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Certainty vs cortisol (are you recognising any of this right now?)

ended 08. January 2026

If you’re leading a small business in this current climate, you’re not suddenly a “bad leader”. You’re under pressure. And pressure makes people reactive.

That’s when the classic trio shows up:

  • You start micromanaging because it feels safer than trusting the process
  • You go quiet because you don’t want to worry everyone
  • You make late-night decisions because your brain won’t switch off, then Monday becomes a guessing game

So here’s the uncomfortable question: are you creating certainty, or creating cortisol?

Because stress spreads. There’s research showing that manager stress can transfer to employees, and the link can still be detected a year later. 

And it’s not a small issue. In Great Britain, work-related stress, depression or anxiety led to 22.1 million working days lost in 2024/25, and 964,000 workers reported being affected. 

Questions (small business owners, be honest):

  1. In the current climate, which one are you noticing more: micromanaging, silence, or late-night decision-making?
  2. What’s your “stress tell” that your team probably clocks before you do?
  3. Do you give people clarity, or just urgency?
  4. When you change direction, do you explain why, or do people have to piece it together?
  5. What’s one thing you could say this week that would calm the noise without overpromising?
  6. Who has permission to tell you “you’re spiralling” before it lands on the team?

Sources (links):

HSE working days lost (2024/25): https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/dayslost.htm 

HSE press release with 964,000 figure: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2025/11/20/hse-publishes-annual-workplace-health-and-safety-statistics/ 

GOV.UK WorkRight summary page: https://workright.campaign.gov.uk/understanding-the-impact-of-stress-at-work/ 

“The contagious leader” study (PMC): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9540037/ 

 

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Kate Underwood
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR and Training
Certainty is a leadership skill. Cortisol is a leadership leak. If you’re running a small business right now and you’ve started micromanaging, going quiet, or making 1 am decisions, you’re not a bad leader. You’re under pressure. But here’s the kicker: stress spreads. There’s research showing that manager stress transfers to employees and can still be detected a year later. Zoom out. In 2024/25, work-related stress, depression or anxiety cost Great Britain 22.1 million working days. And 964,000 people reported being affected. That’s not a wellbeing poster. That’s a performance and retention problem. Swap urgency for clarity. This week say: Here’s what’s changing. Here’s what isn’t. Here’s when we’ll review it. Ban late-night decisions. If it can’t wait until morning, it wasn’t a decision. It was a reaction.
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Colette Mason
AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI
When you're under pressure, the instinct is to project confidence you don't feel, or worse, go silent because you think uncertainty makes you look weak. But your team already knows you don't have all the answers. They're just wondering if you're still pretending you do.

Honest uncertainty with a plan beats fake certainty with hidden panic every single time. "I'm monitoring cash flow daily and we'll review Friday" calms people. "Everything's fine" when they see invoices are stacking up is how paranoia breeds.

The 22.1m working days lost to work-related stress aren't just about facing a hefty workload. It means everyone in the business operating in a fog of unspoken dread, trying to decode what their leader actually means, and what they can do for the best as employees and individuals.

Teams don't need you to have it all figured out. They need to know you're straight with them. Invest in an AI copilot 'twin', so you can deliberate and let off steam with a digital sounding board first.