The Stress Handbook by Business Psychologist Mikkel Ejsing Jensen
English translation by Ann Christine Foverskov, COMM-WEB


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part 1: Preface - From the Savanna to the Workplace
Part 2: The Stress Hormones - Functions and harmful consequences
Part 3: The Nervous System
Part 4: Symptoms of Stress - How do you see and feel stress?
Part 5: The Stress Factors
Part 6: Individual Stress Handling - What can you do?
Part 7: Handling Stress at the Workplace
Part 8: Tools for Organization Development



Part 1: Preface - From the Savanna to the Workplace

Imagine that you lived on the African Savanna 100,000 years ago. A hungry lion comes running full speed towards you. There is a tree approximately 100 meter away. Miraculously you reach the tree before the lion puts its claws in you. You don't quite know how you got up there and there you are - huff and puff. You can feel each muscle of your body, and there is a spinning feeling in your entire body. After having waited for a while the lions gives up and slinks away - disappointed and hungry. You are exhausted but relieved. After having found a safe residence you fall into a deep and sound sleep.

Now imagine that you are sitting at at your work place in year 2004. You can see your boss coming down the hall to ask you if you can manage one more task. You are already behind, but you are finding it difficult to say no to your boss. There is a restroom approximately 20 meter away. Miraculously you reach the restroom without being seen. You are now sitting there trying to control yourself and your breathing. You can feel each one of your muscles and there is a spinning feeling in your entire body. After having waited for a while you sneak out and leave for home with the excuse that you have become ill. You know that your boss will be back to ask you tomorrow. You are frustrated and angry. Most of all you feel like crying. You are exhausted, but you cannot find peace. You won't get more than a couple of hours sleep, tossing and turning in bed that night.

What is the difference between these two scenes? Well, that is what this Handbook is about. Our body and mind are made to deal with rigours that are different from the ones we find ourselves in at our workplace year 2004. This is why the tale of the man escaping on to the tree 100,000 years ago always will remind us of the meaning to stress. Because there IS a meaning. Stress is a survival mechanism. What we have to do is to learn how to control the stress in order for it to help us accomplish more sometimes. At a lot of Danish workplaces stress has been taking over too easily. To many employees and managers stress has become permanent where it should have been temporary.

Sometimes we don’t even get to notice that we are stressed before it is too late. We can get used to the most unbelievable conditions. They say that if you throw a frog into scalding hot water it will immediately jump up to save its life. However if you throw the frog into nice cool water and heat slowly until it reaches boiling temperature the frog will stay in the water. It will not realize the danger and eventually die. Similarly we as humans can slowly become used to an increasing stress level. And it is not wrong to say that some will stay at that high level until it eventually kills them.

This handbook tries to provide an understanding of stress. It tries to provide you with some tools to make you get out of the water before it starts boiling (you). Or to help others get up. And it tries to provide the companies with some tools to stop the water from boiling for too long at the time.

Part 2: The Stress Hormones - functions and harmful consequences

Stress is the natural and necessary defence against exterior threaths. Without the stress system with its hormones and the relationship to our body and mind we as human beings could not have survived as species. Our stress system has been built to get us through that life as it was lived on the Savanna 100,000 years ago. Since then our conditions of life has changed radically and this is of great importance for the understanding of stress. To understand stress we have to understand how that system, which can save our lives, at the same time can cause us harm. Here you can read about some of the most important hormones and also the positive and negative effects connected to them.

ADRENALINE
Adrenaline is our fight-flight hormone. It is being released once our brain thinks of a situation as being challenging. As an example a working week could bring more tasks than usual. Adrenaline is being produced once our bodies are to reach a hightened level of activities. Adrenaline helps us wake up in the mornings and it also helps us solve problems which arise during the day. Adrenaline increases the blood sugar concentration, releases fat and sugar as a fuel for the muscles, increases the blood pressure, expands the airways and reduces our stomach and intestine function in order for us to be able to be more productive. At earlier ages adrenaline has been a necessary condition for survival since it made us able to run longer and faster or since it provided us with more power to handle an attacking enemy. Adrenaline is a "positive" stress hormone and in year 2004 it can also provide us with extra power once our work demands us to perform at our best.

