The Crossover: Catching your team's exhaustion

Is your team's exhaustion contagious?

A recent study confirms that the more empathic you are as a leader the more susceptible you are to 'catching' your team's emotional exhaustion. 

This is called the crossover, according to the paper What About the Leader: Crossover of Emotional Exhaustion and Work Engagement From Followers to Leaders?

"Leaders’ who consider themselves to be particularly competent in the emotional area pay more attention to emotional expressions of their staff, are more likely to detect negative emotions, and are, in turn, more likely to experience negative emotions themselves. "*

These findings remind us of the complex emotional and psychological feedback loops that exist within our teams. We know that leaders influence the wellness and engagement of their teams and, in turn, team members can affect a leaders' wellbeing at work.

This report builds the case for strengthening your people's coping skills and emotional fortitude, as well as your own. 

* Wirtz, N., Rigotti, T., Otto, K., & Loeb, C. (2016, March 3). What About the Leader? Crossover of Emotional Exhaustion and Work Engagement From Followers to Leaders.  Journal of occupational health Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000024