Stress: Background Notes
These notes provide background information for those attending In Equilibrium training courses related to stress management.
Free Tools & Resources
Resources for Managers
The Equality Act - Bullying and Harassment Cases
As organisations adapt for survival in the current economic climate, tensions between employees can increase. Our Bullying and Harassment course is appropriate for anyone who needs to be a step ahead of bullying and harassment issues at work and be clear about the action to take
Tips for Managing Anger
Anger is a perfectly natural emotion that tells us something is wrong. Feeling angry in itself is not the problem, far from it, the way in which people manage their anger can be the problem. Learning to express and manage anger in a healthy way can take time and practice.
Covert v Overt Bullying Examples
In light of on-going press coverage surrounding bullying allegations we thought it might be useful to make reference to some of the facts about bullying behaviour. From a training perspective a key point is that managers and employees are aware of what bullying is and what it is not. The HSE Stress Management St
Uncertainty Reducers
As uncertainty increases so do feelings of anxiety and insecurity. This increases the risk of stress. Approaches that reduce uncertainty and ambiguity reduce the risk substantially. Many of these approaches involve communication and decision making. Reducing uncertainty is particularly important in t
Identification of stress and stress-related problems
One of the difficulties with stress is that people experience stress in different ways. This contributes to stress manifesting itself in different ways also. So it would be wrong to over-generalise when giving advice on how to identify stress in others. However, what we can say is that in some way ‘stress will out’. By this we mean that, because stress has negative effects, it will usually manifest itself one way or another.
Introduction to the CUSP framework for Managers
This is a very simple framework that works equally as well in terms of prevention of stress as it does in helping someone who is not coping. In other words you can use ‘CUSP’TM proactively and reactively. Here, we look at using ‘CUSP’TM proactively to prevent stress.
CUSP control enablers
Research and experience tells us that if you can:
Enable increased perception of control;
Reduce uncertainty, and the associated anxiety and insecurity;
Provide support, especially in highly pressurised or stressful situations;
Tackle sources of pressure (stressors) in your work area…
..then you will minimise the risk of stress-related illness and increase wellbeing and performance at work.
HSE (Health and Safety Executive) Developments
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) now sees stress as the most important health and safety issue. It has now overtaken musculo-skeletal disorders as the biggest cause of lost days at work. On this page we provide links to the key pages relating to stress at work on the HSE website. Please check these out. The information you will find there is important for all employers and employees.
Three basic principles for resolving conflict
1. Treat the other person with respect
Remember that the other person is human, has feelings and can feel just as vulnerable as you. Be prepared for the fact that you may have misunderstood the situation. When you disagree with someone’s views, or have strong feelings about their actions, it is often too easy to show disrespect in the way you interact with them.
Communicating with people who are absent with stress
Stress-related absence can appear to be a difficult issue for managers to deal with. There is still a stigma associated with mental health problems. Managers are often reluctant to communicate with absent employees because they fear they will be accused of bullying and harassment.