Dr Natalie Isaia, Clinical Psychologist & Founder of Empresa Psychology

This article originally appeared HERE

The Invisible Business Cost That Is Silently Draining Productivity and Profits

What is this mysterious cost?

There is an invisible threat to your business bottom line, that is silently draining profits. You’re probably not measuring it. You’re probably not aware of it.

Allostatic load is the physical damage done to your body over time when you live in a chronic state of heightened stress. It is caused by an accumulation of physical stress responses that are helpful in the short-term, but toxic in the long-term. One of the major contributors is the stress hormone cortisol, which damages every cell and organ in the body when it is in our system too long. Cortisol will directly contribute to absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover by:

• Directly damaging your digestive system, leading to health problems like IBS;
• Impairing your immune system over time, leaving your body vulnerable to other physical health problems;
• Disrupting sleep, impairing your ability to function properly during the day; and
• Increasing inflammation and impacting your cardiovascular health.

This is all to do with the way our bodies have evolved. When we were cave-people, threats were physical and very short term: I see a sabre tooth tiger, I run away, I am now safe. For 20 minutes or so your body is pumping with adrenaline and cortisol, priming you to escape. Very helpful!

But it is now 2025 and threats have changed. Deadlines, interpersonal conflict, geopolitical concerns, perfectionism, imposter syndrome. These are chronic stressors and you can’t physically fight them or run away from them. So, your brain’s alarm system just gets stuck to ‘ON’ and the adrenaline and cortisol bathe your system all day. This is when those hormones become toxic.

Key Insight: Chronic stress is an almost inevitable consequence of living in the modern world and our bodies (and brains) haven’t evolved to cope with it.

Why don’t we measure or see this threat?

Your brain has developed another very clever and effective survival strategy: the ability to override the body’s warning systems until you can get to safety. Imagine you’re on a road trip in the middle of nowhere, you’re caught in a blizzard, you must keep driving. Warning lights start to light up the dashboard, one by one, but you must keep going. The car pushes on… until it doesn’t.

This applies to us too, for example if you’ve ever woken up on the morning of a big presentation feeling under the weather, you probably felt fine later in the day as the adrenaline carried you through but then crashed out in the evening. In this example, our coping mechanism is really helpful.

But over weeks, months and years this mechanism causes your brain to lie to you every day: “I’m fine! Keep going!”. It does this because you’re not ‘safe’ yet. However, you won’t ever be ‘safe’ because the deadlines, perfectionism and geopolitical worries aren’t going anywhere. So, the coping mechanism will keep working… until it doesn’t.

Yes, it is important to check in with yourself and practice self-awareness alongside self-care. But realistically, your brain will pretend you are coping better than you really are on a physiological level. You might not FEEL stressed so the daily damage being done internally is invisible… until it isn’t.

Of course this is also relevant to your staff. Most companies rely on self-report feedback, in a culture where exhaustion is worn as a badge of honour and corporate structures reward coping and pushing through.

Consider yourself or close colleagues: ambitious professionals and high achievers who are at an even higher risk of pushing through and overriding those warning signals. Will you push yourself to achieve at any cost? Has hybrid or remote working made it harder to properly switch off and achieve restorative rest? You are not alone.

Key Insight: If the only sign of stress you’re looking for is burnout and absence, you’re already many months too late.

What are the warning signs and long-term impacts?

In the short-term the warning signs are subtle and include lots of experiences that we have normalised in our working culture. For example:

• Feeling irritable and reduced capacity for empathy;
• Feeling overwhelmed and reduced capacity to effectively manage unexpected tasks or issues;
• Struggling to sleep;
• Impaired concentration and decision making, leading to a reliance on auto-pilot rather than strategic judgement; and
• An increase in minor illnesses, either leading to more absenteeism or more presenteeism.

Over years, this damage contributes to serious physical and mental health issues. Cancer. Diabetes. Heart disease. Dementia. The sad truth is that so many people are making themselves seriously ill for their careers and they don’t even realise.

Key Insight: The signs you are looking out for are far more subtle than you think. Your best performers become slightly less sharp… they’re not off sick or complaining of burnout, they are just that little bit less productive.

How is this impacting my business bottom-line?

