Healing Toxic Stress
Summary
From the pandemic to mass layoffs to burnout, designers have been enduring years of crisis and toxic stress. For some people, living through these kinds of events can be traumatic. Resmaa Menakem defines trauma as "anything that is too much, too soon, too fast, or for too long without being attended to by something reparative or healing." DesignOps professionals and people managers are perfectly positioned to learn about trauma and re-shape their organizations to be spaces for healing, instead of harm. In this talk, participants will understand the prevalence of toxic stress in the workplace, be able to start identifying signs of trauma within themselves, and walk away with three practical ways to create an environment of healing.
Key Insights
-
•
Mala frames workplace stress as a biological survival response, not just a mental state.
-
•
Stress triggers release of cortisol and adrenaline preparing the body for survival.
-
•
Fear is the emotional component of stress, meaning daily stress equals frequent fear.
-
•
Toxic stress occurs when stress is too intense, too fast, and prolonged without healing.
-
•
Common toxic workplace stressors include abusive relationships, layoffs, glorified workaholism, and ambiguous priorities.
-
•
Up to 79% of global employees experience significant stress and up to 19% may develop PTSD from workplace trauma.
-
•
Toxic stress impairs cognitive functioning, cutting operating IQ by half and preventing great work.
-
•
Healing toxic stress requires changing workplace conditions, not only individual coping strategies.
-
•
Polyvagal theory identifies context, choice, and connection as key biological needs for healing in workplaces.
-
•
Simple interventions like explaining the 'why' behind decisions and auditing meetings reduce stress and increase psychological safety.
Notable Quotes
"Resilience doesn’t come from enduring or tolerating suffering. It comes from healing it and changing the conditions that cause it."
"Our biological bodies are hardwired to prioritize survival above everything else."
"Stress is our nervous system going into a state of mobilization, preparing us to fight or flee a perceived threat."
"The workplaces conditions and expectations to perform faster forever are biologically impossible to sustain."
"Toxic stress is experiencing too much too fast for too long without healing."
"If you’re feeling medium stress, maybe you’ve just gotten used to a high level of stress over time."
"Toxic stress makes people dumb, reducing their cognitive ability by half."
"Workplace trauma is real and much more common than we acknowledge, causing symptoms like sleep disturbances and emotional flashbacks."
"Changing how we operate and relate to each other is the only thing in our control, regardless of organizational position."
"Admiration is the antidote for contempt and vital to creating healing work environments."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"I made the mistake of arguing in the chat instead of slowing down and asking the group what would make qualitative data persuasive for them."
Eduardo Ortiz Robin Beers Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Bruce Gillespie Jess Greco Marieke McCloskey Renee ReidDay 3 Theme Panel
March 13, 2025
"Marketing and strategy are part of design – that’s the nature of design thinking."
Richard BuchananCreativity and Principles in the Flourishing Enterprise
June 15, 2018
"Scanner Pro automatically corrects perspective and applies filters, making scanning with a phone fast and high quality."
Jorge ArangoThe Best of Both Worlds: How to Integrate Paper and Digital Notes (1st of 3 seminars)
April 5, 2024
"Not all monetization is equal; pay-to-express models are less threatening to social dynamics than pay-for-power schemes."
Cheryl PlatzEmbrace Your Fun Factor: Game Development Best Practices for Product Design
January 9, 2026
"Education is the foundation upon which we build a more sustainable future."
Ash BrownSilver Linings: What DesignOps Learned in the Shift to WFH
October 23, 2020
"Tech industry layoffs are basically an instance of social contagion—companies imitate what others are doing."
Angelos ArnisNavigating the Rapid Shifts in Tech's Turbulent Terrain
October 2, 2023
"Our goal ultimately is not to deploy a static solution but to make sure humans in the system achieve their goals successfully as often as possible."
Jeff GothelfWho does what by how much?
November 20, 2025
"In early computing, all you had to do was intercept text and put it in braille or text-to-speech, because everything was text-based."
Sam ProulxTo Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
September 9, 2022
"The observing eye sees things as they are; the perceiving eye looks beneath the surface to understand significance."
Brendan JarvisIt was the Best of Times. It was the Worst of Times.
September 25, 2024
