Course Snippet

The text on this page is taken from Unit 15 of the Certificate in Interpersonal Skills for Volunteers by distance learning course.

Stress in the Work Place

Whether it be in your voluntary placement or at work, it is now becoming more important than ever to recognise causes of stress in the workplace. Employers have a legal responsibility to recognise and deal with stress in the work place so that employees do not become physically or mentally ill.

It is important to tackle the causes of stress in the workplace as it can lead to problems for the individual, working relationships and the working environment. Stress can lead to:

Poor decision-making
An increase in mistakes which may in turn lead to more customer/client complaints
Increased sickness absence
High staff turnover
Poor workplace relations
(Business Link, 2005)

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a guide entitled Tackling stress: The Management Standards Approach (2005), which outlines six key areas of the workplace that should be monitored in order to assess levels of and combat stress. These are:

Demands - Includes such issues as workload, work patterns and work environment
Control - How much say the person has in the way they do their work
Support - Includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues
Relationships - Includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour
Role - Whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that the person does not have conflicting roles
Change - How organisational change is managed and communicated in the organisation

(HSE, 2005)

As a volunteer, you are entitled to the same level of support against workplace stress; therefore it would be useful for you to check your own working environment to see if any of the above areas is a cause for concern. You can find out more detailed information about the HSE guidelines on stress on their website (www.hse.gov.uk/stress).

Is All Stress Harmful?

Stress affects people differently. Some people seem to thrive on extremely stressful lifestyles. Everyone has an optimum level of stress. Too little excitement, too few challenges may lead to an extremely dull life, yet too much stress can lead to health problems. Nevertheless, a certain amount of stress can actually prove to be good for individuals. Positive stress can act as a spur to achieve better results than would otherwise be attained, and no-one would wish to avoid such potentially stressful but enjoyable events as the birth of a child, forming new relationships or undertaking a new challenge.

Stress is also extremely useful in acting as an enabler to avoid problems and dangers. It is a motivator to solve problems, and it is an important warning signal that something is wrong with an individual’s life, thereby allowing him/her to do something about it.

Panic Attacks

In cases of extreme or continual stress, people can suffer what is known as a panic attack. This is a brief but extremely frightening spell of severe anxiety. Lasting only a few minutes, the symptoms can include:

Feeling faint
Trembling
Dizziness
Pounding, fast heart rate
Feeling hot and sweaty
Legs turning to jelly
Butterflies in the stomach
Shortness of breath
Dry mouth

Panic attacks often occur when the person is unaware of being particularly anxious. Recognising panic attacks for what they are, learning how to cope with them and dealing with the underlying problems of stress are essential to the sufferer. Anyone who experiences such an attack should consult a doctor.

Short-Term Behaviours for Coping with Stress

When stressed, individuals often indulge in behaviours which may relieve the immediate feelings of anxiety in the short-term, but which only add to their problems in the longer term. Alcohol, drugs, smoking and over-eating are often used to cope with immediate problems of stress. Avoiding, ignoring or failing to recognise underlying problems is also a common occurrence. When too many demands are placed upon someone, he/she may work harder for longer hours and attempt to keep up with an impossible schedule, instead of trying to reduce such demands. In the long term, such behaviours will only serve to increase the physiological symptoms of tension and deplete physical energy reserves.

The government, through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has introduced Management Standards for Stress in Work related situations. Further information on these Standards and several other issues related to stress and how to manage it can be found on their website at (www.hse.gov.uk/stress).

Avoiding Stress

It is fair to say that many individuals do not act positively to reduce the stress in their lives until physical symptoms force them to consider how their lifestyles are affecting their well-being. There are numerous steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of being affected by stress and many of them are a matter of simple common sense. The following are suggestions to help you avoid stress:

Learn to recognise when you are stressed: Knowing what is likely to cause stress can help avoid such things in the future. Keep a record of what situations make you stressful and see how you might have dealt with them in other ways.
Time management: Effective time management allows the amount of work taken on to be regulated, reduces the uncertainty of not having enough time to complete everything and allows for the planning of ‘time off’ periods in which to relax.
Reduce the demands on yourself: Do not over-commit yourself and be prepared to say ‘no’ if the load is too great. A common miscalculation is to overestimate how much can be achieved in a particular space of time, so leave free time to cope with the unexpected.
Ensure that you get enough fun out of life: Allow time in the day for doing something that gives you pleasure. Looking forward to such times helps when you have to cope with the less pleasant parts of life.
Positive thinking: Do not dwell on failures and reward yourself for any success you achieve. Accept that everyone has limits and cannot succeed at everything. Reflect on what you have achieved.
Practice assertiveness: Asserting yourself in a positive, non-threatening way can help to combat stress. Accept the demands placed on you only as a matter of choice.
Look after your physical well-being: People are much more able to cope with stress when their bodies are healthy. Poor health in itself is a major source of stress. Incorporating periods of physical exercise into your routine will help to improve muscle control, make you feel healthier and increase self-esteem. Try to improve your diet and avoid stimulants as much as possible. Excess caffeine or nicotine can make individuals feel anxious or on-edge. Ensure you get enough sleep.
Seek support from others: Do not try to cope with problems alone. Having someone to share your problems can greatly help to ‘off load’ the stress. For volunteers working in the caring professions, it is often helpful to have a system of co-counselling, where each worker is given the opportunity to discuss their concerns with a colleague. This provides both support and encouragement.

Course Snippet

The text on this page is taken from Unit 15 of the Certificate in Interpersonal Skills for Volunteers by distance learning course.