This constant change has thrown many lives out of balance—and author, researcher, and professor Brené Brown told Fortune that instability wreaks havoc on workers’ mental health.
Brown said unstable geopolitics, changing markets, and advanced tech like AI are to blame for Americans’ declining well-being.
The current state of the world paints a bleak picture for workforces that are “increasingly struggling,” according to Brown.
“It is extraordinarily difficult to be brave right now for a lot of different reasons. Politics is one, but [also] radically changing markets … I’m going to tell you right now, people are not okay.”
For workers struggling with the current pace of change, Brown said that the solution is certainty—but in reality, that’s becoming harder to find.
“We are wired for certainty, and we’re wired to get to certainty as soon as possible. And the more uncertainty that we’re in, the more really hard feedback we get from our bodies,” Brown continued. “We’re not wired for the kind of leadership I think we need right now.”
But not all hope is lost—Brown insists when CEOs are aware of the upheaval their staffers are going through, they have the power to navigate the disruption with empathy and trust.
She said leaders need to sit down with their staff to discuss what best practice looks like within the business, and what the best ways are to work with one another.
