Your Workplace Is Affecting Your Nervous System More Than You Think

Mardoche Sidor, MD and Karen Dubin, PhD, LCSW

May 21, 2026

You bring your nervous system to work every day, and your workplace interacts with it constantly. Beneath deadlines and tasks, your brain is asking one core question: Am I safe here? When threat is perceived, the HPA axis activates, leading to stress responses such as cortisol release and heightened vigilance. Over time, chronic activation leads to burnout. Importantly, the brain reacts similarly to relational threats such as being ignored or dismissed.

Workplaces are regulatory environments. They either calm or activate the nervous system. Burnout is chronic activation without recovery.

On June 12, 2026, from 9-1pm (EDT), we will explore how to restore meaning in the workplace. If you feel your agency could benefit from this, we invite you to join us at our Workplace & Mental Health Virtual Conference

Mardoche Sidor, MD and Karen Dubin, PhD, LCSW

Karen and Mardoche are Co-Founders of, and the Main Facilitators at the SWEET Institute. They have more than 40 years of clinical practice in over 10 different practice settings. They have provided services from all levels of care, from line work to executive management, often doing both simultaneously, and have done work on the policy level and have reached communities nationally and internationally. They are both affiliated with Columbia University and are regular contributors to Psychology Today.