The problem concerning the modern-day human being is that we are not escaping nor fighting with our bodies once we are stressful. We do not use our body for what it has been created for - namely movement. We sit by our computer monitors and slog away to get through the tasks of the day. We do not burn off the adrenaline nor the realeased sugar and fat. Therefore the substances stay longer in our blood. This means that we have a hard time trying to relax once we get off work because there is still adrenaline in our blood. At the same time the released fat deposit itself in our veins where it might cause hardening of the arteries as well as blood clots. Among other things this is why it is so immensely important for you to do exercise - especially through stressed periods of your life. Our bodies need to use the muscles in able to relax again.

CORTISOLE (Adrenal Cortex Hormone)
Cortisole is our "paranoia" hormone. In cases where adrenaline is being released as a reaction to a clear and well-defined threath, cortisole is being released as a reaction to more diffused and incontrollable threaths. An example of this could be an employee who is facing a task which has not been clearly defined why the employee does not know what the expectations are. Another example could be that a task is being handed to her which she or he does not want to do but which she or he is being ordered to do anyway. This feeling of loss of control gives the body the same feeling as if she were being persecuted by an unclear threath.

The short-term natural useful effect of Cortisole is that it helps us heal our wounds and resist infections caused by fighting. Modern man rarely needs this at the work place. And since cortisole often releases as a result of long-lasting periods of stress where you feel powerless and persecuted by your boss for example, it is a rather harmful hormone. For longer periods under the influence of cortisole our immune system will be weakened. Therefore the cortisole indirectly causes more days sick. The cortisole also slow the white blood corpuscles ability to attack cancer cells. Cortisole kills brain cells of embryos. And the latest research shows that cortisole actually causes brain damage which again may cause chronic depression. Long-term stress may cause a downhill slide where you end up with a clinical depression that might at times be an utterly debilitating desease. In other words the cortisole is a hormone whose harmful effect should not be underestimated.

ENDORPHINE
Endorphine is our "drug"-hormone. Endorphine is a double-edged sword. It is pain-relieving and it provides a feeling of desire and joy. Endorphine is more powerful than morphine and it is addictive. For example it will be produced when you are going through tough exercise, falling in love or from laughter. Once having experienced what it is like to be so tired you get silly and overexcited, you know how endorphine works. It is the endorphines which keep our children awake till midnight on New Year's Eve! The endorphines are to help us get through pain in case we are wounded or during birth. The endorphines keep us awake and ready for survival. Disirable in a critical or life-threathening situation. Less desirable in a working situation.

The sedating effect to endorphines means that you will not notice the signs of danger coming from your body in a very stressful period. In a sense you are "sedated" so that you won't notice that your body and brain is coming towards a breakdown. Your body thinks that you are in a dangerous situation and it "forces" you to keep going even though you want to - and maybe might - give up and go home to rest.

Another problem caused by the endorphines is the addictive effect, which might cause exercise addiction or workoholism. In case you have become an "endorphine junkie" and you need the rush which the endorphine can provide you with it will be difficult to allow yourself to take time off. Hence you risk pushing yourself beyond the limit of what you can stand up to.

Part 3: The Nervous System

The relationship between two nervous systems
Our body has a central nervous system which ensures our survival and resists exterior danger which might constitute a danger to our body. The part of the central nervous system which is of significance for stress is called the autonomic nervous system. It consists of the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system.
The sympathetic nervous system increases the body activity. It releases adrenaline and noradrenaline which increases our ability to accomplish extra under pressure. The heart rhythm increases. The bronchial tubes expand. The saliva production slows. The stomach acid production and the digestion slows. Your body is ready for fight or flight.
The parasympathetic nervous system has the opposite effect. It sees to it that we get rid of the adrenaline in order of making your body relax after a hard working day. The heart rhythm decreases. The bronchial tubes get into their normal state again. The saliva production increases. The stomach acid production and the digestion increases. Your body can relax once again and recover from the pressure.

