Don't Let the Recession Overwhelm Your Staff

In a recent column in , Dr. Gregory Berns explained his fascinating work using brain-scanning technologies to understand how we make decisions. He detailed one experiment in which he placed research subjects in an MRI scanner and administered a moderate electric shock to test the brain's fear system. The key to the experiment, he wrote, was that subjects had to wait for the shock—and he varied both the strength of the shock and the length of the wait. He noted that in some subjects, the parts of the brain associated with processing pain lit up well in advance of the actual shock. His interpretation of the results? "Worrying eats up a lot of brain processing power that makes other mental tasks more difficult."

When times get tough, it's up to leadership to make sure employees are focused on the most important issues. Left to their own devices, those whose mortgages are underwater and whose 401(k) accounts have evaporated will probably spend more time fretting than they did during the boom years. Add to those worries declining revenues and potential layoffs, and a company can quickly find worrying eating up a huge portion of employees' time. So what can a leader do to counteract employees' worries? Consider these suggestions.