KANSAS CITY, MO — Although on the radar in Western culture now more than ever, mental health is not always widely acknowledged in manufacturing, where hard skills and efficiency rule. It’s a hard mindset to steer away from, especially in a mature industry like baking.
But in a bakery manufacturing setting, mental health can easily be tied to safety. Extreme stress — and its side effects such as sleep deprivation — can pose real physical threats. However, safety can’t solely be tied to the plant floor. Those same factors can impact critical decision making that, in turn, affects the business in a variety of ways.
Crisis situations can trigger “fight or flight,” the physiological reaction to an immediate external threat. Human beings have evolved to trigger fight or flight in stressful — but not imminently threatening — situations.
In everyday life, it looks more like a phenomenon called “amygdala hijack,” first introduced in the mid-’90s by Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence. Simply put, it’s an emotional response to a stressful situation. In that instance, the amygdala — the part of the brain that controls emotions and responds to threats — overrides a person’s ability to respond rationally to a perceived threat, essentially hijacking the logical part of the brain.
This chemical reaction can shut down access to critical thinking, so the brain becomes reactive. That can inhibit short-term decisions, but it can also lead to lasting impacts on bigger decisions and overall wellbeing, especially when every aspect of the organization falls on one person’s shoulders.
“It’s about being able to find dynamic stability,” said Julia Freeland, professional development strategist and executive coach. “That’s the capacity to feel stable despite everything moving around you. Finding that stability is based on understanding and being at peace with your limitations.”
Small practices such as breathing exercises may seem trivial, but they can make a big difference in maintaining clarity and minimizing emotional responses when managing a heavy load on a daily basis.
For global baking industry leader Daniel Servitje, chairman and CEO of Mexico City-based Grupo Bimbo, health — on every level — is part of his daily routine. For him, it’s a critical element for effective leadership.
“I have a set of practices I try to abide by, like doing a short meditation every day or engaging in a respiratory exercise,” Servitje said. “These things allow me to increase my capacity and also quiet me a bit more.”
Physical and mental wellbeing are not mutually exclusive, and it’s important to Servitje that he incorporates healthful practices wherever he can, including participating in “walking meetings” when possible.
“I exercise every day,” he said. “Sometimes that means multitasking to do physical activity while working. I also try to eat well and get enough sleep.”
While it may feel indulgent to make time for workouts or a midday walk, Servitje encourages leaders to shift that thinking.
“You have to take care of yourself if you want to fully lead others,” Servitje said. “It’s not selfish. If you don’t take care of yourself, you’re going to be leading in an incomplete way. It’s a responsibility as a leader to treat yourself well.”
Additionally, Freeland said, shifting expectations enables leaders to have a quick reset and reengage critical thinking because when that happens, innovation often follows.
It can be a long way to the pinnacle of a career. People spend decades working toward a “chief” title, and in the baking industry, the journey might begin on the plant floor. There’s often a perception that a wealth of benefits, including power, prestige and the big payday, awaits in the c-suite.
That’s often where perception and reality diverge. Sure, there’s clout that comes with the c-level title, but there can also be cost associated with the benefits.
They say it’s lonely at the top, but when things get hard, it gets even lonelier. Veronica Delgado, EVP and chief human resources officer for Centuri Group, a Phoenix-based strategic infrastructure services company, sees it all the time.
“A lot of people don’t realize there’s no place to go when you’re in the c-suite,” Delgado said. “There’s a certain expectation to show, ‘I can take all this on.’”
Those expectations can inherently inhibit c-level executives from addressing mental health.
“There has to be a more conscious effort on behalf of senior leaders to be okay with saying, ‘I’m not okay,’” Delgado said.
CEOs happily set up employee resource programs for their workforce. But at the same time, their own persona of strength — and the stoicism associated with it — makes those resources seem inaccessible, even if they implemented them in the first place. It’s a Catch-22.
This story has been adapted from the February | Q1 2023 issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition here.