“May your cortisol levels stay low, your dopamine levels high, your oxytocin run thick and rich, your serotonin build to a lovely plateau, and your ability to watch your brain at work keep you fascinated until your last breath. I wish you well on your journey." - David Rock

April is Stress Awareness Month, and I hope employers are taking the time to assist their employees, as the well-being of employees is paramount for sustainable success. I like to take a unique approach to employee wellness, blending what I know as a health coach and Positive Psychology practitioner. I often find that integrating neuroscience principles, such as David Rock’s SCARF Model, can significantly impact employee stress levels and overall satisfaction.

The SCARF Model encompasses five domains—Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness—which can serve as a blueprint for creating a supportive and stress-reducing work environment. Let’s examine these five simple yet impactful strategies inspired by the SCARF Model that employers can implement to reduce employee stress:

Status Acknowledgment: Recognize and Appreciate Achievements — Implement a monthly or quarterly recognition program where outstanding employee achievements are publicly acknowledged. This could include awards, certificates, or even a simple shout-out during team meetings. Such recognition boosts employees’ status and enhances their sense of accomplishment, reducing stress associated with feeling undervalued.

Certainty Provision: Communicate Transparently and Timely – Foster open communication channels and provide regular updates on organizational changes, projects, and goals. Ensure that employees are well informed about their roles, responsibilities, and the company’s direction. Clear and timely communication reduces uncertainty and ambiguity, thereby minimizing stress related to unpredictability.

Autonomy Empowerment: Encourage Decision-making and Ownership – Offer opportunities for employees to take on projects where they have autonomy to make decisions and showcase their skills. Empower them to set their own goals and work schedules within reasonable boundaries. Providing autonomy cultivates a sense of control and empowerment, diminishing stress stemming from micromanagement or lack of freedom.

Relatedness Cultivation: Foster a Supportive and Inclusive Culture – Organize team-building activities, mentorship programs, and social events that encourage meaningful connections among employees. Create platforms for sharing successes, challenges, and personal experiences to strengthen relationships and foster a sense of belonging. A supportive and inclusive culture enhances relatedness, reducing stress caused by isolation or interpersonal conflicts.

Fairness Promotion: Ensure Equity and Justness in Policies and Practices – Review and revise policies, procedures, and performance evaluation systems to ensure fairness and transparency. Encourage feedback mechanisms where employees can voice concerns or suggestions anonymously. Demonstrating fairness in decision-making processes and resource allocation mitigates stress associated with perceived injustice or favoritism.

Integrating these strategies inspired by the SCARF Model into your workplace culture can create a more conducive environment that promotes employee well-being and reduces stress levels. Remember, small changes can significantly impact employee morale, engagement, and productivity. Prioritizing employee wellness not only benefits individuals but also contributes to a thriving and resilient organizational ecosystem.

If you want to host a workshop for your leaders or employees on these concepts, we offer workshops like “The Less Stress Workplace” as an in-person training or webinar. More information is below. To book a workshop like this one – contact us at [email protected].

The Less Stress Workplace: De-escalating triggering events (For all employees and leaders)

This presentation will look at the trust equation to understand what it takes to build trust within an organization. Without trust, employees cannot form appropriate connections with an organization or its culture, leading to more employee-triggering events and employee turnover. We will also review David Rock’s SCARF model to review stress triggers that make employees leave an organization. The acronym "SCARF" stands for status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness. Understanding how these elements affect employees and how to reduce these triggers in the workplace is vital to employee engagement, retention, and growth.

In this workshop, participants will:

·       Learn how to build employee trust using the trust equation.

·       Understand our innate bias by reviewing neuroscience and basic brain development.

·       Learn how to reduce stress in the workplace via the SCARF Model

·       Learn to communicate in a way that promotes positivity and collaboration in your organization