The business case for managing stress and building resilience in your workplace

On 5 February 2020, our HR Training Academy are giving you the chance to attend a workshop focusing on managing stress and building resilience in your workplace – but what’s the business case for incorporating these issues within your people management practices and wellbeing strategies? Emma O’Connor Head of Training at Boyes Turner and course presenter Geraldine Joaquim of Mind Your Business explain.  

The workplace issue

Stress in the workplace: it’s a problem for many people and many different organisations. Perhaps you have noticed the signs in your workplace? High levels of sickness absenteeism, presenteeism creeping in, staff aren’t taking their holidays and perhaps you are noticing an increased level of staff turnover. These issues are costing your business money and time - plus the hidden costs of low productivity, poor engagement, potential loss of clients or the possible damage to your business’s reputation. Not to mention the impact on your people.

The personal issue

Stress: it’s catching up on you. Your own energy levels are flagging, your capacity to deal with workplace conflicts and the ever growing demands on your time is being tested to the limit. You know it’s affecting your mood, your own engagement levels and even your ability to think clearly. 

Whilst stress is not always bad in itself – in fact we all need a little stress to push us onwards to achieve bigger and better things. It’s only when stress builds up, becoming excessive or prolonged that it becomes a problem. 

How can organisations promote preventative self-help?

The business case for managing stress and building resilience

Stress matters. According to published figures, stress is taking its toll on our society and costing the NHS over 165,000 bed days per year with a cost to the public of £71.1 million. “Burnout” has also been recently classified in the WHO International Classification of Diseases as an occupational phenomenon. Burn-out results from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterised by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism relating to one's job; and
• reduced professional efficacy.

Acknowledging that everyone is different is a key first step to managing your own stress and helping your people manage theirs. Everyone has their individual pain thresholds, their unique triggers and pinch points, their own strategies to cope, and their techniques and routines to maintain good health. There is no one-size-fits-all. Having a practical approach to areas such as workplace training and awareness, spotting signs of distress and developing a healthier work environment will enable you to manage more effectively, reduce absenteeism and your people to be more engaged and productive. 

Join us

Company owners, business leaders, Directors, CEOs, HR Professionals, Managers, Health and Safety Officers and Managers and Health & Wellbeing Leads, managing your own stress levels so that you sleep better, you cope better, your mental and physical health improves and you feel able to fully engage with your employees, your business, also discuss how training and awareness can help improve the wellbeing, engagement and productivity of your people. 

Through the course, we will develop your own self-awareness skills, giving you practical tools to help your employees, to signpost them if necessary, and to offer support and encouragement to step into their own self-management. Our aim is to give you a greater understanding of the signs and symptoms to be aware of. And onwards to building resilience to ride the waves of stress rather than being dragged down under them. This means you bounce back stronger and move beyond simply coping, into thriving.

Happy people make a happy business.

This course can also be run in house for your managers and people. Want to find out more? Email Emma O’Connor [email protected].