Usually the two systems will be balanced and make sure that your body functions optimally. However when exposed to stress the sympathetic system might take over causing the body to never get the necessary rest. When we sleep the parasympathetic systam takes over. This is one of the reasons why sleeping is so emmensely important - especially during a stressful period.

The active and the passive system
Some stress research scientists make distinctions between two stress systems. These are called the active and the passive stress system. Once we are dealing with stressful situations it is of crucial importance whether we associate the stress with positive or negative feelings.
In case we associate the stressful situation as being positive, challenging and under control, the active system has taken over. At this point the sympathetic nervous system is being activated and noradrenaline as well as adrenaline from the adrenal marrow is being realeased. At this point we speak of positive stress making us able to be more productive.
If on the other hand we associate the situaion as posing a threath and we associate it with negative feelings such as anxiety and fear the result will be realeasing of cortisole through the adrenal cortex. At this point we speak of negative stress making us feel unstable, anxious and which decreases our ability to excel in performance.

It is worth noting that the active system always is being activated. Adrenaline is always being released when suffering from stress. However once the passive system works it slows the realeasement of adrenaline in favour of the cortisole. In other words we suffer from stress once we associate negatively with the challenges that we are facing. If we take a look at the two pandas in the printing office we can tell that one of them is worried about new investments while the other one is being more optimistic. Whatever outcome it is most likely that the optimistic panda will be dealing with less stress than the pessimistic one. The pessimistic panda will realease more cortisole during the stressful period which they have to go through which is why he will also be posed to a greater threath to his health than the optimistic one. Furthermore because of the lower releasement of adrenaline the pessimistic panda will suffer from being less ready to face the challenges. This experience is to come from the adrenaline itself. The example shows that during stressful periods we might experience self-perpetuating spirals of either positive or negative thoughts which are being reinforced by the hormones that are being released because of our view on the situation.

Studies once again show that optimistics actually do live longer, have a greater passion for life and also experience less stress than pessimistics do.

Does this mean that stress can be cured by thinking solely positively? No - unfortunately it is not quite that easy. A vast number of external factors can positively or negatively affect us. And this is where the company, the person in charge and the colleague comes into play. We will return to that. First we will look into the symptoms which might reveal whether you or your colleages experience negative stress too often.

Part 4: Symptoms of Stress - How do you see or feel stress?

In case you wish to be a stress detective you may want to look for stress at three different places: 1)Within yourself, 2) Within your colleages or managers, and 3) Within your workplace in general.

Stress within yourself
To feel whether you are stressed you have to recognize several things. Your body symptoms, your mental symptoms and your behavioural symptoms.

Your body symptoms derive more directly from the stress hormones which swirl in your system once you suffer from stress. Be aware that the feeling of job satisfaction, the so-called "flow", also derives from some of these homones - inter alia adrenaline. But even when those are positive stress hormones cruising in your body, you will feel some of the more negative impacts. You migth get a headache, muscular tensions, increased pulse, increased blood pressure, dry mucous membranes etc. A very typical body reaction to the realeasement of adrenaline in the blood is that the digestion slows. It is not desirable to spend energy on digestion while you are escaping from a lion. Therefore stomach throuble, constipation or diarrhoea, frequent faeces etc. might be symptoms of stress. It is important to remember that all of these body reactions might be symptoms of other things than stress. However you should always listen to your body signals! It can be harmful and even potentially fatal to disregard your body signals. Stress can harm your immune system and leave you more exposed to developing disease which you might be predisposed to but which you otherwise would not have developed. For instance stress does not result in stomach ulcer! However stress may beat the resistance of the mucous membrane against the stomach acid and thereby increase the risk of stomach ulcer. It works the same way with a number of other diseases.

You can find the psychological and the emotional symptoms of stress in the various examples of the fable drawings.

An ordinary stress symptom is lessened ability to concentrate and focus on even very simple tasks. Look at how the kangaroo mother jumps breakfast

and forgets to pick up her child in kindergarten in the afternoon. The inability to focus might result in the fact that you cannot decide on priorities of the days' tasks in a proper way. The tasks won't be managed and you will be even more stressful than you were at the beginning of the day. Do you recognize the feeling of having worked extremely hard and yet having the feeling that you haven't gotten that far? In case you feel this way too often you must put the brakes on to realize and feel whether or not you are suffering from stress.

