• Whilst at work make sure that you are taking proper breaks, and have lunch away from your desk.
• Go for a short walk round the block or just to talk to someone rather than phoning or emailing them
• This will ensure that you are more productive when you get back to your desk and feel more enthusiastic

Case Study

Robert works in a small business with 30 staff and he is under a lot of pressure to deliver sales. He is not sleeping and has a lot of headaches which makes him feel tired and short-tempered. He has spoken to his boss, John on several occasions about how he is feeling and that he cannot cope with all the work. His boss just tells him to get on with it with a short laugh. Robert is getting no support and he is wondering what he should do next as he feels that he is at the end of his tether.

• Does his boss John realise that he has a duty of care to his staff.
• Does John realise that he should be carrying out a Stress Risk Assessment.
• Has the company a Stress Policy in place?
• Has any training on stress been carried out?

The answers to all the above were no.  

What happened next was that John contacted our sister company Your Stress Management and asked what he should do next? John was given advice on how to complete the HSE compliant Stress Policy and he booked on a Stress Risk Assessment course so that he would be able to carry out a Stress Risk Assessment and new that he could ask for additional support if required from YSM. He also booked Stress Awareness and Wellbeing courses delivered on site which were all well received by the staff with a positive message that he was being proactive about stress and the problems that can arise at work.