Is stress contagious?
Is stress contagious?
We’ve all seen it. The short, sharp email that lands just before a deadline. The tense meeting where shoulders are tight, jaws clenched, and hearts race. Stressful situations don’t just affect individuals—they ripple across teams like wildfire.
What often gets overlooked is the impact this has on business. When stress goes unaddressed, it seeps into culture and, over time, becomes “the norm.” The cost is high: toxic workplace environments, higher turnover, absenteeism, and lower productivity. And ultimately, all of this hits one thing hardest—the bottom line.
Workplace stress isn’t a buzzword or something to brush aside. It directly erodes revenue and, more importantly, decision-making. Under pressure, our ability to think clearly shrinks because the brain’s fight-or-flight center takes over, hijacking the parts responsible for rational thinking and problem-solving.
By contrast, cultivating calm isn’t just “feel-good fluff.” It’s essential. A calmer state activates the brain areas needed for creativity, strategic thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication—the skills that drive performance at every level.
Stress Really Is Contagious
Research shows that stress isn’t just personal; it’s social. Human sweat carries chemical signals that communicate emotions like fear, anxiety, and stress. On top of that, our nervous systems constantly pick up cues through body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. This means stress can spread across teams without a word being spoken.
The good news? Managing stress is a skill. Studies show that techniques like emotional intelligence training, coaching, and somatic practices can re-train our nervous systems to respond differently. Teaching teams to regulate stress in the moment is far less disruptive than managing a crisis after the fact.
And it doesn’t just stop at the workplace. Building awareness of stress and its physiological effects supports long-term health and resilience—turning short-term fixes into lasting change.
So what can be done?
Recognise the problem – and call it out.
Learn to shift from fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest to calm the nervous system.
Create safe spaces for employees to raise concerns about stress triggers.
Educate and practice proactive stress reduction, through coaching, somatic therapy, or other evidence-based approaches.
Our fast-paced world isn’t slowing down. The question is: how will we choose to respond?