National Stress Awareness Day - Wednesday 2nd November

21 November 2005

Wednesday 2nd November is National Stress Awareness Day™.  This has been organised for the eighth year running by the International Stress Management AssociationUK (ISMAUK).  The theme for this year is “Making the Management Standards Work: How to apply the Standards in your workplace”.  As in 2004, ISMAUK is being supported by the government’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE), with a range of activities planned around the UK. 
 
There is a difference between stress and pressure.  We all experience pressure on a daily basis, and need it to motivate us and enable us to perform at our best.  It’s when we experience too much pressure without the opportunity to recover that we start to experience stress.  The HSE definition of stress is “the adverse reaction a person has to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them”.  We can all feel stressed at times when we feel as though everything becomes too much, when things get on top of us, or when we feel as though we are unable to cope.  It affects us in different ways at different times and is often the result of a combination of factors in our personal and working lives.  Work-related stress can be tackled by working with your employer to identify issues at source and agreeing realistic and workable ways to tackle these.
 
“Stress is often a symptom of poor employment relations and can seriously affect productivity.  Organisations who talk regularly with their employees and have sound systems and procedures in place for dealing with issues like absence and discipline are much more likely to avoid work-related stress and to be able to deal with potentially stressful situations when they arise.” Acas
 
What should I do if I’m becoming stressed?
 
Try to identify the causes and what you can do to make things better.  Ideally, tell your manager at an early stage.  If your stress is work-related, this will give them the chance to help and prevent the situation getting worse, while even if it isn’t work-related, they may be able to do something to reduce some of your pressure.  If the source of pressure is your line manager, find out what procedures are in place to deal with this.  If there aren’t any, talk to your trade union representative or union or employee rep who can provide advice on a range of work-related topics.  Alternatively, you can speak to your HR department or Employee Assistance Programme / counselling service if either exists. 
 
Many employees are reluctant to talk about stress at work, due to the stigma attached to it.  They fear they will be seen as weak.  But stress is not a weakness, and can happen to anyone.  Remember: no employer should subject their employees to work-related stress, and this is an issue both you and your employer should take seriously.
 
“Workplace stress is one of the biggest causes of employee absence – and also one of the more difficult issues to manage.  The Management Standards will help employers identify and manage stress at work by providing a framework to pinpoint particular causes of stress, as well as achievable solutions.” CIPD Stress Management – The Health and Safety People Limited
 
The effective management of employee wellbeing can deliver profitable and sustainable results.
 
Call us on 08456 122 144 for more details on Stress Management
 
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