Q4 Will Be the Most Stressful in History

There is little doubt that 2020 has been the most stressful year in the workplace in modern history. People have been working from home or on the front lines putting their lives at risk. We are deeply concerned about our health and the economy.

After 9/11 in 2001, and the start of the financial crisis of 2007 we saw a significant increase in stress in the workplace, but 2020 has been different. More than 200,000 Americans are dead from the virus, and many of those deaths were preventable. We are isolated. We are worried about our health. We are worried about the economy. And unlike these previous challenging times, we couldn’t be less united as a people. 

We now enter the fourth quarter that will add a whole new set of pressures on people and businesses. It will be, by far, the most stressful quarter in the workplace in my lifetime and perhaps dating back much further. 

Recently, I posted a survey on LinkedIn asking people how they believe employee stress and burnout will change in their organization from Q3 to Q4. Of the nearly 400 people who weighed in, three-quarters said it will increase. Only 10% said they believe stress levels will go down.

In a follow-up poll on LinkedIn, I asked people what would be the biggest source of stress in Q4 for their team. 42% said it would be the economy and job security; 32% predict it will be tied to COVID, health, and working from home. Another 20% of people said it will come from the election and civil unrest.

This is the last quarter for the financial year for most companies (71% of public companies, by one analysis) and there will be pressure to achieve goals -- especially as revenue is down in most industries. 

Analysts are expecting further layoffs across sectors over the next few months, and the relief provided by the federal government for the unemployed has expired. What is usually an infusion of money into retail in Q4 is also uncertain given the economic strain.

Meanwhile, millions of people may experience the holidays in social isolation this year, unable to gather with loved ones for fear of spreading the virus. Loneliness can exacerbate stress, anxiety, and depression. Add to that the personal experiences that often bring sleepless nights around the holidays, and you’ve got a recipe for extreme stress and burnout.

Right in the middle of the quarter will be the U.S. election, which has left the nation deeply divided. We are not pulling together but pulling apart and making the crises in the nation and world worse. Partisans are calling for armed resistance if the election doesn’t go their way. There is a leadership vacuum and the federal government is encouraging vigilantism and violence.

Having spent nearly two decades working in the field of workplace purpose and fulfillment, I have almost no doubt that Q4 2020 will be the most stressful quarter in modern work history.

The Business & Human Imperative

There is a lot businesses can do to alleviate these problems. And doing so isn’t just a nice idea -- it’s a necessity. A great deal of research shows that increases in stress lead to lower productivity, engagement, employee retention, as well as higher levels of absenteeism and medical costs.

In the midst of this tumultuous year, businesses need workers at their best -- delivering innovative solutions and maximizing the time they’re able to put into work amid all their other responsibilities (such as taking care of children at home and/or sick loved ones).

The National Institute for Health recommends that we take proactive steps to manage our stress and help colleagues do the same. Among their recommendations are three that are particularly critical in the workplace.

1. Self-Awareness: Create space and a structure to enable employees to reflect on their stress and the state of their wellbeing. Stress gets much worse if it goes undetected and builds over time.
2. Clarity: Similarly, unclear goals and not prioritizing workloads can lead to increased levels of stress. Employees need support to make sure their goals are clear and that they are focused on the right priorities.
3. Social Support: Social connection is a buffer that enables employees to process their stress and release it. Employees need positive, consistent, and vulnerable relationships with their co-workers.

Employers need to ensure that they are doubling down on all three of these stress management strategies as we enter the final quarter of this challenging year.

A New Solution

This year, my company Imperative rolled out our peer coaching platform to thousands of employees across over a dozen leading companies from Amazon to Microsoft to Boston Scientific to Autodesk. We then conducted over 100 hours of follow-up interviews with employees to understand the potential for peer coaching to help them manage their stress, effectiveness, and fulfillment. 

Peer coaching is designed to support self-awareness, increase clarity, and provide critical social support.

Imperative’s peer coaching platform uses the power of peers to support each other over time to become increasingly effective and fulfilled. The science-backed platform combines the effectiveness of coaching with the impact of building trusted peer networks that are proven to build resilient and high performing cultures.

Webinar: Research Findings on Peer Coaching

On October 13, we are hosting a webinar to share the findings from the interviews and data collected on the platform. We’ll share the insights takeaways that signal there’s some good news ahead: your own people are key to helping each other process stress, organize their thinking, and own their development and growth. Zeryn Sarpangal, Chief Financial and People Officer from Code for America, will also join to share the results her company has seen with peer coaching on Imperative. 

RSVP to join us.