another, I know you’re up for the challenge.
--CJ McClanahan
Speaker, Advisor, Recovering Overachiever