Mother’s Day has come and gone, but in flower shops across the country, the springtime madness marches on.
“We are still full throttle with proms, graduations, weddings, Memorial Day, garden center sales and Dominican/Haitian Mother’s Day,” said Rick Canale of Exotic Flowers in Boston, Mass.
In spite of the heavy workload, Canale’s staff remains upbeat. That’s not just because good customer service requires positivity (as every Exotic Flowers employee knows) or that a lengthy to-do list means the money’s flowing.
It’s also because the Exotic Flowers team makes a point of “breaking bread together and sharing laughs.” The staff has turned stress into a positive thing, using it to tighten interpersonal relationships. As a result, shop morale improves.
Stanford University health psychologist Kelly McGonigal explained this phenomenon during a recent TED talk.
Stress gets a bad rap, McGonigal said, citing a study that estimates stress kills up to 20,000 Americans a year. But that statistic deserves a giant asterisk that seldom shows up in the mainstream media, McGonigal said: Stress can only harm you if you think it can.
“The harmful effects of stress on health are not inevitable,” she said. “How you think and how you act can transform your experience of stress. When you choose to view your stress response as helpful, you create the biology of courage.”
Here’s how it works:
Stress produces two types of hormones: adrenaline and oxytocin.
Recognized as the “fight or flight” feeling, adrenaline often includes a racing heart rate. Those who’ve ever anticipated a first kiss or participated in a Tabata-style workout (20 seconds intense exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest…lather, rinse, repeat) understands that adrenaline can actually feel really good—if you let it.
“If you think, ‘This is my body helping me rise to this challenge,’ your body believes you and your stress response becomes healthy,” McGonigal said.
The other hormone, oxytocin, known colloquially as “the cuddle hormone,” enhances your empathy and makes you crave social experiences.
“When life is difficult, your stress response wants you to be surrounded by people who care about you,” McGonigal said. “Your body has a built-in response for a stress resilience…that’s human connection.” Not only does this approach cause you to develop more and better relationships, it also triggers a natural anti-inflammatory response that makes your blood vessels stay relaxed and helps heal any stress-induced cardiovascular damage.
Take a cue from Canale and have lunch with your employees. While you’re at, take 15 minutes to watch McDonigal’s talk as a team. You can find it here.
“We are still full throttle with proms, graduations, weddings, Memorial Day, garden center sales and Dominican/Haitian Mother’s Day,” said Rick Canale of Exotic Flowers in Boston, Mass.
In spite of the heavy workload, Canale’s staff remains upbeat. That’s not just because good customer service requires positivity (as every Exotic Flowers employee knows) or that a lengthy to-do list means the money’s flowing.
It’s also because the Exotic Flowers team makes a point of “breaking bread together and sharing laughs.” The staff has turned stress into a positive thing, using it to tighten interpersonal relationships. As a result, shop morale improves.
Stanford University health psychologist Kelly McGonigal explained this phenomenon during a recent TED talk.
Stress gets a bad rap, McGonigal said, citing a study that estimates stress kills up to 20,000 Americans a year. But that statistic deserves a giant asterisk that seldom shows up in the mainstream media, McGonigal said: Stress can only harm you if you think it can.
“The harmful effects of stress on health are not inevitable,” she said. “How you think and how you act can transform your experience of stress. When you choose to view your stress response as helpful, you create the biology of courage.”
Here’s how it works:
Stress produces two types of hormones: adrenaline and oxytocin.
Recognized as the “fight or flight” feeling, adrenaline often includes a racing heart rate. Those who’ve ever anticipated a first kiss or participated in a Tabata-style workout (20 seconds intense exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest…lather, rinse, repeat) understands that adrenaline can actually feel really good—if you let it.
“If you think, ‘This is my body helping me rise to this challenge,’ your body believes you and your stress response becomes healthy,” McGonigal said.
The other hormone, oxytocin, known colloquially as “the cuddle hormone,” enhances your empathy and makes you crave social experiences.
“When life is difficult, your stress response wants you to be surrounded by people who care about you,” McGonigal said. “Your body has a built-in response for a stress resilience…that’s human connection.” Not only does this approach cause you to develop more and better relationships, it also triggers a natural anti-inflammatory response that makes your blood vessels stay relaxed and helps heal any stress-induced cardiovascular damage.
Take a cue from Canale and have lunch with your employees. While you’re at, take 15 minutes to watch McDonigal’s talk as a team. You can find it here.