Feeling stressed out? Want to manage workplace stress better?

KMPT’s Health and Wellbeing Lead Eric Barrett shares how…

A key part of my role as Health and Wellbeing Lead is to help my colleagues manage stress in a better way by offering helpful tools. This is important because stress, alongside anxiety and other psychiatric illnesses, is consistently the most reported reason for sickness absence in the NHS with the cost of sickness absence of NHS staff estimated at £2.4B.

Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way we respond to stress, makes a big difference to our overall wellbeing. Stress can mean different things to different people and sometimes what is stressful for one, may not be stressful for another. Stress can also present itself in various forms, which can sometimes be helpful, depending on the scenario.

Here are four different types of stress that we can experience:

• Positive stress (also known as eustress) which can be motivating, fun and exciting, but it can also take its toll
• Acute stress which is a very short-term type of stress that can either be positive or more distressing and is the type of stress most people tend to experience in day-to-day life
• Episodic acute stress is when a person experiences acute stress with some regularity or frequency giving a sense of feeling under pressure or that things are always going wrong
• Chronic stress is a prolonged and constant feeling of stress. People who experience chronic stress have been found to be at risk of burnout, which has negative implications for both physical and mental health and wellbeing.

The key to managing stress is to balance your energy, focus and happiness. Here are #3 tips on on how to manage stress in the workplace:

1. Know what’s causing you stress

Identifying what’s causing you stress is an important first step in effectively managing it.

Common causes of stress at work include a lack of control of our workload, high demands on our time and energy or poor line management and a lack of support.

Strategies to identify causes of stress can include keeping a journal or simply talking to someone which could help you find a solution, be it a manager, colleague, friend or family member.

Understanding your causes of stress will enable you to take steps to manage, reduce or avoid them.

2. Adopt stress busting habits and strategies

To help manage or prevent the effects of stress you can try adopting healthy lifestyle habits and strategies. These can include practicing relaxation techniques, getting enough sleep, regularly exercising and eating healthily.

Not sure where to start? The NHS website has a number of free to access helpful resources, including:

• Calming breathing exercises for stress
• How to fall asleep faster and sleep better
• Exercise guidelines and workouts
• How to eat a well-balanced diet

3. Take a break from work

Taking breaks from work is important, be it during the working day or making use of your annual leave allocation. By not taking a break you are potentially prolonging stress leaving you vulnerable to chronic stress and burnout.

For breaks during the working day try doing something that’s not work-related like going for a walk, listen to a podcast, read a book or article away from your immediate place of work. Using our annual leave also allows us to take a well-needed break from the stress and demands of working life which can help to reduce stress and assist in promoting good mental health.

While this article has been written with individuals in mind, we all can play a role in supporting others experiencing stress in the workplace. NHS Employers have developed a helpful guide which provides information to help you support people experiencing stress.

By Eric Barratt – Health and Wellbeing Lead