Stress management is more concerned with reducing the effects of stress rather than reducing the effects of stressors at work – that is improving a person’s capacity to individually resist the effects of a stressful work environment. In psycho lingo that is to reduce the cognitive appraisal of stressors and their subsequent effects rather than reducing or eliminating the stressors themselves.
Because we are here in a training workshop & whether we train in-house or externally at a different site, stress will occur for trainers. This is because what trainers are dealing with is change and human beings are inherently resistant to change – particularly when a person feels no control over decisions which directly affect them. Mental health is enhanced by situations that promote personal control. For example, men in jobs characterised by high demand and low control were at twice the risk for heart attacks in comparison to men of the same age (40-50 years) who were employed in jobs where they felt they felt more control.
1 PROBLEMS IN RATING BEHAVIOUR
The amount of stress under which a supervisor operates affects their performance ratings. Research shows that raters in stressful work situations produce ratings with more errors that did raters who were not under stress. This finding is important because “SELDOM DOES RATING THE EMPLOYEE BENEFIT THE SUPERVISOR” (Aardmodt, 1995, p.260).
Also – performance evaluations are often conducted hurriedly as supervisors evaluate employee so they can return to their “real” work. All are associated with change and legal machinations – however, generally we get support to deal with them. However, the greatest and most regular stress is generated by things we cannot control in our daily lives – It is the build up of daily stuff that seriously knocks us about. That is why we need to identify some rules for survival to relieve immediate stressors and to help us deal with stress in the future. To manage stress, all aspects of health are linked: posture, flexibility, strength, breathing and hydration.
1 A HEALTHY BODY
A fit body copes much better with stress. Many people ignore the physical symptoms that show us our bodies are suffering. To restore our physiological vitality may mean changing habits and behaviour patterns that go back many years. When people are stressed they generally are eating unhealthy foods regularly – such as take-away or ‘quick-fix’ carbohydrates which ultimately deplete blood sugar and energy levels – ‘caffeine highs’ are short term and do not give our bodies the nutritional building blocks needed to provide long-term energy. Eating is so important – also how we eat – in the car on the run – watching the news while eating dinner with the family – this all affects how the body uses what we take in.
The days when eating was a time for relaxation and communication need to revisited. For example, turning the TV and radio off when the family eats dinner not only improves the physiological ingestion of food it also improves the communication between families. The importance of this function is demonstrated by the need this group has shown for a social coffee break during our lectures. Similarly, stressed people with a high blood/sugar level do not sleep well. This means that we are not giving our bodies time to recuperate from one day’s stresses before meeting the new day’s stressors.
2 POSTURE & ERGONOMICS
When we sit at a desk or at a computer for regular periods of time our muscular support system gets fatigued and we start to slump. This constricts the space available for vital organs and affects our breathing, circulation, digestion and blood pressure. For example, some people note a rapid improvement simply by changing the chair they sit in to work for some 7 hours per day. Sitting in one position for long periods affects back strength and hip flexibility. The human body was simply not designed to sit in one position for long period of time.
3 LEISURE
Anyone under stress needs to get serious about leisure. Do not postpone your dreams. How many people on their deathbeds wish they had done more Excel worksheets ?. RULES FOR SURVIVAL Dr Scott Wallace – clinical psychologist and management consultant specialising in stress management (www.virtualpsych.com). 1 Maintain a healthy work and family balance. Make sure you are there for your family when you say you will be. For example, meal times without the TV. 2 Separate work and family concerns Discuss business problems in business settings and family concerns in family settings.
3 Learn time-management strategies Don’t’ waste time and energy trying to be all things to all people. For example, create lists of priorities and delegate wherever possible. 4 Delegate No-one is an expert in everything – allocating work to others can serve to create a supportive work environment where everyone feels their particular skills are valued. Resentment, a regular indicator of interpersonal stress, is less likely to occur when people feel valued and their skills respected. Stress in the Australian workplace is present in over 50% of organizations and accounts for some 30% of why people leave jobs. That is why feedback is so important; a positive f/b interview can work to improve productive skills whilst addressing the intrinsic need of people to be a valued part of a social group.
5 Develop a sense of “fun” in the workplace Employees value a workplace which they can “connect” to. A boss without a sense of humour is unlikely to keep his staff either happy or productive. Larger businesses – such as Westpac (surprise movie tickets, mystery flights with a personal thank you from Bob Joss), MLC (provided breakfast) & Yahoo (weekly yoga sessions for all staff) – have for some time offered staff fun incentives as a softer alternative to financial incentives. This allows staff and management to relate to each other in ways work does not normally allow.