Managing Stress As A Cause of Sickness Absence Elaine McCann
Programme Agenda / Outline WHAT ACTIONS I WILLTAKE Negative impact of stress on our organisations Impact of our organisational culture on staff stress levels Practical ways to support staff in a world with ever increasing demands
GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO REALLY BE PRESENT FOR THIS HOW I SPEND MY TIME HOUR
Why are you here? WHERE are we this morning? rate yourself 1-10
Work-Life Balance? WHAT Well-being? Refreshing what ACTIONS you I already know? WILLTAKE Bit of a shove to put something into action? Needing to make a change HOW small/significant? I LIVE WITH To share pearls of wisdom with PRESSURE others? Corporate Social Responsibility management and prevention for teams!! Moral responsibility!! In search of support/options for self-others? HOW I SPEND MY TIME HOW I DEAL WITH STRESS To understand if the pressure your feeling is normal how do others cope? Small practical steps to make things improve now!!
Key Facts Regarding Stress HSE says that stress is likely to become the most dangerous risk to business in the early part of the 21 st Century. The cost of working days lost due to mental ill health in NI may be as much as 125 m a year (HSENI). ¾ of Executives stress affects their health, happiness and home life as well as their work performance (R Whealy 2000) Northern Ireland has the world's highest recorded rate of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a major international report. Little bit pressure = motivation over prolonged levels = muscle tension, emotional imbalances, pressures on the mind and personality, behavioural pressures. Up to one in four people may need to seek professional help for their mental health at some point in their lives.
WHAT DO WHAT WE MEAN BY ACTIONS I MENTAL WILLTAKE ILL HEALTH? Definition: Mental health is a state of well being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her own community. (World Health Organisation)
WHAT DO WHAT WE MEAN BY ACTIONS I MENTAL WILLTAKE ILL HEALTH? Worries and grief of everyday life experiencing depression, being anxious. Loss of touch with everyday reality, suicidal depression
WHAT ACTIONS I WILLTAKE QUESTION: DOES THE ISSUE OF STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE STILL GET THROWN INTO THE HR DEPARTMENT TO DEAL WITH IT S A SOFT, FLUFFY, PEOPLE TYPE THING???
Exercise: 1. Does your organisation have an up to date and relevant well-being agenda for staff? 2. Does the Senior Level staff in your organisation lead through example in terms of their own well-being?
What Kind of Culture Do We Work In? -Are our leaders good role models? - Culture of presenteeism?? - Do we have all the necessary legislative policies in place but don t really encourage them? - Is there an underlying atmosphere if you actually take your lunch break? - Do we feel part-time workers are not pulling their weight? - If we leave work on time are we regarded as not-committed?
What Kind of Culture Do We Work In? - Is there a fear if we re not running around looking stressed all the time it will appear that we ve time on our hands..fear redundancy?? - Is there a meeting culture? is it relevant? - Does our organisation support healthy eating? - Have we a strong team in place where we look out for each other when we can give 100%
Basic Management Principles Treating people like adults not micro managing Managing outputs job clarity Building relationships/trust with staff know your staff Having in place robust supervision and performance management processes Encouraging on-going communication Tailor your management style to the individual
How Do You Make Your Employee Wellbeing Programme Work? Create a business case Directors on board and understand the benefits Well tailored to specific business needs and well communicated to ensure maximum value Directors and Managers lead by example Creating a well-being culture not just ad hoc projects quarterly activities part of culture
Time Management & Juggling Demands
How do I spend my time? 60 minutes in an hour 7 days in a week 52 weeks in a year
Multi-Tasking The Enemy of Full Engagement
Do I know how to deal with... What s important? What s urgent? Stephen Covey
Managing E Mail Overload Make action requests clear When you copy lots of people on an email be clear do they really need to receive it When scheduling conf calls include the topic in the invitation Don t overload in an email be specific and clear Understand how people prefer to be reached if they re snowed under email may not respond Check email at defined times of the day Send out delayed response Ignore or delete
Practical Way of supporting staff with organising their time!!! As Managers - give permission to say no to non-value added tasks Help with setting SMART objectives Avoiding procrastination fear of doing sthg Supporting with development of resilience for self and others Reviewing and on-going communication Know when you re most productive Learning how to deal with the drop-ins respect your time Avoid perfection Take breaks
HELP... SUPPORT SYSTEM CLOSE FRIEND MENTOR / COACH TIME FOR SELF BEING PREPARED TO ANALYSE HAVING THE WILL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR APPROACH
Background to Carecall... - Founded in 1998 - Fully owned by Niamh (NI Association for Mental Health) - Social Enterprise status - Largest EAP provider in NI - Over 100 clients organisations including Councils, Manufacturing companies and Trusts
Employee Assistance Programmes Overview Free-phone 24 hour immediate telephone support Structured telephone counselling Structured face to face counselling available across NI For free, confidential and immediate support call 0808 800 0002
Take few minutes to consider what tangible steps you can take from today to bring into the workplace?
DO NOT WASTE TIME CROSSING BRIDGES YOU HAVE NOT REACHED. YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR WEALTH! BE ATTENTIVE TO YOUR OWN STRESS LEVELS AND TAKE SHORT BREAKS THE TIME TO RELAX IS WHEN YOU DON T HAVE THE TIME!!!!!