Newsletter 40 – February 2008

This month we introduce you to a new in-house course; have a stress tip commending the virtues of happiness; give you the details of a fascinating new report about stress and bullying by the Samaritans; and provide an insight into the life and work of another of our consultants, Carol Taylor.

In Equilibrium News

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Open Course Date Amendments

We have had to change the dates of two of our spring Scottish open courses. The Managers Managing Stress course will now take place on Tuesday 20 May and the new date for the Lifestyle Management course is Tuesday 13 May. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience these date changes may have caused.

New In-house course now available

“Leadership skills” is a new course we have developed which builds on the existing skills of participants by introducing new leadership and management techniques and processes. Topics covered include leadership, motivation, social styles of leadership, relationship management and communication techniques. Delegates will receive a tool-kit of solutions to enhance leadership skills in the workplace .

Stress Management Tip

This month’s tip comes from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the Transcendental Meditation Technique. You may have heard that he sadly passed away last week. However, his writing which exudes peace and calmness will live on and be as relevant for future generations as it is today. Read his words here …

Websites/Resources

We found the following websites interesting:

“Walking for Health” – Did you know that children in Britain walk 50 miles a year less than they did a decade ago? This great page on the Ramblers Association’s website has many different sections explaining the benefits of walking for all-round fitness and includes a downloadable booklet which details a 10 week walking plan.

Stress in the News

Stressed Out – A Study of Public Experience of Stress at Work – in December the Samaritans published the results of this survey which looked at how stress is impacting on both professional and personal lives. The results reveal findings such as that workplace bullying is rife, with more than 4 out of 5 of those questioned having experienced it. Also, that 22% of those from UK and 34% of those from ROI have taken sick leave due to stress.

Study Associates Chronic Work Stress with Coronary Heart Disease – research of more than 10,000 British civil servants has indicated that a stressful job has a direct impact on the body and raises the risk of heart disease. The team who carried out the study say they are now confident they understand the biological mechanisms which link stress and disease.

Is Well-being U-shaped over the Life Cycle? – Andrew J. Oswald and David G. Blanchflower set out to answer the question as to whether there is a relationship between well-being and age. Their study used a random sample of 500,000 Americans and West Europeans. They concluded that present evidence suggests well-being is u-shaped, with the probability of depression peaking for both men and women in the UK at around 44 years.

A happy marriage is found to be a great de-stressor for women – An American study tracked the levels of key stress hormone, cortisol, amongst 30 couples who were all juggling young families with full-time jobs. They found that being happily married appeared to aid women’s physiological recovery from a stressful day at the office. Unfortunately, the same was not found to be true of men.

Amanda’s Column

Amanda ponders on how something that used to be so enjoyable has now become a bit of a chore …

In Equilibrium Consultant Profile

This month our featured consultant is Carol Taylor who specialises in Executive Coaching, Action Learning and Organisational Development.

“…it’s important to Carol that her intervention results in a ‘take-away’ for the client in terms of action and improvement…”

Read more about Carol Taylor’s work and career

Quotations

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.”
Sidney J. Harris, American Journalist (1917 – 1986)

“Calm self-confidence is as far away from conceit as the desire to earn a decent living is remote from greed.”
Channing Pollock, American Playwright & Critic (1880 – 1946)