In a world where efficiency and profits are king and queen, the commercial impacts of these issues are business-critical:

• Reduced cognitive bandwidth leads to a drop in productivity and an increase in errors;
• Staff are less engaged with change initiatives (in a climate where change is the new normal) because they are already at capacity and feeling overwhelmed;
• Increased sick days, presenteeism and staff turnover are costing UK businesses billions per year (Deloitte, 2024);
• Decreased client satisfaction results in reputational damage and lost revenue;
• Increased irritability leads to increased conflict within teams and more HR time spent on grievances and mediation; and
• Escalating costs associated with sick pay and reactive mental health support (e.g. access to counselling once someone is already in crisis).

Key Insight: Wellbeing is no longer a ‘nice to have’ and it is no longer about ‘soft skills’. Getting ahead of these issues is something that businesses cannot afford NOT to do for 2026.

Why is this relevant right NOW?

Allostatic load accumulates throughout the year, but December is a peak crunch point. You are dealing with end of year deadlines, trying to get projects over the line, end of year audits and performance reviews, and budget pressures. On top of that, the days are darker, colds and flu and knocking people out left, right and centre, and everyone is desperately trying to push through to Christmas with caffeine and Lemsip!

Your HR data may show that sick days peak in January and February, and that staff turnover is high in the first months of a new year. What you are seeing here is the impact of the December peak in invisible stress damage.

Key Insight: What you do RIGHT NOW predicts your health and performance measures in the new year.

What can I do about this if I can’t measure it?

Allostatic load accumulates quietly. And by the time it’s visible, it’s already cost you energy, focus, and health. Not to mention the associated commercial losses.

The great news is that you can act now to protect your staff’s wellbeing and your commercial performance.

Here is roadmap for getting ahead of the issue and taking preventative measures:

1. Knowledge is power. Your staff and managers need to understand their physiology and their stress response, so they are empowered to self-regulate more effectively.
   • In practice: Staff are able to take responsibility for self-monitoring and are more engaged with wellbeing initiatives, boosting your wellbeing strategy ROI and reducing the cost of reactive interventions.

2. Offer neuroscience-backed tools and strategies to sustainably increase resilience.
   • In practice: Staff are able to sustain higher performance and productivity whilst protecting their wellbeing, rather than “just pushing through”. You save money on lost productivity, absenteeism and presenteeism, ensuring a positive and productive start to the New Year.

3. Upskill leaders to create working environments that are high in psychological safety. One of the biggest contributors to our stress response in the workplace is an atmosphere of high interpersonal threat, causing individuals to disengage and withdraw due to fear of being shamed or ridiculed if they raise a concern.
   • In practice: Teams become more collaborative and innovative, embedding a culture of high performance. Higher-level cognitive functions such as planning, problem solving and perspective taking are free to flourish, as they are not hampered by an active alarm system in the brain. Interpersonal conflict is reduced and less time is wasted processing complaints and grievances.

4. Embed the culture of sustainable performance throughout the organisation. Wellbeing interventions are not just for Christmas!
   • In practice: Staff feel valued and supported in the long-term, reducing staff turnover and increasing talent retention. Company reputation strengthens and client outcomes are optimised. Younger employees who prioritise company culture over rates of pay will be drawn in, providing a competitive advantage.

How Empresa Psychology can work with you to achieve these outcomes:

Full disclosure: the worst part of my job is when I speak with individuals who are already suffering the consequences of serious health problems, and they suspect the root cause was years of over-working. I genuinely want to support organisations to implement effective interventions that will enable to them to achieve excellence without compromising wellbeing.

That’s why I develop and deliver evidence-based workshops that are customised to the specific needs of your team and business. I support leaders to think about ensuring their whole wellbeing strategy is impactful and sustainable, offering consultation and ongoing guidance where requested.

Our Compassionate Leadership training supports leaders to cultivate Psychological Safety so that team effectiveness is optimised, while leader wellbeing is supported. When staff feel psychologically safe, their brains are able to function at peak levels, enhancing creativity, engagement and performance. Leaders who embody this skillset understand how to hold staff accountable while cultivating a supportive environment.

Our suite of customisable workshops for teams upskills team members to understand and harness their stress response, so that they can thrive in high-pressure situations. We teach tools and strategies backed by evidence from psychology and neuroscience, so that staff are empowered to build their resilience and reduce their risk of burnout. All interactive workshops end with an accountability resource that will support your staff to implement the tools and strategies they have learned into their daily roles.

Don’t miss out! Book a call to speak with me today to make sure 2026 is your company’s year to thrive!