Last Friday 24th July was Lifeline's StressDown Day, a day to remind ourselves about managing our stress at work and raising funds for Lifeline. I missed it, but better late than never and here I am now!       

Everyone in Australia knows Lifeline, but for my readers outside Australia it probably needs an introduction. Lifeline is a 24 hour telephone counselling service, manned by trained volunteers, that operates right across the country. It is highly regarded and is quite literally a "lifeline" for many people stressed in many ways by the experiences in their lives.

More information can be found at http://www.stressdownday.org.au

Some facts about stress.

• WorkSafe Victoria's latest report showed that stress injury claims rose from 1937 in 1999-2000 to 2520 in 2007-2008.

• A 2008 Medibank Private Report on Workplace Stress puts the cost of workplace stress on the Australian economy at $14.8 billion a year.
  

• In 2000 a European survey showed roughly one-quarter of employees in the European Union reported job stress affecting their health.

• International studies show that around 7-16% of cardiovascular disease in men can be attributed to job stress.

In this issue:

• How Do I Know I am Stressed at Work?.

• Free Teleseminar  August 7th - The 8 Essential Soft Skills for Leadership.

• Women in Geelong Networking Night - August 26th. Learn to Stand Out from the Crowd.
  

How do I Know I am Stressed at Work?

Recognising you are stressed is often very difficult until you actually have symptoms. Even then you attribute the symptoms to something else and don't do anything to change your situation and therefore reduce the stress. So what happens is that it builds up gradually (while we're trying to push through our life, or go around it!) and we don't realise we are stressed until it has such a hold on us that we are almost incapable of doing anything about it. 

This is when we break down at work one day, often over some very minor thing, and have to go home. Or we have a minor car accident because we just didn't see the car we ran directly into. Or we literally just can't get out of bed one morning to go to work because we are so fatigued. Or we make a very serious error at work that we wouldn't normally make. Or the worst scenario, we completely lose all perspective so great is the stress and unable to cope anymore, attempt to, or do, take our own life.

A Few of the Indications that We are Stressed.

• You are constantly in "overwhelm" mode with no indication that anything will change in the foreseeable future.

• You are irritable, short and intolerant with everyone much of the time.

• You are constantly tired and fatigued, even when you have had a good sleep.

• You are taking more days off work with on-going minor, but genuine, illnesses.

• You are constantly having minor accidents - near misses in the car, running into the back of someone's car, cutting your finger, tripping over, running into a door - all due to lack of concentration.

• You don't want to go to work because

• You are working very long hours and taking work home every night and at week-ends.

• You are experiencing physical pain in your body but nothing shows up in tests.

• You are not sleeping, or you go to sleep but wake up at 3 a.m. and can't go back to sleep.

• You are drinking more alcohol than normal, eating more cakes and chocolate or smoking more.

• You are becoming negative and depressed about everything and have a great sense of powerlessness to change anything.

• You are having headaches, even migraines, which are not normal for you.

• You are constantly anxious and apprehensive inside.

• Day and night, you are completely pre-occupied and worried about something you are having to do at work.

• You are skipping meals and when you do eat you eat junk.

• You haven't time for people, either family or friends.
  

So If Any of This is You, What Do You Do?  

1.   Stop, Look and Listen.
You have to stop, step back and get some perspective. You have to begin to take control of your life before something or someone else does. 

Look at what is happening to you and realise that you can’t keep living your life this way. Acknowledge that you are not working very effectively or productively anyway at this moment.
   
Listen to what the people who care about you are saying because if you are experiencing what is written above then those close to you will be concerned about what is happening to you – even if you’re not acknowledging it yet.

Take a half day or a full day off work. Give yourself a commitment free week-end. Go sit in the park or take a walk along the beach. Better still take some holidays. Spend some honest time with yourself – without the comfort (and distraction) of the glass of wine, chocolate bar or a cigarette.

