|
|
|
A Few Very Simple Keys To Success
When working from home, as there is in life, there are a few simple keys that will help assure your success. Know why you are doing what you're doing. This may sound quite simple at first. In actual fact, it can be as simple or complex as you...
Don't be Anonymous Anymore: 7 Ways to use Orange Snowflakes to Increase Traffic and Internet Profits
Out of the over 1 billion web pages on the net, exactly HOW do you plan to get your site noticed? The Answer - Orange Snowflakes. Out of the myriad of marketing techniques and approaches, do you KNOW what's the #1 source for ...
GREAT IDEA! NOW WHAT? THE ENTREPRENEUR'S CHALLENGE
You've done it! A brand new product idea. Or, perhaps, a new
service, based on a need you've spotted which no one else seems
to have noticed. Possibly even a unique and different way to
accomplish an older idea. You can see it's effects, know...
Starting Your At-Home Voice-Over Business
Thinking of getting into the voiceover business full time, specifically, opening your own in-house voice-over studio? Good for you! It’s a really great way to make a living! OK. You’ve got the dream. Now let’s see what it takes to make it a...
What is a Notary Public?
A notary public is a public servant appointed by a state official. The general focus of his or her job is to witness the signing of documents and administer oaths. They serve to deter fraud, appearing as an impartial witness for legal documents such...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
All you need to know about work-related stress
November 2004's publication of the Health and Safety Executive's
new Management Standards for work-related stress has focused the
minds of many organisations on this increasingly serious
workplace hazard. But what are the differences between pressure
and stress? What are the telltale signs and symptoms? What's the
current legal position? And what role should managers be playing
in helping to combat work-related stress?
Pressure or stress? Many people are confused about what stress
is, and in particular the difference between pressure and
stress: * Pressure is the stimulation and challenge we need to
achieve job satisfaction and self-esteem. * Stress is a reaction
to continued excessive pressure or responsibility when we feel
inadequate and unable to cope.
Ever since prehistoric times, the 'stress response' has been a
mechanism that our bodies have used to help us cope with danger.
As soon as we're aware that something is threatening us, our
brain sends messages to our nervous system to either get ready
to stand and fight, or run away. Unfortunately, whereas in Stone
Age times we would usually have time to recover from the life or
death encounters that triggered the response, in the modern
world we're confronted with a continuous stream of 'stressors'
that our bodies perceive as threats, and react to accordingly.
Today, these could include financial pressures, fear of
redundancy, overwork, deadline pressures or an important
business presentation. The constant, ongoing pressure resulting
from these stressors is different to the more immediate dangers
that our stress response was designed to cope with. And it's at
the point at which our bodies cannot recover from these
pressures that we can begin to experience stress.
The scale of the problem According to the latest figures from
the HSE: * about half a million people in the UK experience
work-related stress at a level they believe is making them ill *
up to 5 million people in the UK feel 'very' or 'extremely'
stressed by their work * work-related stress costs society about
£3.7 billion every year (1995/6 prices)
Telltale signs and symptoms Depending on the individual, stress
can manifest itself in many different ways. The table provides a
summary some of the most common physical, psychological and
behavioural reactions.