Look at the horse in the printing office. He seems indolent and uncomitted. These feelings might be symptoms of stress. If you no longer feel like working. If you are no longer interested in whether or not the quality of your product is satisfactory or whether or not your company is running well - This might be signs of stress. Maybe you have got the feeling that it does not matter whether or not you make an extra effort. Our brains keep track of those things more or less consciously. It is based on simple arithmetic where you compare the things that your company provides you with to the effort you think you make at the company.


During stressful periods you work very hard. And in case this is not being repaid by different kinds of rewards - money, free time, praise etc. - you will lose your appetite for working. It is unsatisfactory on your behalf and poor business to your company. Having uncomitted employees is expensive.

It might also be a stress symptom if you feel more tense and irritable than usual. In case you feel pressured it might irritate you if others appear to be happy and content. You feel that your irritation is justified because the others are fools who do not understand anything. You might be right but who wants to be in a lousy mood all day? In case you feel more tense and irritable than usual then look inwards to feel what is bothering you. You do not accomplish anything by blaming others for your bad mood or by taking it out on them.
If you are suffering from stress for a longer period of time it might result in symptoms such as despondency and sadness. If you cannot se any light at the end of the tunnel and you find yourself thinking "a new day threathens" for a longer period of time then your warning bells should start ringing. The despondency is a negative feeling which will cause you to feel that you do not have control of your own life. This will cause the amount of cortisole in your body to increase. And it is once you experience longer periods of this kind of negative stress that it starts having right on adverse effect on your health. Longer periods of stress has shown to damage the brain tissue.

In worst-case scenario the despondency might cause anxiety and depressions. A depression can begin insidiously or it might be triggered suddenly by an intense incident. It is like the last straw that breaks the camel's back. Therefore you should be aware whether you sometimes feel hopelessness, anxiety or you feel like you are losing your mind. Those are signals that ought to make you put on the brakes and talk to someone about your situation.

Not wanting closeness or sex might also be symptoms that there is something at work affecting you negatively. There is no doubt that these symptoms can easily affect your personal life in case you and your partner do not speak of the cause of those problems.

Difficulty sleeping is another important symptom of stress. You might worry about all the things that you did not get to do today and therefore have to do tomorrow. Concern and worries will be interpretted by the stress systems as real threaths. The stress systems do not know the difference between reality and imagination. The worries send stress hormones pumping through your body and make it even harder for you to find peace. Good advice for those of you who cannot seem to fall asleep sometimes: Do not try. You will get even more frustrated and stressed by trying. Instead take a seat in a chair and read a nice book. This might help you get your thoughts away from the worries and provide you with the neccesary peace. Moreover it is advised against to lay and fall asleep for a couple of hours with the tv switched on. The critical importance of a nice continuous sleep cannot be emphasized enough. It is during your sleep that you catch up mental and physical energy for the challenges of the next day or night. It is during your sleep that the parasympathetic nervous system brings your body away from the state of alarm that you might have been in.

Following the behavioural symptoms that you may experience within yourself will be described. It takes great self-insight to face it if you have one or more of these symptoms. You won't necessarily regard them as being problematic. This is why I will describe them as symptoms you may find in others. Once you have practised finding them you may be able to find them easier within yourself.

Stress within your colleages or managers - Behavorial symptoms

As a general rule for the behavorial symptoms of stress look for changes! Small or major negative changes to the way that people behave might be signs that something is going on in their lives which may be difficult for them to handle. It might be stress. It might also be caused by other things. Often the professional life and the personal life are interrelated in a sense that it can be difficult for yourself to point out excactly where the problem is. And it is not uncommon that it is within the interaction that stress occurs.

A very common symptom of stress is an increased number of days of absence. Absence is difficult to handle. Absence might be caused by stress in a very direct manner, for example if you call in sick because you mentally cannot deal with the pressure of going to work that day. The absence might also be caused by stress in a more indirect way. In case you have been suffering from stress for a longer period of time your immune system might be that weakened causing the bacteria and viruses to enjoy free rein. Physical illness can be caused by stress. Some claim that more cronical deseases such as muscular and joint pain, whiplash, migraine etc. also might have its starting point in our mental state and therefore also might be affected by stress. Doctor and Author Lise Ehlers call it "Life Pain" (danish: "Ondt i Livet") once our mental state affects our health. The elephants' "stomach pain" might easily be "work pain"!

