THE DATA
Not All Stress Is the Same
Research distinguishes between two types of stress
Complex technical problems, meaningful deadlines, working towards important and high-impact goals. This kind of stress can stimulate growth and innovation.
Challenge stress
Excessive workload, unclear roles, persistent conflict, burnout. This kind of stress reduces innovation and erodes performance.
Hindrance stress
A multi-level analysis by International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that while challenge stress can enhance innovation, hindrance stress significantly undermines it (He et al., 2019).
The research shows that innovation doesn’t fail because people are appropriately challenged and I have experienced first-hand how innovation slows when strain is chronic, ambiguous, or destabilizing.
Read more about my approach to working with you to minimize the impact that hindrance stress has on your career and your life.