Challenge.
Most people who are experiencing the symptoms above will not acknowledge that they are stressed. In fact they are often annoyed when someone suggests it, as if it is a slight on their competence. Yet everyone around them can see they are stressed in the way they are acting and behaving.

So the first step in changing is acknowledging that family, friends and supportive colleagues are seeing you more clearly than you are seeing yourself at this point in time – and doing what they suggest. Take some time off.

Of course, you will say that you can’t afford the time. Sometimes it is difficult to take time off when you know you should because of a particular commitment. Temporary responses you can make in these situations:
Organise a break, ideally in the next 4-6 weeks. Diary it and determine to let nothing get in its way.

Release the pressure by taking small “breaks”. Take a lunch break and get out of the office. Stand up from your desk periodically and stretch and do some shoulder and neck exercises that relax you.

Make a decision to be out of the office by 6 p.m. at the latest every night and don’t come to the office before 8.30 at the earliest in the morning.

Stop taking work home at night and at the week-ends. This will all begin to make small differences until you can take some leave.

These are short term strategies, not long term solutions.

2.   Make Sure the Break is Stress Free.
A “touristy” holiday is not what is needed. Neither will a holiday at some ritzy hotel with lots of wine and fine rich food help. What is needed is a break to unwind and stress down with no commitments or time tables. Sometimes you can do this at home. Sometimes a B & B in the country is a better option. 

3.   Re-assess Your Life and What’s Important.    
What’s driving you? What price are you paying for it? Is it worth what you are paying for it?
What are you gaining living your life as you are? What are you missing out on?
Put first things first.
If you can’t do this reassessment by yourself go and see a professional counsellor and work it through with him/her. Make decisions to change your life.

Decide what you can change. Work out what you need to do to change those things.
Determine the things that are outside your control which you can’t change. Decide how you will respond to those things in a way that doesn’t stress/distress you.

Develop new work habits – how to work smarter, not longer and harder. Learn what you need to learn to do differently. Get a coach to help you     – at least in the short term. 

4.   Start Putting Your Health and Well-Being First.
Diet – eat as much natural, unprocessed food as possible. A protein rich diet is very helpful with stress. Consider vitamin supplements – at least as a short term measure. Cut the caffeine, alcohol, sugar, fat. Drink lots of water.
Exercise – a great stress reliever. Find exercise that fits your life-style. Increase your incidental exercise - walk up stairs instead of taking the elevator, park further away from work and walk, for example.
Relaxation – teach yourself to switch off. Learn some strategies. Find a hobby, sport or activity that takes you into a different space where you relax and let go.

5.   “Cement” the Change in You Life.
You know what cement does. It hardens and provides extra strong support. It’s not easy to move. This is what you have to do with the changes you make in your life to ensure you manage the stress that is  part of all our professional and business lives today. Much we can’t avoid. We can only manage it effectively. Develop strategies to ensure you don’t slip backwards.

You don't have to leave your desk for this professional development experience.

Book Today!

For More Information and To Register, go to http://www.peopleempowered.com.au/teleseminars

or phone Maree Harris on +61 3 5333 2900. 

Free Teleseminar - Friday, 7th August, 2009

The 8 Essential Soft Leadership Skills

with Maree Harris. PhD.

10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

This teleseminar will explore the 8 essential soft skills for leadership written about above. It will give practical examples of why each of the 8 skills is important and how each can be developed. There will also be time for questions and discussion.

Next Teleseminar on August 19th. Managing Performance - The Importance of Feed-back.

Check out the details on the website.

Women in Geelong Networking Night

Learn To Stand Out From The Crowd.

Growing Your Career Through Networking

with Maree Harris. PhD.

Wednesday 26th August, 2009 - 6-9 p.m.

This is a night where women can learn to

• empower themselves, both personally and professionally, to reach their full potential,
• develop and enhance their profile, reputation and platform, both in their organisations and in their community,
• network and build connections and relationship that will open up ppportunities for them and grow their careers.

Copyright © People Empowered-Maree Harris 2009
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