Many of us groan when we read about an awareness day or month for a whole host of good, bad and obscure causes. April is the proud container of Chocolate Mousse Day, Cheese Fondue Day and National Penguin Day amongst many others. However, Stress Awareness gets a whole month and it is useful to give it a month to highlight the overt and covert stresses we face at work and at home as a result of living with Covid restrictions for the past year.
The one year anniversary of lockdown gave us the opportunity for sober reflection on the huge toll the pandemic has taken on us as a society - for all those who have lost loved ones, and all those who have worked tirelessly to save lives, and keep the country going.
Finding a way forward
One of TeamDoctor's trusted partners and collaborators is Workout Solutions, who have been providing couselling and outplacement for some of the UK's largest employers, both in the commercial and public sectors.
Manager Tess Spackman says " We have seen a really significant increase in demand for our services, Covid has a created a huge impact on people’s lives and relationships so it is as increasingly important to look after employees and their mental health and wellbeing holistically”.
Using the sort of bespoke programmes Workout provides is certainly one way to help those who are struggling to move forward.
The long-term prospects are positive because as a species, we are very good at adapting to our environment but the journey out of lockdown will be hard and no one is immune from the potential stresses that will be caused.
Most stress at work is caused by our line managers - fact, not conjecture.
Are line managers aware of this? If not, how can they become so? And how can they moderate their behaviour to reduce stress around them?
Tackle the root causes of stress in the workplace and you will see improvements.
So let's take advantage of having a whole month devoted to awareness of stress and take a long, hard look at the most effective ways of minimizing it.
ABOUT TEAMDOCTOR
We provide high quality, high calibre short films and structured education courses designed to inform, educate and change behaviours. Our award winning material is widely used in the NHS with clinical evaluations repeatedly demonstrating effective behaviouir change.
TeamDoctor's nationally accredited course, 'Looking after your mental health at work' carries three CPD points. It is film based, interactive, consists of four half hour modules, and can be done at a time and pace to suit the individual user.
Here are just some of the subjects covered in our Keeping Well at Work library:
Stress, anxiety, depression, presenteeism, workplace relationships, management culture and structure, sleep problems, workplace environment, how do get the best diet when you're at work and building more exercise into your working day.
Contact: info@teamdoctor.org
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