In the work we do with leadership teams we often come across teams who are overworked. The impact of this is more than tiredness and inefficiency. It actually affects the character and personality of those in the workplace. People who might usually be optimistic become pessimistic. We've even heard leaders talk about 'racing to average.' This describes the treadmill effect of working hard to only move forward slowly. It's a downward spiral that has a massive cost to business. A recent study by Medibank revealed that workplace stress is costing the Australian economy over 14 billion dollars a year. Stress related absenteeism is costing Australian employers 10 billion dollars a year. And the average worker loses 3.2 working days through workplace stress each year. What the social cost of this might be we can only imagine.