Typical Stress Reactions Physical Psychological Behavioural
Palpitations, awareness of heart beating, chest pains Mood
swings Susceptibility to accidents Diarrhoea, constipation,
flatulence Panic attacks Changes in eating habits Indigestion
Morbid thoughts Increased smoking Loss of libido Low self-esteem
Restlessness, hyperactivity, foot tapping Muscle tension
Irritability Over-dependence on drugs and/or alcohol Menstrual
problems Feeling of helplessness Changes in sleep patterns
Tiredness Impatience Out of character behaviour Breathlessness
Anxiety Voluntary withdrawal from supportive relationships
Sweating Crying Disregard for personal appearance Tightness in
the chest Cynicism Loss of confidence
Skin and scalp irritation, eczema and psoriasis Withdrawal into
daydreams Sullen attitude Increased susceptibility to allergies
Intrusive thoughts or images Clenched fists Frequent colds, flu
or other infections Nightmares Obsessive mannerisms Rapid
weight gain or loss Suicidal feelings Increased absence from
work Backache, neck pain Paranoid thinking Aggressiveness
Migraines and tension headaches Guilt Poor time management
The current legal position As well as acting as an unnecessary
drain on the economy, workplace stress is also the subject of
increasing government legislation: * Section 2 of the Health and
Safety at Work etc Act (1974) lays out the broad principles of
an employer's 'duty of care' to ensure, as far as reasonably
possible, the health (including mental health), safety and
welfare of all employees whilst at work, and to create safe and
healthy working systems. This general duty of care includes
pre-emptive action to prevent and control work-related stress. *
Many employers do not realise that since the publication of the
Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations (1999), all
organisations with five or more employees have also had a legal
duty to conduct regular risk assessments of workplace hazards,
including psychosocial hazards such as stress. These
assessments
should then be used to identify and either avoid or reduce such
hazards. * On 3 November 2004, the HSE published its new
Management Standards for work-related stress - designed to help
ensure that organisations address key aspects of workplace
stress (or 'risk factors') including demands, control, support,
relationships, role and change. * While the Standards themselves
do not impose a legal duty on organisations, breach of the
applicable regulations could lead to criminal prosecution, or
claims for compensation through the civil courts.
So what can managers do? The Management Standards are all about
highlighting potential areas of stress, and encouraging
employers to take action to reduce these - with the goal of
matching the performance of the top 20% of organisations that
are already doing this. If you think your organisation may be
experiencing problems due to workplace stress, it will therefore
need to take a proactive approach to tackling it: * Many
organisations face deadline pressures or sudden changes in work
demands, and employees need the necessary training and
experience to meet the ever-increasing demands made on them.
Examples include training in resilience, time management,
communication skills, and - for managers in particular - stress
awareness enabling them to recognise the early warning signs of
stress in themselves and others. * Where employees have been
forced to take time away from work as a result of stress, their
rehabilitation back to work needs to be carefully managed. * For
those employees who require specialist support, Employee
Assistance Programmes and counselling services are a vital
component in employee wellbeing. * Training in communication
(and particularly active listening) skills is essential to help
ensure that managers are aware of their team members' problems
and in a position to offer early interventions to resolve these.
Ultimately, reducing workplace stress is largely a matter of
common sense and good management practice, and simply requires
employers and employees to work together for the common good.
Both share a joint responsibility for reducing stress - which,
when this is successful, can help employees to enjoy their work
more, and businesses to thrive as a result.
About The Author Carole Spiers combines three roles of
broadcaster, journalist and corporate manager in the challenging
field of stress management and employee wellbeing.
With 20 years as a top industry guru on stress management and
wellbeing, Carole's energy and dynamism extends to providing
professional comment to media including television (BBC, ITV,
Sky, NBC, CNN), print (Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, trade and
professional journals) and countless radio interviews.
A successful entrepreneur herself, Carole is the founder and MD
of the Carole Spiers Group - a dynamic, niche consultancy, and
the UK's No. 1 provider of Stress Management and Employee
Wellbeing from the shop floor to the Boardroom
A former Chairperson of the International Stress Management
AssociationUK, Carole was instrumental in establishing National
Stress Awareness Day™. Carole acts as an Expert Witness on
Stress Risk Assessment before the Courts, and is the author of
Tolley's 'Managing Stress in the Workplace'.
Free Special Report
Contact us to receive our FREE Special report 'The Ten Most
Frequently Asked Questions About Stress' please email
sb@carolespiersgroup.com
For more information on CSG'S services, including in-house and
public training, stress policy, stress audit, risk assessment,
attendance management, rehabilitation support, post trauma
support, mediation, impartial investigations, expert witness,
nationwide employee counselling team, coaching and mentoring
services, please contact us:
Carole Spiers Group International Stress Management & Employee
Wellbeing Consultancy Gordon House, 83-85 Gordon Ave, Stanmore,
Middlesex. HA7 3QR. UK Tel: +44(0) 20 8954 1593 Fax: +44(0) 20
8907 9290 Email: info@carolespiersgroup.com
www.carolespiersgroup.com
About the author:
Carole Spiers combines three roles of Broadcaster, Journalist
and Corporate Manager in the challenging field of stress
management and employee wellbeing. Carole is frequently called
upon by the national and international media and provides
keynote presentation
|
|
|
|
|
|