A symptom which is extremely visible to others is when persons are being very cross, irritable and short-tempered. The crocodile is visibly angered about something. He or she might not be certain of the cause however it will affect both his and others work day negatively. Do you have a colleage or a manager who is often disgruntled or short-tempered? It might be symptoms of stress and powerlessness on their part. In case it continues you should ask them at the first opportunity if there is anything that you can do for them. Do not think that they are angry with you. Anger always comes from within and then it aims outwards.

Increased number of cigarettes smoked, increased consumption of coffee, alcohol, medication, drugs etc. might be symptoms of stress. It might be our way of trying to get through a tough time. However it is a very short-term way of handling stress, especially since alcohol and medication bring some physical and social problems with them. Too much coffee makes it difficult for us to relax. Nowadays I do not think I have to explain the side-effects of cigarettes. People drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes aren't neccesarily stressed. However if your colleague goes from smoking 20 to smoking 30 cigarettes or from drinking 4 cups to suddenly drinking 8 cups a day, you would want to start wondering why.

Notice your colleagues and your manager. Do they behave differently from how they usually behave? It might be caused by stress, but it isn't always the case. If you are unsure then ask them. Once you have become good at determining stress within other people you can start looking within yourself. Am I more short-tempered and negative than usually? Why does my stomach hurt that often? Am I content with smoking 20 cigarettes a day?

Stress within your workplace

There are certain things that you can notice at your workplace which may be signs of too much stress. However at your workplace it might be difficult to distinguish between what we call definite stress and the things which concern hostile work environment. These two things often closely cohere. No matter whether it is one or the other it is bad for the employees and bad for the financial situation of the company.

Stress causes frequent replacement and lack of qualified job applicants. If the employees and the managers are pressured too much for too long it will result in the employees apploying for jobs elsewhere. It will also result in a bad reputation among potential job applicants. Frequent replacement is a symptom which must be taken seriously by all companies.

Conflicts and envy might be symptoms of stress. Once under pressure we start showing our teeth and become less tolerant. We become smallminded once suffering from stress. The rhino has a difficult time accepting that the bear leaves on time. This may be caused by the fact that he himself is frustrated that he cannot achieve in the time allowed. Once we are suffering from stress we often think that the others are working under better conditions than we are.

Bullying, slandering and ostracizing of certain employees or groups might be symptoms of stress. Once we feel under pressure we have a tendency to blame others. Someone must carry the can and they might be made scapegoats. Sometimes the manager is the victim of bullying - at other times the manager participates in the bullying. It might cause devastating consequences to both the employees as well as the workplace in case these things are permitted to exist.

IIrony and sarcasm can be symptoms of stress. Once the sense of humour changes and gets negative we have to take care that it does not evolve. A sense of humour can cover up some powerful and negative messages. Irony can be fun but it is also a very unclear way of communicating. We need a lot of humour at our workplace. It reduces stress and helps us during times with pressure. However listen to see if there is any agression covered up with the irony. One danger signal is once people start to seriously doubt what the jokes are really about. Was it intended to be funny or…?

Inefficiency, poor quality and bad results might be symptoms of stress. A company with negatively stressed employees is a company with employees who do not do their best. The ostrich does not look that efficient - now does she?

It can be expensive to a company having employees suffering from stress. And the human consequences can be severe. There is a good reason to keep an eye on the symptoms within yourself and others. It is too dangerous not to.

Part 5: The Stress Factors

Now we are going to take a look at the stress factors which we can find at your workplace. It is important to note that stress is an experience within the individual. The stress factors do not automatically cause stress. They reflect situations and relationships which MIGHT cause stress. If you subject two people to the exact same stress factor one of them might become very stressed while the other might stay unaffected. It is not the situation itself which causes us stress. It is the way we think of the situation which causes us stress. Following I will list some of the situations or relationships.

