It hardly feels a minute since the year got off to a decidedly chilly start and yet here we are at the end of May with long, light days and hopefully a good summer to look forward to.

Welcome to our latest edition of In Equilibrium where we hope you will find plenty to interest you. To whet your appetite, we have a great stress tip; a topical "Ask the Expert" spot with the opportunity to arrange a free 30 minute skype conversation with our expert Dr Angela Brown; a useful resource in the form of some background notes about stress; details of our new course entitled "Employee Engagement" and, of course, all our regular items.

In Equilibrium News

Employee Engagement Course
This new course is delivered by Dr George Madine, a specialist in work related psychological health, who stresses that the most common misconception regarding engagement is that "one size fits all". During his one-day course, George will discuss general engagement principles, explain how some apply to your organisation more than others, look at how you determine which principles do apply to your organisation; and work through the do's and don'ts of applying those principles. Read more about the course here: http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/training-courses/4/employee-engagement

Valuing Diversity, Dignity and Respect
We have recently updated and re-named this course (previously entitled Equality and Diversity) as we feel it better reflects the content. The course not only looks at legal responsibilities but aims to give managers and employees at all levels an understanding of the key issues and individual responsibilities involved in promoting a positive approach to equal opportunities and diversity. The business case for diversity is outlined and how to create a positive and inclusive working environment is explored. This course adopts a supportive, pragmatic yet fun approach and focuses on the practical issues participants encounter in their daily work. Read more here: http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/training-courses/3/equality-and-diversity

Newsletter Circulation
Our aim is to make this newsletter an interesting read for individuals as well as an informative round-up for HR and Training professionals. Therefore, if you choose to, we are happy for it to be posted on your company's intranet site.

Competition Winners
Congratulations go to Patricia Evans and Neil Shayle who were the winners of the April Fool competition we ran in our last edition. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to enter, as a result of your excellent response we are now planning competitions in future editions ....... so WATCH THIS SPACE!

Stress Tip 

This edition's tip could be likened to a jigsaw ........ puzzled? All will be revealed by reading more here: http://in-equilibrium.co.uk/resources/hints-and-tips

Ask the Expert   

Our take on that well read problem page found at the end of many magazines. We feature an anonymous question received from one of our readers and have it answered by a specialist consultant. In this edition, we tackle the effects that the unpleasant threat of redundancy can have and learn how resilient techniques can be used to embrace change in a more positive light.

Question
My company have announced that they are going to be making 70 people redundant within the next year. We have not been told who is going to be made redundant or the dates it may happen. I am very worried and think about it all the time. It has got to the point where I am finding it difficult to sleep at night or to be motivated at work. How can I be more resilient during this very difficult time?

Answer
This question has been answered by our consultant, Dr Angela Brown, a forensic psychologist who has a wealth of experience in designing and delivering bespoke programmes in a broad spectrum of areas including change management and conflict resolution. Her answer introduces and explains a number of resilience factors in a practical and helpful manner. Read her answer here: http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/news/articles/ask-the-expert

Dr Angela Brown has kindly offered to have a confidential half-hour skype talk with a reader who would like to discuss an adversity and then offer suggestions as to how they could be more resilient. If this would be of interest to you, please email us at training@in-equilibrium.co.uk with your contact details. Sadly, we can't offer this free service to more than the first response we receive; however, it is something we can offer for a small fee. If you would like further details, please call Alastair Taylor on 0800 622 6932.

Find out more about Dr Angela Brown by viewing her profile here:
http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/about/our-consultants/angela-brown

If you would like to have a question answered in a future edition, please email it to us at training@in-equilibrium.co.uk

Resources

Stress - Background notes
We have drawn up these notes to help give an explanation of what stress is; how you may recognise the signs; the distinction between event stress and chronic stress; the negative health effects of chronic stress; as well as an explanation about how different personalities react to pressure. Read our notes here:
http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/resources/course-notes-and-extracts/stress-background-notes

Research into UK Workers Stress Levels
The results of an online survey by Skillsoft UK Ltd. to try and establish what makes people feel stressed at work and also what the participants felt would be the main contributor to their stress levels during 2009. The results also highlight the 3 most common things which stress people about the people they work with. In order to view the free report you just have to enter your details on the page linked to and the report pdf then appears. Follow the instructions here: http://www.publictechnology.net/downloads/mar10/24934

Visions of Britain 2020
The second report in the Vision of Britain series by Friends Provident is now available online. It suggests that people management in 2020 may be a much more demanding task with disruptive change occurring in 4 areas creating challenges for business leaders and completely new skills being required. Read the report here: http://www.visionsofbritain2020.co.uk/our-vision/research/employment/the-workforce?id=2

Amanda's Column 

Amanda discovers that although an afternoon's exercise in the garden may have improved her well-being, it also raised moral predicaments and long-term image worries. Read her column here:
http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/subscribe/newsletter-back-issues/amandas-column

Stress in the News

State of Joy : Why your country needs you to be happy
This article was written before our recent change of Government but it may be all the more relevant for it. Julian Baggini looks at whether adopting Gross National Happiness in place of GDP would be a development to cheer or fear? The article also includes Professor Ed Diener's Happiness Test. Go on, you know you want to - find out how happy you are here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/state-of-joy-why-your-country-needs-you-to-be-happy-1858781.html

Workers turn to antidepressants as recession takes its toll
According to the results of a recent poll carried out prior to thelaunch of their new campaign, Mind discovered that 1 in 10 workers havesought support from their doctors and 7% have started takingantidepressants for stress and mental health problems directly causedby the pressures of recession on their workplace. Mind's new campaign"Taking care of Business" has been launched. http://www.mind.org.uk/news/3372_workers_turn_to_antidepressants_as_recession_takes_its_toll

Trial of Science Teacher highlights classroom stress
Following the recent sad case of Peter Harvey, this article looks at some of the factors which teachers have to deal with, concluding that there is now a "greater consciousness of the need to examine the whole area of teacher stress in greater detail". http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/may/02/peter-harvey-violence-discipline-dumbbell

The effectiveness of yoga for the improvement of well-being and resilience to stress in the workplace
48 employees from a British university were either offered an hour's yoga class each week for a period of 6 weeks or placed on a waitlist control group. Read the results here: www.sjweh.fi/download.php?abstract_id=2916&file_nro=1

.........and finally......

Tired at work? Try the workaholic pillow!
We're certainly not advocating such a product and know you wouldn't even contemplate using it but we nevertheless thought it was relevant to bring the existence of such items in the workplace to your attention!
http://www.today.az/news/interesting/62532.html

Quotations 

"Man is disturbed not by things but by the views he takes of them" Epictetus Greek Philosopher (AD55 - AD135)

"We build too many walls and not enough bridges" Isaac Newton Mathematician(1643 - 1727) 
 

Direct to your Inbox

If this newsletter has been passed on to you and you would like to receive it directly in future, or if you know of someone who might be interested in receiving the next edition, please go to our website or follow the link below to complete the form.
http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/subscribe

Missed a Newsletter?

If you missed any of our past few editions, you can catch up on them by following this link: http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/subscribe/newsletter-back-issues

You may also be interested in the following courses we have available:

How to Increase Your Energy Levels
http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/assets/files/Energy.pdf

Managing Anger within the Workplace
http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/assets/files/Managing-Anger-within-the-Workplace.pdf
 
Managing and Developing Successful Teams
http://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/assets/files/MDST.pdf

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, your comments and suggestions are always welcome.