When Everything Goes to Hell: A Manager's Survival Guide for Stressful Times

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The coffee machine broke down on Monday morning, the air conditioning died by Tuesday lunch, and Wednesday brought news that our biggest client was pulling out. By Thursday, I was watching my team unravel faster than a cheap jumper in the wash.

After seventeen years managing teams across Brisbane, Sydney, and Perth, I've learnt that stress doesn't just knock politely on your office door. It kicks the bloody thing down, brings its mates, and sets up camp on your desk. And if you're not ready for it, your team will scatter like cockatoos at a fireworks display.

The Reality Check Nobody Talks About

Here's what the management textbooks won't tell you: when crisis hits, roughly 70% of your staff will look to you like you're supposed to have all the answers. The other 30% will assume you're completely useless and start making their own plans. Neither group is wrong, which is the truly terrifying part.

I learnt this the hard way during the 2020 lockdowns. One day we were humming along nicely, the next day half my team was working from kitchen tables while homeschooling kids, and the other half was wondering if they'd still have jobs by Christmas. The stress was so thick you could've cut it with a butter knife.

The mistake I made initially? I tried to be everyone's therapist AND their boss.

Big mistake. Huge.

What Actually Works (And What Definitely Doesn't)

Don't: Pretend everything is fine when it clearly isn't. Your team isn't stupid. They can smell panic like sharks smell blood in the water. If you're walking around with that forced smile saying "we'll get through this together" while your eye twitches uncontrollably, you're fooling nobody.

Do: Be honest about the situation without being a doomsday prophet. There's a massive difference between "yes, things are challenging right now, but here's our plan" and "we're all doomed, start updating your CVs."

I once worked with a manager – let's call him Dave because that was his name – who thought the best way to handle redundancies was to avoid the topic completely. For three months. His team spent more time speculating about job cuts than actually working. Productivity dropped 40%. When the axe finally fell, half the people who kept their jobs were so traumatised by the uncertainty that they quit anyway.

Dave's approach was about as effective as a chocolate teapot.

The Communication Minefield

During stressful periods, communication becomes simultaneously more important and more difficult. People hear what they expect to hear, not what you actually say. Tell someone "we're exploring all options" and they'll hear either "everything's definitely fine" or "we're definitely closing down," depending on their natural pessimism levels.

I've found that leadership skills for supervisors become absolutely crucial during these times. You need to be clear, consistent, and frequent with your updates.

Even when you don't have updates.

Especially when you don't have updates.

Set regular check-ins. Daily if necessary. "Nothing's changed since yesterday" is still information your team needs to hear. Silence breeds rumours, and rumours are like weeds – they grow fastest in the dark.

The Emotional Rollercoaster (And How Not to Fall Off)

Stress makes people weird. Really weird. I've seen normally rational adults argue about staplers like they were negotiating world peace. I've watched tough-as-nails tradies tear up over minor schedule changes. Stress doesn't discriminate – it'll make everyone a bit mental if you let it.

The key is recognising that emotional responses during crisis aren't really about the immediate trigger. That angry outburst about the photocopier? It's probably about job security, family pressures, or that general feeling that the world's gone completely barmy.

Your job isn't to fix everyone's feelings – you're a manager, not a miracle worker. But you do need to acknowledge them and create space for people to be human without the whole operation falling apart.

Practical Strategies That Actually Work

1. Increase Structure When Everything Else is Chaos

When external circumstances are unpredictable, make your internal processes rock-solid. If people can't control what's happening to the company, at least they can control their daily routines. Regular team meetings, clear deadlines, consistent procedures – these become anchors in stormy weather.

2. Overcommunicate, Then Communicate Some More

Think you've explained something clearly? Explain it again. Different words, different examples. Some people process information better in writing, others need face-to-face conversation. Cover all bases. Yes, it feels repetitive. Do it anyway.

3. Focus on What You CAN Control

There's no point stressing about global economic conditions or government decisions. But you can control how quickly you respond to emails, how you structure meetings, and whether your team feels supported or abandoned.

I spent months during one particularly rough patch obsessing over industry trends and competitor moves. Meanwhile, my own team was struggling with basic workflow issues I could've fixed in an afternoon. Sometimes the solution is closer than you think.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Leadership During Crisis

Being a manager during stressful times is like being a duck on a pond. On the surface, you need to look calm and in control. Underneath, you're paddling like hell just to stay afloat.

The uncomfortable truth? Sometimes you'll get it wrong. Sometimes your decisions will make things worse instead of better. Sometimes you'll lose good people despite your best efforts.

I once made a call to restructure our entire department during a particularly challenging period. Seemed logical at the time – streamline operations, reduce complexity, focus on core functions. Within six weeks, it was clear I'd created more problems than I'd solved. Our most experienced team member quit, client complaints increased, and team morale hit rock bottom.

Did I mention I'd been doing this for fifteen years at that point? Experience doesn't make you immune to spectacular mistakes.

The Recovery Phase (Often the Hardest Part)

Here's something nobody warns you about: the recovery phase after a crisis can be harder than the crisis itself. During the immediate stress, everyone's in survival mode. There's an odd kind of camaraderie that comes from shared struggle.

But once things stabilise? That's when people start processing what happened. Some will be angry about decisions that were made. Others will be exhausted from months of uncertainty. A few will develop a kind of crisis PTSD and become anxious about every minor issue.

The temptation is to assume that once the immediate problem is solved, everything will go back to normal. It won't. People change during stressful periods, and so do team dynamics. You might need to rebuild relationships from scratch.

Learning to Navigate With Better Employee Supervision Skills

The businesses that handle stress well don't just survive the crisis – they emerge stronger. Their teams develop resilience, their processes become more robust, and their managers learn skills they never knew they needed.

But this only happens if you're intentional about the learning. Debrief after difficult periods. Ask your team what worked and what didn't. Be prepared to hear some uncomfortable feedback about your own performance.

Most importantly, remember that managing through stress isn't about being perfect. It's about being present, honest, and human while still making the difficult decisions that need to be made.

Because at the end of the day, your team doesn't need you to be superhuman. They just need you to be a steady hand in uncertain times. Even when you're making it up as you go along.

Which, let's be honest, we all are.

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The author has managed teams across various industries for over 15 years and currently consults on workplace leadership challenges throughout Australia.