Susan Britton explains how oxytocin, the love hormone, affects workplace trust: too little signals untrustworthiness, too much creates misplaced trust. She suggests deliberately finding something to appreciate in difficult coworkers to boost positive neurochemistry, without tolerating mistreatment.
Hey everyone, it's Susan with the Academies and just an Encourage Your Brain brain-friendly message as we approach this Valentine's Day. It is around the corner, and though we usually think of Valentine's Day or Galentine's Day as either a romantic celebration or perhaps a time to remember people that we love and are special to us, I wanted to look at love from the angle of loving our teammates. Those people that we spend the majority of our days with day in and day out. So most of you know about that little neuropeptide oxytocin. It's the so-called love hormone, cuddle hormone, elixir of trust, has lots of names, and there have been 10,000 studies looking at its impact on mother-child bonding, relationship solidity, social context, trust in the workplace, and so much more. So what we do know about it is that in the right amount and in the right social context that oxytocin really does impact our relationships in, in a positive way. But like Goldilocks, it sort of has to be at the right level. If you have too little oxytocin, it impacts and could send a signal that says that you yourself are not trustworthy. And if you have too much, you can find yourself trusting people that you shouldn't really be trusting. So back to loving people in the workplace. I happen to be quite fortunate in that I get to work with people that I love and adore, and they are very lovable people. But I also recognize that many people have to work with people that they don't love and they don't adore and that are not lovable. They might be a little bit of a jerk now and then, and those people can stress you out. And the minute that people stress you out, you then end up knocking your own oxytocin levels into the toilet. So here's my suggestion to help get your oxytocin flowing. Find something lovable about the people you don't love working with. So maybe an analysis paralysis type of person over in accounting can be loved, or at least appreciated, for wanting to make sure that everyone is financially safe. Maybe the executive who talks so fast that no one can keep up with her processing can be appreciated for her, her intellect and her intellectual processing speed. Or maybe there's someone who might be infamous for going to lunch and splitting the tab in a way that always comes out in her favor. So maybe you could appreciate someone like that for her ability to stretch a nickel. So let me be crystal clear, I am not suggesting at all that finding something lovable about people does not mean raising your hands to be mistreated, mistreated, or compromising any sort of healthy boundary. What I am saying is that if you have someone who does get on your nerves at work, consider something positive about them so that they don't stress you out further and derail your own ability to generate happy neurochemicals like oxytocin. So happy Valentine's Day to all. May the love that you create return to you tenfold.
Susan’s ICF Educator Award | The Heart Behind the Impact Katy Montgomery, PCC
