2023 SRM Research Report - Extended Enterprise

2023 GLOBAL SRM RESEARCH REPORT

ACADEMIC INTERVIEW: SUPPLIER STRESS

1. Push back on microstress in concrete, practical ways. It could be the practice of saying ‘no’ to small tasks and asks; reducing the amount of notifications on your phone or computer that interrupt you; and readjusting relationships to prevent others from putting microstress on you. 2. Be attuned to the microstress you are causing others. This will help you both. Emitting less means we’ll receive less in return. 3. Rise above. One reason some microstressors affect us is simply because we allow them to. Learn to keep them in perspective and let some things that bother you just roll off your back. We don’t simply have to react to the hyper-interconnectivity of today’s world and allow ourselves to be on-call to all 24/7. We can choose to reduce the type and amount of such intrusions into our daily lives, as well as moderate our responses to them. All these small annoyances are not simply bumps in the road to be accepted, to be happy, healthy and successful individuals and organisations, we can - and should - try to smooth our path, and that of others, as much as possible.

Their research found that the happiest high-performing individuals they interviewed belonged to two or three groups outside of their family and work. These could be sports clubs, intellectual groups, regular social gatherings, a class that teaches them a new skill, anything, but in each case they involves interacting with others with whom you have something in common and yet who bring their own point of view. “These groups keep stress in perspective, and help people to boost their mental health and resilience outside of work and the family setting,” says Cross. They are especially important now that an increase in connective technology means stresses - from family, friends or work - can come at us all day, every day. In addition, social distancing during Covid and the increasing work-from-home culture has generally reduced our level of interaction with others. “Some of our coping mechanisms went, or have gone, away; you need to laugh with others and see issues in a different light.” Cross and Dillon highlight three key strategies to zap these microstresses, all of which require small and simple changes:

If you can identify where problems are repetitive or constantly bumping up and causing problems, that’s where you need to focus.” In addition to recognising the sources of persistent annoyance or anxiety, reflecting on how you might be causing it in others is a valuable and important skill. “I try to be more cognisant of where I’m causing stress,” says Cross, “if I pass it on it inevitably it boomerangs back at me some time. It’s the same in procurement, there will be times where you need to discuss performance or targets being missed, but if you push too hard in demanding concessions in certain ways that are unnecessary - it will come back at you at some point. If people purchasing “From decades of social science research, we know that a negative interaction is up to five times more impactful than a positive one.”

“It’s contagious, trickling through people’s behaviour and across their networks in different ways.” 3. The third particular pain point to highlight is the microstress brought about by the ‘pressure to pursue goals out of synchronisation with personal values’ . This is an example of a microstress that can challenge one’s identity, and trigger the uncomfortable feeling that you’re not acting as you’d like. This can chip away at motivation and sense of purpose. In this case, it may be pressure applied to a supplier to act in such a way that is discordant with their own values or that of their organisation, such as “at a price that doesn’t allow them to do their best work,” says Cross. For example, if they are pushed into acting in a way that is incompatible with environmental, social or governance goals because it’s quicker or cheaper. “It often happens when people are under pressure to cut costs and they have to push themselves or their teams to deliver at a certain price point.”

4. The fourth and final stress to highlight is prompted by suppliers constantly having to respond to demands from the buying organisation. This includes anything and everything relating to their product or service; to updating documents; and requests for data such as risk assessments or compliance documents. “This is another I would put in the ‘drain capacity’ category. It could be either be caused by sudden ‘surges in responsibilities’ , or a shift in expectations caused by ‘unpredictable behaviour from a person in authority’ .” The trouble is, each of these instances incrementally leads to a deterioration of the buyer/supplier relationship. Each individual occurrence may only leave a tiny dent or depression but over time, they could gradually amount to a gaping hole that damages performance (theirs and yours) - and may ultimately lead to the end of that partnership.

“From decades of social science research, we know that a negative interaction is up to five times more impactful than a positive one,” say Cross and Dillon in HBR. “That means finding ways to eliminate even just a few microstresses in your life can make a significant difference.” Remove or relieving microstresses Each chapter of The MicroStress Effect details specific things behind each idea, including systematic processes and actions that can be undertaken to achieve a shift in behaviour, without shifting blame. One approach, says Cross, is to isolate where the stress is coming from. “Can you specifically identify what’s happening, where and when and in such a way that it’s affecting your ability to do well? If so, can you see how you might change the nature of the interaction or remove yourself from it? “We’re wired as humans to think we should never walk away, but sometimes relationships are just too toxic or unhealthy and pull people down in negative ways.

my services start nitpicking, I find I either don’t want to put as much effort in or I just walk away.” In terms of combating microstress, Cross and Dillon advise that instead of learning how to endure it, it’s better to try to remove it altogether.