When endurance becomes identity
That same chemical lie plays out in business. Founders push through exhaustion and call it passion. They mistake the absence of chronic pain for progress. Every surge of activity brings a short-lived sense of relief, a hit of productivity that hides the pressure beneath.
The early years in business can reinforce the habit. Endorphins carry a founder through late nights and first wins, through the pressure to prove that everything depends on them. Once survival mode becomes routine, the chemistry turns against the business. The body is still pushing, but the founder’s chemical imbalance is rarely matched by the supporting team. The mismatch quietly builds resentment, fatigue and over time, founder burnout.
"What begins as protection quietly becomes depletion."
The illusion of control
A business addicted to pain relief
An ethical business ecosystem cannot survive on chemicals of denial. Yet founders tangled in the vines of endorphins convince themselves the relentless pace is necessary. They speak of drive, dedication and passion, words that once meant purpose but now defend depletion.
Each reactive change becomes a Painkiller Policy — a short-term fix written to ease discomfort that later stiffens into expectation. The founder feels productive; the team feels pressed. Like ivy creeping through an untended garden, these policies take hold, wrapping around every new effort until growth is stifled and the soil beneath begins to suffocate.
When viewed through the MET gauge, the pattern becomes visible:
- Money chased instead of managed; pouring energy into repetition rather than refinement.
- Energy drained without replenishment, disguised as determination and loyalty.
- Time wasted on urgency rather than building a structure that sustains.
The result is a business running on chemical courage — productive on paper, exhausted in practice.
Emergency overtime clause (sample policy)
Extract
“Employees will be required to work additional hours during high-demand periods to ensure deadlines are met. Overtime will be compensated at the discretion of management.”
Observation:
Ecosystem effect:
- Canopy (Leadership): Mistakes pressure for purpose; resilience becomes reputation.
- Culture: Carries the increased weight without recognition. Exhaustion rebranded as loyalty.
- Roots (Policies): Absorb the habit until flexibility stiffens into fatigue.
The structure still stands, but the soil beneath it is losing life; engagement, innovation, and trust begin to wither.
Recognising the haze
The first stage of HUM, Humanise, isn’t about immediate repair. It’s about recognising what the endorphin addiction has masked. These chemicals make dysfunction feel familiar and fatigue look normal.
A Painkiller Policy rarely begins with poor intent. It grows from a survival instinct, the belief that another push will keep the business safe. Awareness exposes where that instinct has hardened into habit.
When leaders pause long enough to feel the strain rather than mask it, clarity returns. That pause is not weakness; it’s reflection. The moment the business stops confusing endurance with structure, it can begin to hum again.
