Workplace Toxicity & the Brain | When Work Becomes Unhealthy for the Brain
In one of my previous posts, Work and Health| Are we Sacrificing Our Health for Work, I spoke a great deal about how we often put work first over our health. I also spoke about how we can choose a healthier lifestyle while working demanding jobs. But what if work becomes unbearable? What if work becomes toxic? What if your job is making you physically sick? What if work is causing you to lose countless hours of sleep? What if you're being faced with bullying and harassment? What if Sunday night blues no longer happen only on Sunday, what if the work blues start Saturday night, or even Friday evening after work? These are signs that your physical health has been impacted, and just as important, your brain health. I have experienced all the above, plus more, in the workplace, but I’ve never thought about the impacts on the brain.
A toxic, unhealthy workplace can greatly hinder your physical and mental health. As an HR professional, I've spent many years advocating for employees and fighting for employees to have a healthy and fair environment. At the hands of terrible leadership, I've seen and experienced some completely degrading and unhinged behaviors that have caused me to question my decision on whether to leave or stick it out with the company. But when is it time to go, how do you determine when to leave a job? Of course, there are many reasons why people choose to "stick it out." But there are also a few good reasons why you should make your health a priority. But one in particular I want to discuss is brain health.
Yes, your brain is impacted by stressful environments! Your brain is one of the most important organs in our bodies. According to Michael and Scott Warrick, in their book, Healing the Human Brain, the brain makes up roughly 2% of our body's weight and uses 20% to 30% of the calories we consume, 20% of the oxygen we breathe, and 20% of the blood flow. What a powerhouse! Can you imagine if we damaged our brains, and how our physical and mental health would suffer? Well, we are causing damage to our brains when we choose to stay in stressful, toxic, and abusive environments. According to Scott Warrick, "If you expose your brain to a bullying environment, you will be flooding your body with toxic levels of adrenaline and cortisol….such flooding of adrenaline and cortisol can literally burn and damage your brain, which can cause a mental disorder." When I read this, it was eye-opening! As a Behavior Change Specialist, I'm continually researching and reading material on the brain and how it operates as it relates to human behavior and habits, but this was my first time reading about the physical implications of stress on the brain. Since the brain is one of our most important vital organs, we need to consider our brain health just as much as we consider our external body parts.
Many people don't think about the health of the brain when considering the impact of bullying from a toxic work environment. You'll often hear phrases such as, "I'm quitting for my mental health" but, you rarely hear people say, I'm leaving due to the physical health of my brain. People are simply not aware that our brains are impacted physically due to toxic work environments. I certainly wasn't aware of the physical impact of the brain until I read Michael and Scott Warrick's book on brain health. The brain is impacted physically, and our mental state can be impacted due to the physical impact of the brain. This is serious; and as a Health Coach with a background in Human Resources, it greatly concerns me that our health is being due to toxic work environments. The physical impact on our brains hinders our physical health and wellness progress and keeps us from living optimally.
Before ending this post, if you’re working in a toxic work environment where you’re facing harassment, being bullied, or facing discrimination of any kind, please seek help and speak with a trusted HR representative and consider speaking with a licensed professional counselor to help work through those concerns. Now that we know that our brains can be impacted physically and our mental health is at stake by “sticking it out,” you’ll need additional armor to help get you through the environment or possibly work through a plan to help you leave the role or company altogether.
I’m an advocate for true workplace wellness, so I will continue discussing the workplace as it relates to physical health.
Until then, be true, be balanced, be well.
Cited Sources: Scott and Michael Warrick, Healing the Human Brain.