Why Do Workplace Emotions Feel So Overwhelming? The Evolutionary Truth Behind Leadership Triggers
February 6, 2025
Thousands of years ago, survival meant belonging to a tribe.
Being excluded or abandoned wasn’t just inconvenient. It was life-threatening.
That primal fear still influences us today, even in modern leadership roles.
When you feel dismissed in a meeting or challenged by a team member, it can hit deeper than you realize.
As evolutionary psychologist John Bowlby found, our need for connection and security stems from ancient survival instincts.
In addition, women in leadership often bear an added weight:
Fear of being labeled “too emotional” or “not tough enough.”
Societal pressures to always “hold it together.”
The challenge of thriving in systems not designed for you.
These triggers can leave you:
Missing opportunities to influence decisions.
Overthinking every interaction.
Exhausted from carrying the weight of emotional fatigue.
For HR Managers reading this,
Emotional triggers don’t just impact leaders. They affect your entire organization.
High-performing leaders burn out or disengage.
Tensions build within teams, hurting collaboration.
Retention rates plummet when leaders feel unsupported.
And the statistics don’t lie. According to Harvard Business Review:
75% of employees say their manager is the most stressful part of their job
This isn’t just an individual issue—it’s a cultural one.
The Solution? Awareness and Strategy
In a training this week, we dived into:
The root causes of emotional triggers like abandonment and rejection—and how to reframe them.
HR strategies to build psychologically safe workplaces that empower female leaders.
Practical tools for turning emotional responses into confident, clear, and calm leadership moments.
Missed it live, you can catch the replay here