Physical condition

Your physical sorroundings always affect you. Coldness, heat, lighting conditions, noise and the like must be correct in order for you to thrive at your workplace. Repetitive strain as well as other kinds of overworking may also cause you stress. However also lack of sleep, bad diet and too little exercising may also cause you and your body to suffer from stress.

Rush hours constitute a physical influence which really cause stress to a lot of people. Tailbacks constitute a physical influence which also really do cause stress to a lot of people. Tailbacks or delayed trains also cause stress quite easily. And it is a very negative kind of stress since we have absolutely no control of the situation. This is why you should leave home early on!

Night time working and working in shifts
In the graphic business there are quite some people working shifts or people who work in the evening or at night. It is without doubt a physical strain to your body to be working shifts. Your body rhythm will be broken which in itself constitutes a stress factor to your body. No matter whether or not you get into a rhythm with long periods of night time working your body temperature is still 1 degree celsius colder at night compared to in the daytime. Research has shown that there should be no more than 3-4 night shifts in a row.

Whether or not working in shifts is harmful to your mind is a matter of contention. It is probably individually-based. If you are content with working at night it does not constitute a stress factor to you. Some purposely choose the offset hours because it provides them with other advantages. In case you have trouble getting plenty sleep after working night time you should consider whether or not you would be able to thrive on working other hours instead. It is neccesary for you to get plenty of sleep.

The relationship between demands and control
It is a thoroughly replicated theory which shows that there must be a clear relationship between the demands made on us at our workplace and the ability which we have to meet those demands. Most of us find that intense demands are made on us at our workplace. The demands are cases such as quality, workload, responsibility, deadlines, abilities etc. Those are circumstances which can provide us a rich and varied professional life once in appropriate amounts. The critical factor is often whether or not we to an appropriate degree are in control of our work situation and that it tallies with the demands. For instance control is about co-determination, ressources, follow-up training etc. The giraffe might be mid-level manager with the responsibility for a lot of different tasks. It does look like he doesn't feel geared to do the assignment.

Once the demands that are made on us do not follow a fair amount of say, ressources (time, money etc.), follow-up training etc. we may experience our work as being stressful.

Take a look at Kamela Andersen. Once again she has brought work home with her. She may have taken too many assignments on her compared to the time which she is given to deal with them.

Too low demands is also a potential stress factor. In case we do not feel challenged at work we start getting bored. Work then seem meaningless and does not provide us any kind of personal satisfaction. A situation like that should be avoided too.

You should be aware of those factors at your workplace. And in case there are too many employees and managers suffering from stress you have to consider increasing or lowering the demands or bring to ressources, more say or the like. How to handle it appropriately vary from the type of workplace and its culture. Therefore managers and employees must engage constructively with eachother at each workplace.

Lack of - or too much - influence over your own work
Influence over your own work is a double-edged sword. Influence over ones own work is necessary if we are to avoid stress. More responsibility has to follow each time higher standards are set. We just determined that. However in a peculiar way responsibility can become a burden. First let's see why we need influence.

The man escaping from the lion on the savanna is finding himself in a situaition full of pressure but he does have influence on his own situation. Roughly speaking he can either choose to play dead, fight or flee. When you are at work and your boss orders you to do a task you basically have the same opportunities. However to you it won't feel like a real choice. It does look silly to play dead in an office! In case you fight you will risk the boss getting angry with you and maybe you will get fired. In case you flee you will get the assignment once you get back to work. At the workplace the lion stays under the tree. The problems don't go away like the lion does. You will find that you do not have any influence on your own situation. This triggers the passive stress system which releases the "bad" stress hormone cortisole to go through your body. At some workplaces it still works this way: The management makes most decisions and just informs the employees of them. This will always cause trouble to the mental working environment and then again cause stress.
Take a look at the panther and the ostrich.The panther hands out an order which stresses the ostrich because she has to go pick up her kids. If she wishes to avoid the stress in this situation she has to choose to enter the fight and thereby try to gain back influence. However by doing so she risks the boss getting angry with her and she might get fired. Later on we will get into how you can become better at saying no.

