CPTSD in the Workplace: Capacity Management

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by all the tasks you have to perform at work to the point that you can’t get even one of them done? Have you ever taken on too much work because you didn’t want to disappoint someone or let them down? Have you ever had difficulty saying no because it would mean you somehow failed?

This is not unusual for trauma survivors in the workplace. Sometimes we take on more than we can handle because we can’t say “no,” or someone dumps on us because they can’t hear the word “no.” However we get there, we all have times when we are over our capacity or limit. For the trauma survivor, our capacity may be significantly limited because the past has taken residence in the present. This article will talk about what capacity management is, how it relates to our window of tolerance, and what we can do to manage our capacity to be more effective in the workplace.

What is Capacity Management?

The definition of capacity is “the maximum amount that something can contain.” As it relates to business, capacity management is the “act of ensuring a business maximizes its potential activities and production output at all times and under all conditions.” (Investopedia)

This is saying that the goal is to get the most out of their resources. In business, there is an optimal capacity that drives optimal performance. If there is too much work for the workers, they will either need to hire more people or allow for delays in completion time or, as in the case of call centers, there will be longer wait times. If there is not enough work, people will be standing around doing nothing, and the company will be wasting money for no value.

In both scenarios, there is a sweet spot where a company will have the right amount of work to get the most out of what they produce.

Capacity Management and the Window of Tolerance

Emotionally speaking, we also have a sweet spot regarding stress tolerance. Dr. Dan Siegel coined the term “window of tolerance” to describe normal brain/body reactions, especially after trauma. He suggests that there is an optimal arousal level that allows us to ebb and flow with the ups and downs of emotions. When operating within this sweet spot, or comfort zone, as Dr. Siegel refers to it, we can emotionally regulate, self-soothe, and effectively cope with our emotions.

As you can see from the illustration above, there are also states of hyper and hypo arousal. The state of hyper-arousal happens when we move beyond our window of tolerance and triggers a fight/flight response. Hypo-arousal is the state associated with the freeze response…shutting down…checking out.

Both of these extremes cause problems with our ability to perform. As employees, we have a finite amount of mental, physical, social, and emotional capacity to do our jobs. Try as you might, no one can function beyond their capacity.

When we operate outside of our window of tolerance, it limits our capacity to accomplish the mental tasks required by our jobs. When we operate within our window of tolerance, we expand our ability to perform mental tasks.

Capacity Challenges

There are several things that can contribute to capacity challenges in the workplace.

1. Triggers/Emotional Dysregulation — Triggers abound in the workplace. When we are not intentionally managing our triggers, they can cause emotional dysregulation that can take us out of our window of tolerance. Then, we have to invest a significant amount of energy and time in regulating ourselves so that we can function.
2. Therapy — This is somewhat of a double-bind because we are darned if we do, and we are darned if we don’t get therapy. We need therapy to lighten the past emotional baggage we carry in the present; however, transformational therapy requires us to devote significant energy to the healing process.
3. Core Beliefs — Shirley Davis, staff writer for the CPTSD Foundation, has a great series on core beliefs that is worth the read. The definition she uses is: “Core beliefs are deeply held internal ideas that interact with a person to form how they see themselves and the world.” Our core beliefs determine how we assess our capabilities, interact with others, and set boundaries on our capacity. For example, if we believe we are “not good enough,” nothing we do will be good enough. As a result, we may avoid completing tasks or delay the completion of tasks because we are afraid others will validate our belief that we are not good enough. Overcoming core beliefs is critical for trauma survivors and requires a lot of intentional work to address.
4. Lack of Boundaries — As childhood trauma survivors, we may never have experienced the opportunity to establish boundaries, never mind actually have boundaries. We may not know how to establish boundaries. If we do not have boundaries, we will not know how to say “no.” As a result, we may have additional tasks put on our plate that we do not have the capacity to complete.
5. Overfunctioning — I wrote an article on this last year, where I mentioned it as a coping strategy. According to the article, over functioning is taking on too much responsibility and trying to control things you can’t control. For me, this often shows up when my old attachment wounds have been triggered, and I go right back to believing that I have to do everything by myself because no one will show up for me.
6. Not Understanding our Limitations — I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think I can do it all. This isn’t a problem. I can figure out how to squeeze it in. We might not fully take into account how long a task is going to take, which impacts the rest of our responsibilities.
7. Difficulty Prioritizing — I usually get into this predicament when there is something I want to learn or do. One of the challenges I experience due to my ADHD is “tunnel vision,” which seems counter-intuitive to me, but what do I know? I always thought ADHD was the inability to focus, but apparently, tunnel vision is also part of it. Whatever I want to learn becomes my priority, and nothing else matters. Somehow my critical responsibilities get pushed to the back of the list, and I have to scramble to finish them on time.

Managing Your Capacity

Creating a how-to list on managing your capacity would seem like a reverse-engineered copy of the list above… don’t do the things above that challenge your capacity. But I am not going to do that to you. Instead, I want to encourage you to consider the following:

1. Remember that your capacity is limited. Carefully consider what things add value to your success, and do them. There will be some things that are “nice to haves” and some things that are “must-haves.” Start with the must-haves, then assess whether adding some of the nice-to-haves is prudent.
2. Resist negative core beliefs. Despite the extremely loud critical voice in your head, remember that your company hired you because they thought you were capable of doing the job they hired you for. That inner voice is lying to you when it tells you that you are not enough, worthless, or a failure. Go ahead and prove to that voice what you are made of.
3. Maintain boundaries. I will not tell you not to help a co-worker if they are underwater, but I recommend assessing whether you have the extra capacity to help them and how often they cry for help. Sometimes the most helpful thing is teaching a co-worker how to manage their capacity. I have reciprocal relationships with co-workers, and we work well together; however, we also can say, “no, I can’t help you right now.”
4. Expand your window of tolerance. Learn to recognize when you are nearing the edge of your window of tolerance, then practice mindfulness to lower stress levels. Allow yourself to experience some discomfort to build up your tolerance. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. This will take time and effort. It does not happen without intention.
5. Practice. It takes time to understand your limits and how to manage competing priorities, and you will not get it right every time. It is part of the learning curve. Take it slow, but keep moving forward.
6. Empower yourself. This is the most important point to remember. You have the power and capability to manage your capacity. You are not powerless anymore. Give yourself permission to try, fail, and try again until you get it right. It is not a failure as long as you don’t give up.

You’ve got this! I believe in you. As always, you don’t have to walk this healing journey alone. If you want to work with me, you can schedule your complimentary discovery session by clicking here.

Here is a FREE resource to help you manage your emotions and expand your window of tolerance:

Trigger Tracker Template — helps you keep track of the triggers in your workplace and to plan the coping strategies you will use to get through the experience.

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