The Hidden Epidemic of Social Contagion How workplace stress spreads—and what leaders can do about it.

Imagine walking into a meeting where you can sense the tension. You can see your manager's shoulders are rigid and raised, you can hear their voice short and direct, and before long you notice your own heartbeat speeding up and feeling like you're on edge, even if you don't know exactly what situation you're dealing with.

It's not your imagination – stress can spread through a team like a virus. In fact, researchers have found that just by observing someone in a stressful situation can trigger the release of cortisol (the stress hormone) in our own bodies.

In today's workplace, where 80% of us report feeling stressed during the day, this "stress contagion" often feels baked into the culture. We've all seen how one shortly written email or a tense Zoom call can put an entire team on edge. But, if it's not dealt with, that contagious stress isn't just unpleasant – it can wreak havoc on our well-being and a business's bottom line.

Chronic workplace stress is more than a personal problem; it's been deemed a public health concern with serious consequences for organizations. Studies in Europe cite job stress as the second-most reported health issue among workers, contributing to absenteeism, low commitment, poor job performance, and mental and physical health problems. In the U.S., job stress is estimated to cost companies over US$300 billion a year in health expenses, lost productivity, and turnover. In other words, when stress travels through a team, it leaves a trail of burnout, mistakes, and missed opportunities. Leaders aren't immune either – and importantly, their stress doesn't stay with them. Recent research confirms that managers "transmit" stress to their employees, with effects that can be measured even a year later. In a large multi-year study, stressed leaders in a Danish municipality passed their tension on to subordinates, and notably, this impact was detectable twelve months down the line (though it did tend to fade after a couple of years). The authors called managers the "nerve centers" of their teams – when a leader is in distress, the whole team's well-being is at stake.

This domino effect of stress helps explain why a sour mood at the top can trickle down an entire organization. Psychologists often refer to emotional contagion, the process by which people "catch" feelings from one another. It happens most powerfully face-to-face, but studies show emotions spread even through video calls, emails, and other virtual interactions. Importantly, this contagion works for both negative and positive emotions. If a leader is anxious and irritable, their team will likely absorb that anxiety; if the leader stays calm and optimistic, those feelings can also circulate.

Neuroscience gives us sobering insight here: when we're under acute stress, our brains experience an amygdala hijack – the fight-or-flight center takes over, diverting oxygen from our thinking brain. It's been likened to losing 10-15 IQ points temporarily, as our ability to reason and make decisions plummets. Not only does a stressed leader risk clouded judgment for themselves, but their team's collective decision-making and creativity may suffer as well. In contrast, a positive or relaxed team vibe isn't just "feel-good" fluff; research finds it brings with it better employee attitudes, problem-solving, and performance.

So, what can be done to break the cycle of stress contagion? The encouraging fact is that if stress is contagious, so is calm. This is where the role of somatics – an awareness of the body and its sensations – comes into play. Our bodies often broadcast stress louder than our words do. (Ever realize you'd been unconsciously clenching your jaw or hunching your shoulders all day?) In leadership, these nonverbal signals matter: over 90% of emotional communication is nonverbal, through body language, facial expression, and tone . Your team can "read" your stress in a jittery pace, a slammed laptop, or a terse tone – and they will often, without thinking, mirror it. For example, if you as a leader walk into the room with a clenched posture and crossed arms, people may interpret defensiveness or anger and start to feel uneasy themselves. The flip side is powerful: by consciously grounding yourself and projecting more open, calm body language, you create a ripple of ease that others can pick up on. We intuitively take emotional cues from those around us, so a leader who is embodied – present in their body, aware of their state – can set a healthier emotional tone for the whole team.

Somatic awareness starts with tuning into your own physiology. The moment you notice signs of your stress rising (a racing heart, shallow breath, tight chest), instead of pushing through, pause. Techniques from somatic therapy and mindfulness can be surprisingly effective in these moments. Something as simple as taking a few slow, deep breaths can shift you out of panic mode. (In fact, clinical research shows that slow, paced breathing and taking a longer exhale than inhale significantly lowers cortisol levels.) You might plant both feet on the floor and feel the support of the ground or your back on your seat – a simple grounding technique to calm the nervous system. These practices work by telling your body it's safe, flipping the switch from the "fight or flight" response toward the "rest and digest" state. Leadership coaches who specialize in somatics often teach that while you can't stop the initial jolt of stress (your biology will react – we're human!), you can recover faster. By using your breath and posture, you effectively shorten the 'amygdala hijack' and return to clarity more quickly. Instead of spending all day in a frazzled state that everyone around you catches onto, you regain calm and convey steadiness.

Over time, leaders who cultivate this kind of somatic intelligence find that it creates a buffering effect in their teams. Challenges will always arise – tight deadlines, business setbacks, the client from hell – but how you embody the response makes a difference. Do you tighten up and broadcast panic, or take a centering breath and address the issue with composure? Your team is watching, and feeling, your answer. As one CEO put it, "ignoring the power of mood… means losing an important opportunity to influence outcomes". Forward-thinking businesses are beginning to recognize that training leaders in emotional resilience and body-based self-regulation isn't a luxury, but a strategic investment. Supporting managers' psychosocial well-being (think coaching, workshops on stress management, somatic leadership training) pays off in more resilient teams. It's much easier to ride the waves of a tough quarter when your team isn't also juggling secondhand stress from their boss. And when employees see a leader handle pressure with grace – maybe they take a mindful pause instead of lashing out – it sends a powerful message that managing stress is part of the culture. That kind of emotional modeling can begin to shift the whole workplace ethos toward healthier norms.

Finally, it's worth reflecting on your role as a leader in setting the emotional climate. Ask yourself: What vibe do I bring into the office on a Monday morning? When a crisis hits, how do my body and tone respond, and what do my people pick up from me? Do I give my team "permission" to pause and breathe by doing so myself, or am I inadvertently telegraphing that everyone should panic because I am? These aren't always easy questions, but they're necessary ones. By developing somatic awareness, you gain a sort of internal "pause button" – a chance to notice your stress, take a breath, and choose a different response before it spreads. The impact of that choice is profound. You break the contagion cycle at its source (in you), and in doing so, you become the kind of leader whose calm is infectious. In a world where stress may be inevitable, contagious calm just might be the best antidote.