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THE HIDDEN COST OF PRESSURE
This is the second of the series Capability Under Pressure. The first one was: When Budgets Tighten, Capability Becomes the Difference.
Capability Under Pressure: Perspectives on the Future of Work in Aotearoa
Not all workplace risks are visible.
There are no warning signs hanging beside them. No accident reports filed the moment they appear. In many cases, they develop gradually and quietly through the way work is organised, managed and experienced.
Yet they can significantly influence how people perform, how teams operate and how organisations deliver results.
Psychosocial risk is often discussed through the lens of wellbeing, and rightly so. However, NZATD believes it is equally important to recognise psychosocial pressure as a capability and performance issue.
The way work feels affects the way work gets done.
The original NZATD Perspective research identified psychosocial pressure, productivity and capability as closely connected challenges rather than separate organisational issues.
What We're Seeing
Imagine an employee returning to work following a significant organisational change.
The team is smaller.
Responsibilities have increased.
Several experienced colleagues have left.
Priorities have shifted.
The employee is still committed to doing a good job. They continue turning up each day and meeting deadlines where possible. Nothing appears significantly wrong on the surface.
But uncertainty starts to creep in.
Questions emerge:
- What is expected of me now?
- How much work is enough?
- Am I doing the right things?
- Will there be more changes ahead?
These experiences are becoming increasingly familiar across many workplaces.
Work is moving faster. Expectations are increasing. Technology continues to reshape roles and responsibilities. Teams are often expected to adapt to change while maintaining performance.
The challenge is that pressure does not simply affect people's wellbeing.
Over time, it can also affect confidence, decision-making, communication, creativity and consistency.
When people are operating under sustained pressure, organisations may experience:
- Increased mistakes and rework
- Slower decision-making
- Reduced innovation
- Greater reliance on managers to resolve issues
- Lower confidence when tackling new challenges
What appears to be an individual performance issue is often a symptom of broader workplace conditions.
What The Evidence Says
The original Perspective research highlighted that psychosocial hazards are largely created through the design and management of work. Common contributors include excessive workload, role ambiguity, poor communication, job insecurity and poorly managed organisational change.
The research also noted that high levels of pressure can affect not only wellbeing but organisational outcomes by reducing consistency, increasing fatigue and narrowing decision-making capability.
Importantly, these impacts are often cumulative.
The challenge is rarely one major event.
Instead, pressure builds through small and repeated experiences:
- Constant change
- Increasing workloads
- Lack of clarity
- Competing priorities
- Insufficient support
Over time, these conditions can influence both workforce wellbeing and organisational performance.
The original NZATD Perspective work concluded that psychosocial risk should be understood as both a health and safety consideration and a performance consideration.
NZATD's Perspective
NZATD believes organisations should move beyond asking:
"How do we help people cope with pressure?"
and start asking:
"How is our work environment creating pressure?"
Capability is not only about technical skills.
It is also about creating the conditions that allow people to apply those skills successfully.
That includes:
- Clear expectations
- Appropriate workloads
- Effective leadership
- Access to learning and support
- Opportunities to build confidence during change
When people understand what is expected of them and have the capability and support to meet those expectations, they are more likely to perform consistently and adapt successfully.
This is where Learning and Development can play an important role.
At its best, L&D does more than deliver courses.
It helps create clarity.
It supports managers leading through change.
It reduces variation in how work is performed.
It can help people develop confidence in uncertain environments.
In other words, it strengthens many of the conditions that contribute to healthy and high-performing workplaces.
NZATD believes capability and workplace wellbeing should not be viewed as competing priorities.
They are often deeply connected.
Questions for Leaders
As organisations continue navigating ongoing change, NZATD encourages leaders to consider:
- Where are people experiencing the greatest pressure in our organisation?
- Are expectations and priorities clear during periods of change?
- How confident are managers in leading teams through uncertainty?
- Are we measuring workload and work design, or only measuring outcomes?
- What capability and support do people need to perform successfully in the current environment?
Join the Discussion
This article is the second in the Capability Under Pressure series, where NZATD explores issues shaping the future of learning, capability and work in Aotearoa.
We would love to hear your perspective. Click here to join the LinkedIn discussion.
What contributes most to workplace pressure in your organisation today?
- Workload and capacity
- Constant organisational change
- Unclear priorities
- Lack of resources
- Leadership capability
- Something else
Next Perspective: The Productivity Trap – Why many organisations are working harder but not necessarily becoming more productive.