Working
Health & Safety Executive - Stress Prevention
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) requires every employer to conduct risk assessments for health and safety hazards, including work-related stress.
'Pressure is part and parcel of all work and helps to keep us motivated. But excessive pressure can lead to stress, which undermines performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill' (HSE, 2007).
For more information about how you can implement a Stress Prevention Policy visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/
The HSE Report
In a HSE report on work related stress, 20% of respondents suffered from stress at levels described as “very” or “extremely stressful”. The most common stress related complaints presented to GPs are depression and anxiety and are reported to affect 20% of the working population.
Despite the common perception that public sector employees enjoy shorter hours and a less ruthless culture than their private sector colleagues, a survey of TUC Safety Representatives revealed that in the public sector, 64% of public sector employers were concerned about overwork or stress at work, compared to 48% of private sector employers. However, stress was the top ranked concern in both sectors.
All organisations should have a stress prevention policy which lays down the way the organisation deals with stress issues. There are three levels of intervention when it comes to dealing with work place stress.
Primary interventions aimed at eliminating or modifying environmental stressors to reduce their negative impact on individuals.
Secondary interventions that focus on increasing the awareness, resilience and coping skills of the individual.
Tertiary interventions concerned with the treatment and rehabilitation of distressed individuals.
Summary of Report Key Messages
- Demonstrate and encourage awareness, understanding and openness in relation to the issues of stress and mental health in the workplace.
- Adopt and adhere to formal policies on stress and mental health in the workplace.
- Allow employees to make reasonable adjustments to help them manage mental health problems and work related stress.
- Offer resources or procedures to help manage stress at work and improve mental wellbeing.
Visit the Health & Safety Executive's Work-Related Stress pages click here
Volunteers
Volunteering is about giving your time to do something useful. In return you get the satisfaction of time and effort well spent. In addition, volunteering can be a great way to: meet new people, learn new skills, gain useful experience and have fun!
The range of opportunities is huge. Whatever skills and experience you have, there is something that you can do.
What can volunteering do for you?
- Build your confidence. Encounter a variety of new challenges and share new experiences. Learn new skills that can give you confidence in other areas of your life.
- Introduce you to new friends. Meet likeminded individuals by volunteering for a campaign or cause you believe in.
- Create more fun in your life. Find an opportunity that matches your interests.
- Improve your health. There is evidence that volunteering can improve your health by creating a heightened sense of well-being
- Boost your career options. Enhance your CV and learn new skills.
Learn to relax
Incorporate time into your week for you and you alone. Time for you to put aside your worries, and release the tension in your body and mind.
It can be useful to think of the body and mind connection as being like a coiled spring… during the day worries and concerns weigh us down, and so the tension in this spring builds. If this tension is not released, then we cannot function optimally, and so physical and mental strain takes hold.
There are some simple steps you can take to reduce stress levels:
- Exercise. Exercise gets the muscles moving and releases tension. It also promotes the release of endorphins – that help the body to feel relaxed.
- Use your senses. Create pleasant fragrances with aromatherapy oils, have a long soak in a hot bath; play some soothing music and treat yourself to some special; your favourite meal, a massage or a movie (or all three!)
- Breathe. Learn to breathe correctly. Deep, slow inhalations, in through the nose, allowing your abdomen to rise, count to three, before releasing through the mouth.
- Use your mind. Creative visualization is a useful way to manage stress. Use the power of your imagination to take you to a place of serenity in your mind.
- Create a haven. A space where you feel comfortable and safe, and can recuperate. Select calm colours, relaxing sounds, low lighting and pleasant fragrances.
- Develop your support networks. Identify friends and family members to whom you can really talk. Don’t be afraid of asking others for help.
- Change your eating habits. Reduce your intake of fatty foods, reduce caffeine intake, cut back on alcohol and drink eight glasses of water a day.
Assertiveness
Being assertive is about learning to state what you want, while at the same time respecting other people, and their right to say what they want also. It represents a balance of your needs, and the needs of others while at the same time maintaining respect for everyone involved.
Learning to be assertive is an ongoing process and takes a great deal of practice. There are basic courses that run at local colleges and adult learning centres across the country, and there are plenty of books in the library that provide more information about assertiveness.
You’ll learn skills like: how to portray confidence – by looking at factors like appearance, posture and making eye contact. Furthermore assertiveness training teaches you how to deal with difficult situations such as: dealing with criticism, and how to deal with people who come across as aggressive or passive in nature. Learning more about assertiveness will help you with many aspects of your life.
Books
Sha’n, R. Rhoderick, G. & Rheinard, K. (1991) Assertion training: How to be who you really are. Routledge.
Fennell, M. (1999) Overcoming low self - esteem. Robinson.