When stress is getting on top of people.....
If you observe how a fair proportion of people at work seems to be in the slow lane, consider whether it may be due to anxiety, weariness, irritability or depression.
The postive message is that there'r no need to simply rely on medication or expecting individuals to battle on all on your own. Especially if you are a victim of bullying or unfairness. That path lies costly absence, conflict and litigation
Identifying sources of stress
Stress can be slippery as well as costly. That's why it's most effective to control its impact at work.
Start with the Approved Code of Practice of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the levels of risk.
This means being candid about different kinds of stress. They usually vary according to the nature of tasks people do - in a classroom, in a boardroom, in an engineering workshop, laboratory, surgery or warehouse: they are all likely to have different sources of stress.
And stress levels vary to some extent between people: according to their gender, their age, their personalities and expectations.
The vital thing is to conduct a fair and constructive assessment, to educate staff about them and to guide managers on how to manage them.
Mental Toughness
One of the positive improvements now possible has come about from research which indicates how people can develop the qualities that make up 'mental toughness'.
| Desire to achieve | An internal, often insatiable desire and commitment to consistently improve how your level of performance and of success |
| Resilience | The ability to withstand and bounce back from situations in which you experience negative outcomes including presssurce and setbacks; |
| Control of attention | The ability to manage your attention and concentrate over extended periods of time, despite distrations |
| Self-belief | A rugged conviction in your ability to do well and to persevere |
| Affective intelligence | The ability to regulate your emotions and moods to get the best possible performance |
| 'Knowing the ropes' | Understanding how to exercise influence fairly in the situations you work in. |
These qualities can normally be develped through education, coaching and good management.
'Burnout' prevention and turnaround
Too often, good people push themselves too far for too long. They reach a stage where they are not only fatigured but risk losing their grasp on positive values and sliding into cynicism and withdrawal.
Our assessment can help your people to pinpoit where you have got to as well as how to start the climb back up the mountain-top to peak performance again. We use a well-validated survey process, developed by a world leader in burnout management, which provides data you can use for benchmarking.
The data will provide the information you need to being to turnaround even the most difficult situation.
After a traumatic incident
On occasions, people at work or elsewhere find themselves caught up in an overwhelming experience which leaves them mentally and emotionally frozen. Confidence spirals downward, they withdraw and close up.
We offer the counselling needed to heal from such experiences, to regain in strength and grow from them.
The combination to boost individual and organisational health
On the other hand, where your goal is to boost the health of your business and the morale of your people at the same time, it's a good idea to combine training in stress management with training or coaching to us the channels of influence.
