Executive Function Decay: Why Managerial Judgment Fails Under Pressure and How Organizations Can Respond

Mental-health strain has become a routine feature of organizational life, yet managers and organizations continue to struggle to explain why capable employees make avoidable errors, why teams lose coordination under pressure, and why judgment quality deteriorates during periods of sustained stress. This article argues that executive function decay—the temporary or chronic degradation of working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—is a central but underrecognized mechanism linking mental strain to workplace performance failures.Drawing on research from cognitive neuroscience,