Articles

Dandelions and Orchids in the workplace: insights from neuroscience and psychology

12th May 2024

Getting the organisational culture right is no easy feat for global leaders, particularly in a post-pandemic climate of hybrid working, financial pressures, geopolitical and mental health crises. Organisations face enormous pressure to create workplace environments that not only increase institutional performance, productivity, profit and growth but also facilitate employee engagement, development and satisfaction. Workplace environments that rely on performance metrics, outcomes and targets can be conducive for highly competitive, motivated and driven individuals but often these environments have the potential to become harsh, impersonal, counterproductive and unsustainable with higher levels of disconnection, overwhelm and burnout. Despite the legal duty of care for employee health and wellbeing and the growing evidence that employee wellbeing will ultimately improve the success of the overall organisation, there is still an underlying scepticism, hesitance and reluctance towards embedding the conceptual shift within some sectors. Understandably, some leaders have genuine concerns regarding a decline in productivity, performance and expectations, fearing that they may be viewed as weak and worrying that some employees may lose motivation and exploit the situation. Meanwhile other leaders are embedding organisation-wide changes to address the unprecedented high levels of stress, anxiety, burnout, absenteeism and presenteeism in their organisations, albeit with mixed results. As such it is clear that responding to these conflicting demands within an increasingly diverse workforce, in a rapidly changing world, is challenging and moreover that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach at either the individual or the institutional level.

Organisational and clinical psychologists with expertise in neuroscience, leadership and behaviour change are equipped to offer insights and practical solutions based on professional practice, applied research and evidence-based literature to support organisational change designed to allow individuals and the organisation to flourish. We know from the research in this field that workplace initiatives need to be authentic and prioritised by senior management so that employees across the institution feel that they are genuine, sensitive and trusted. A robust finding in the literature highlights the counterproductive efforts of costly ineffective tickbox initiatives that create psychological barriers that negatively impact employee engagement. Additionally, the tension between workplace stress and its potential impact on performance reviews, appraisals and promotion opportunities is a significant barrier for some individuals and this needs to be addressed. For example, a consistent finding in the literature highlights that a commitment towards a culture of psychological safety needs to be created, and sustained, in order to establish initiatives that will make a real difference to workplace wellbeing and environmental conditions. However, many organisations have reported that these evidence-based changes have had a limited impact and although the changes to environmental conditions may be helpful for some employees they are not deemed sufficient for long-lasting change. These well-intentioned and well-designed initiatives are showing promise but the expected improvements in mental health and wellbeing are falling short which foster further doubt and uncertainty. As a clinical psychologist in a leadership role during the pandemic I had a strong sense that individual differences in environmental-sensitivity needed to be considered. I understood from my clinical expertise and experience that neurobiological mechanisms underpin individual stress responses and stress signatures that can be navigated and managed with a compassionate and informed approach.

The knowledge that a small proportion of children present with heightened sensitivity to environmental conditions has been integral to my clinical practice. This sensitivity is a biologically-based developmental difference that is typically seen in children who deteriorate in poor environmental conditions in contrast to a small proportion of children who are environmentally-insensitive and more resilient in poor environments. Interestingly the environmentally-sensitive children flourished when nurtured in ideal conditions giving rise to the term orchid children whereas the environmentally-insensitive children did not thrive in the ideal conditions and were referred to as dandelion children (Boyce and Ellis, 2005; Ellis et al, 2011). Recent research has established that these developmental differences in environmental sensitivity persist throughout adulthood, informing our understanding of differential responses to environmental conditions in the workplace.

The neurobiological mechanisms that underpin heightened or flattened sensitivity have been associated with the expression and distribution of DRD4, a specific dopamine receptor in the brain that responds to dopamine levels in the reward pathways (Bakermans-Kranenburg et al, 2008) and the expression of the serotonin allele. These neurotransmitters have multiple effects across different regions in the brain that influence mood, anxiety, perception, decision-making, impulsivity, emotion regulation, reward and pleasure. As such it makes sense that biological differences in the neuronal affinity for these neurotransmitters will impact sensitivity and individual differences in the need for emotional reassurance, nurturing, recognition and encouragement. Embedding these integral factors in the workplace can create supportive and compassionate environments that reduce stress and emotional reactivity by activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Developing a more nuanced and sophisticated awareness of sensitivity differences in adults will allow organisations to understand that poor environmental conditions will have a greater negative impact on orchid adults but importantly these employees will also respond more favourably and thrive in optimal conditions. In contrast dandelion adults may demonstrate resilience in poorer workplace environments but they won’t respond as positively to improvements in environmental conditions. As such employers need to invest in programmes that address both sensitivity and resilience in the workplace offering more emotional support, flexibility, mentorship and encouragement to orchid adults and more autonomy, manageable challenges and stability to dandelion adults.

The incidence of orchids and dandelions does not account for all employees in the workplace meaning that the majority of employees will present in the workplace without heightened or flattened sensitivity (Zhang et al, 2023). It may be that environmental sensitivity occurs across a dimension or spectrum or there may be distinct groups of people that respond in different ways. Either way the majority of individuals may have individual preferences within workplace environments that need to be assessed and responded to. Psychologists have a range of psychometric assessment tools and tailored techniques that can be employed to assess and respond to individual differences in sensitivity in the workplace. In addition, organisational psychologists can work with the C-Suite to inform leadership and support organisations who are committed to personal and professional development in the workplace to create optimal environmental conditions to allow all employees to flourish individually and collectively.