The aim of this section is to identify ways to deal with stress. Stress if
untreated will lead to bad judgments being made, with ill health being a common
result. Practice measures to help employees in the workplace.
There are three stages of stress which can be identified, see if you are
under stress, by looking at the stages:
INITIAL - You tend to walk faster, your constantly on the move; you
don't want to sleep at night; You tend to do things quickly. Overall you
still feel in control of things. The solution is to take a rest and
participate is some form of basic exercise such as walking.
INTERMEDIATE - You feel tasks are imposed upon you; You tend to do
things that must be done as opposed to like doing; If you smoke you do so
more; If you drink you tend to drink more; You tend to suffer more
headaches, cramp, digestion problems, become irritable. These are warning
signs, you need to take stock of things. Again the solutions are
to have a rest an some exercise, in addition to this you need to start using
relaxation methods.
HIGH - Your constantly in distress, this occurs when the
intermediate stage goes on for too long; You pick up illnesses too quick. It
is very difficult to change things, there has to be willingness to
change. This level of stress requires the use of medication and long rest
periods.
We all experience the initial stages of stress in our working life, the
emphasis must be on preventing ourselves from entering the intermediate stages
and beyond.
The Holmes and Rahe scale was developed during the 1960s. The logic of the
scale is if you look at the scale and identify things which are affecting you at
the present moment. If you have an accumulated score of 300 or more then you are
highly stressed and prone to sickness. If you score 150-300 you are 50%
stressed, and if you score 150 or less then you suffer from very low stress.
Look at the table below and see how stressed you really are
Stress is common throughout most organisations, how we as individuals react
to stress will vary. Typical reasoning as to how stress is dealt with will
depend:
Personal ability, experience and suitability for a job - This is based on
the assumption that the longer we do a task/job the greater the experience
we gain to cope with job. In terms of stress management, the more fully
trained we are the better we cope with the stress associated with it.
Support - The better the support an individual gains from the team around
them both at work and at home, the better they become at dealing with
stress.
Personality - An individuals natural personality will have a bearing on
how the cope with stress at work, for example if you are optimistic or
pessimistic you will either embrace stress or allow it to build up.
STRETCHING - Take a deep breath and stretch your arms out and
release slowly, It is like yawning and stretching when your tired, it helps
to calm the body.
DRINKS - Go for some liquid refreshment, take your mind of things.
TALK TO A FRIEND - Go talk to someone who discuss out of work
issues with, It relieves stress.
BREATHING - Take a deep breath, hold and release slowly, repeat a
few times, making you hold your breath longer each time, It helps to reduce
your heartbeat.
FRESH AIR - Take a few minutes out, go outside and breath a few
deep breaths of fresh air, no one will think less of you if you go outside
for a few minutes.
TALK TO YOUR SUPERIORS - Discuss any preying issues with your
superiors, never bottle things in your mind, let people in authority about
things which are troubling you so that they can take necessary measures to
help you.
Prioritise your tasks at work, get a piece of paper and write down all the
tasks that you need to do, the start to prioritise things:
Important tasks that must be done, do them today.
Not so important tasks, which have no immediate time limit.
The minor and routine tasks which must be done.
Before you leave work each day, make sure the next days to do list, so you
are aware of what jobs needs to be done tomorrow, cross them off one by
one.
Make sure you do one task at a time, don't jump from one task to another.
Stay on top of things!.
Make sure leaflets and posters are on display within the workplace which tell
employees where they can find help to deal with stress. Be proactive, encourage
employees to seek advice, don't wait for them to become overly stressed.