I've found the one and only thing that can mitigate the impact of this kind of stress is communication.

I was recently involved in a rather large company acquisition/merge project that involved the entire IT department for a solid year. Toward the end, there were several months straight where overtime became an issue for everyone because of the “im-proper prior planning ….”. The stress level rose to a rather extreme level.

To my point, I was the only manager that seemed to communicate issues that affected timeline to the executives. Although I could have been considered the “sky is falling” guy, the adverse was true. I was praised for my “matter of fact” delivery. No matter the bitterness of the news it was delivered.

It seems all too often that people get stuck in their roles and perceived effectiveness to manage and forget the common goal of the TEAM. Many will not raise the red flag for fear of being seen as this “sky is falling” guy, often causing more stress. We all know that if someone came to you and explained the situation when they know it’s an issue that you’re less likely to take the “it’s not fair” attitude. Wait until it’s too late, then all hell breaks loose.

Put simply, “Communication Is the Key, although it’s often hard to find the lock.”