In Work Without Stress, Derek Roger and Nick Petrie correctly point out that leaders in today’s workplace are under ever-increasing pressure. These are among what they characterize as “BOCA” conditions in the workplace culture as “BOCA conditions”:

o Blurred boundaries where new technologies mean that fork has penetrated all times and locations

o Overload from the volume of work exceeds the ability to keep pace with it.

o Complexity of problems becoming more systemic and more difficult to solve

o Addictive, meaning that many leaders with high-achieving personalities are addicted ti the stimulation of work.

“And that’s just at work. Much of what people describe as workplace stress is actually stress they carry from their personal lives: ruminative thinking [i.e. to continue to churn over emotional upsets] isn’t something you leave at the door to your office . The opposite is equally true: rumination  won’t necessarily stop when you walk through your front door. Minds are portable, and we carry our thoughts with us wherever we go.”

Leaders can manage pressure. The challenge is to realize that stress is voluntary, self-imposed. Roger and Petrie explain how to do that in this science-driven book.

Work Without Stress: Building a Resilient Mindset for Lasting Success was published by McGraw-Hill Education in partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership (November 2016)