12 stress at work One-day seminar to count the
cost of work-related stress Leading expert Dr Charlie Vivian (pictured) focuses on effective solutions
Stress – it’s something many of us claim to suffer from at one time or another, but for some individuals, stress is much more than a temporary inconvenience.
The effects can be very traumatic, impacting on both personal lives and, of course, on careers and colleagues.
For businesses, the consequence of losing staff through stress can be long lasting.
Around 35% of work-related illness is due to stress and the cost to businesses every year runs into billions of pounds. That’s not just in terms of sick leave – stressed employees who stay at work instead of taking a break, are recognised as being less productive and also impact significantly on the bottom line.
Dr Charlie Vivian, a consultant in occupational medicine, is medical director of Corporate Health, a Slough-based charitable organisation which has specialised in occupational health for more than 60 years.
On Wednesday, September 12, Vivian will be leading a free two-hour seminar at Corporate Health’s headquarters to help businesses identify stress levels in the workplace and discuss potential ways of dealing with it.
“As a charity, our aim is to look at ways to improve health and wellbeing across the country and our free seminars are an excellent way to start getting that message across,” said Vivian.
“If I ask people to define stress, it’s amazing how few people can do so. They can’t give you a simple answer and that’s why managing stress is such a conundrum.
“Stress management seminars have been around
for a long time, but the real challenge is how to apply the knowledge that we have about stress, knowing how to put the solutions into practice.
“That’s where we can make a difference, we take the ideas around stress one step further, we share ideas, talk about practical examples and look at how we can help companies turn around the way they manage stress in the workplace.”
Aimed primarily at HR managers and senior directors, Vivian is also keen to attract individuals who are interested in stress management and want to learn more.
While the health and safety executive’s formal definition of work related stress is: “The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work”, Vivian believes the problem goes further.
He says it’s important to identify the causes, working out whether the task set is beyond an
How to manage Stress at Work
Dr Charlie Vivian MSc DMS MFOM will offer helpful and effective solutions to manage stress in the workplace!
Wednesday 12th September
At Corporate Health, Slough 9.30 to 11.30
An opportunity to learn, train and network ...
To book your FREE place call 0330 3303095 or go to
www.tinyurl.com/cmzeirf
individual’s capabilities or, if they are perfectly capable, but simply have too much to do.
“There is a very real difference between pressure and stress and often that is not clearly understood by managers,” he said. “If you are coping, then you are not stressed. Stress is when you are saying it has gone beyond what you can cope with.
“The way managers manage stress is critical. A manager may not agree with an individual’s perception of stress, but they need to find a way to address it and, in doing so, to remember they are dealing with another human being, no matter how difficult the conversation.
“Most managers will say they have more than enough on their plate already but the reality is, if they don’t get to grips with stress, they may as well simply burn money, because the cost of getting it wrong is enormous.”
Figures show that claims for incapacity benefit have risen four-fold since the 1970s and Vivian says there is clear evidence to show that people are genuinely much more likely to be ill now than in previous generations.
He puts that down to a combination of factors, including a feeling of general inequality, a lack of respect for employees and the fact that being constantly measured through performance appraisals can have a negative impact.
To help tackle that culture, he wants to work with business leaders to focus on looking after their most valuable asset: the employees. “We need managers to look after their employees as if they were their best customers or volunteers,” he concluded. “Businesses can’t achieve their goals unless their staff are well motivated and happy – the real challenge is to put that into practice, which is where we can help.”
Details: Dr Charlie Vivian
marketing@corporatehealth.co.uk 0330-330-3095
www.corporatehealth.co.uk
www.businessmag.co.uk
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2012
Stress at
Work event invite
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