Help Staff Take Control Of Their Stress Levels

Wednesday 8 April, 2009

by Daniel Stamp

People everywhere are worrying about their savings, their careers and the future. So this is probably a good time to talk about helping staff take control of their stress levels.

Most experts on the subject will tell you that the place to start on the road to recovery is for one to take ownership of their own stress levels.
But first we need to understand what constitutes stress. The environment or event that causes stress plays a small part, but the main stress comes from your reaction to it!  If it were the appalling economy that was causing stress, then everyone would be feeling the same amount of stress - but we're not!
Each person's reaction to a situation is unique. Stress is an inevitable part of everyday life. It can be a positive beneficial force protecting us in times of danger or helping us adapt to change. It can motivate, stimulate us to greater achievement and make for creativity.
Stress only becomes a problem when there's too much of it, too often, when it lasts too long and when we feel out of control and unable to cope. But stress mainly becomes problematic when we haven't developed coping strategies. Stress now becomes debilitating - our physical, emotional and mental health suffers. Relationships with colleagues and loved ones may become casualties too.
Staff firstly need to accept that it's their individual emotional reaction to a stressful situation that will determine how they behave. Remember Shakespeare's famous line  "It is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."

So what's to be done? 

We can't eliminate stress from our lives, nor run from it. The best solution is to encourage your staff to develop their own coping strategies. Here are 8 strategies you can share with your staff to help them help themselves through difficult times:

1. Recognise that they have some personal control. They may not be able to control what happens in their workplace, or in the world at large, but they can control how they react.
   
2. Encourage staff to take care of their health. Re-inforce the basics. Eat well. Get a good night's sleep.
   
3. Exercise daily. This needn't mean joining a health club, just a commitment to walk around the block before bed or on their lunch break.
   
4. Look for relaxation techniques that personally appeal to them. Meditate, get regular massages, take up a hobby, practice Tai Ji or QiGong.
   
5. Find ways to let off steam. Don't allow frustrations to build. Provide a counsellor. Encourage them to find a personal confidant who isn't judgmental. Can they keep a journal?
   
6. Take a little time for themselves every day, if only to sit in a warm bath or read a book unrelated to work. A walk through the nearest park or river can revitalise mind and body.
   
7. Advocate time management. Organise systems at work for greater efficiency. Ask them to determine the things that waste time during the day and then try to eliminate them.
   
8. Whatever their stress symptoms are, they can take an immediate step to calmness - three deep breaths, low and slow and thinking about nothing but breathing. This can be done anywhere, anytime. It takes a couple of minutes and it works.

Source:ceoonline.com