At an increasing number of workplaces it has become customary practise to delegate huge responsibility to the employees. It is a positive development - however it can set a trap for the employees in case they aren't good enough at saying no to assignments. Look at Kamela Andersen. She has that much influence on her work that it makes her bring work home with her. She thinks she is only being smart because then she won't have to stress during her working hours. It is called FLEXIBILITY and it is a fantastic way of getting both managers and employees to work for more than the 37 hours that they are getting paid for. An article in the danish newspaper "Politiken" on 23rd November 2003 49% of the respondents say that they have flexible working hours which has resulted in more work than earlier on. 37% of the 49% are suffering from stress. If you have influence on your work and you cannot say no to assignments then you have got a problem. Does your influence then have any value? It is okay to leave early and then bring home work. However not each and every day! Find Kamela Andersen on the back cover and see for yourself whether she looks happy?

Remember to ask for influence. Take on more responsibility. However also remember to use your influence to control your own workload.

Crisises and unpredictability
Sudden crisises arising or prolonged uncertainty over the future at your workplace can be stressful. We need predictability within our lives as well as within our working life. In case the predictability gets interrupted by a sudden crisis or uncertainty relating to the future we will experience loss of control of our lives. This will quickly lead to the very negative kind of stress. A suddenly arosen crisis at work can be redundancies, work place accidents, death, tough conflicts etc. Some of the typical factors which may lead to unpredictability can be poor turnover, restructurings, shift of managers, rumours about round of layoffs, merger or rumours of merger and all in all anything which may make the future of the company or the individual employees future existence uncertain.

Nowadays the uncertainty at the workplace might be even bigger than ever. A study carried out by TNS Gallup for LO has show that each third wage-earner has experienced a round of layoffs. More than each five wage-earner fear that they are going to get fired themselves. And many fear for their ability to reclaim work after having been laid off. According to the danish newspaper "Erhvervsbladet" on the 14th November 2003 79% of the respondents find that it will be difficult or very difficult to find new work in case they are fired. Half a year ago the number was "only" 66%. So it is a stress factor which is becoming a more ordinary part of daily life.

EEach change will involve uncertainty or acute crisis. Søren Kirkegaard once said that: "Everybody wants progress, however as good as no one wants change!" . Therefore opposition against change is a natural reaction - to hold back anxiety among the people involved. Change must be organized in such a way that it brings the least crisis and unpredictability. By doing that we reduce the risk of stress amongst the people involved.

Lack of human support
Lacking human support is a serious stress factor. The feeling of being all alone dealing with ones problems and being isolated or freezed out from the community at work will be a very stressful experience. There might be tough conflicts and bullying where you are intentionally left out or subjected to harassment. However it could also be lack of support or concrete help from your colleagues or management during your working day. The mouses support the horse, but maybe they should also lend a hand.

In case of no support from the management in relations to customers or other cooperative partners you as an employee will be more afraid of making mistakes or not being able to deliver a satisfying product. In case complaints or questions coming from customors lead to telling-off from your boss, you as an employee will constantly be in a undesirable state of alert. Like the primitive man on the savanna constantly fearing the lion being nearby.

It also takes interrelating human support between the employees. It is necessary for getting through a hectic workday that we feel supported and also that we feel part of a community. In case we do not feel that, it will become a load factor to our experience of our working situation. As humans we are quite social beings who need to reflect ourselves in others all well as in the things we do. We need help, credit, criticism and someone to talk to. A well-functioning team where you are helping and supporting eachother will oftentimes be able to deal with a lot - in relations to workload and quality requirements, deadlines etc.

Part 6: Individual Stress Handling - What can you do?

While reading this Handbook you have to keep one thing in mind. There are no easy ways out of stress. There are no easy ways of preventing stress. Handling and prevention of stress takes hard work. It takes honesty looking within yourself, your habits and the way you regard your professional and your private life. At this stage the ideas constitute possibilities. The objective is to find the ones which suits you.

1. Manage to get your sleep
To some point you can sleep yourself to feeling less stress. By getting a good nights sleep. Manage to sleep between 6 and 8 hours each 24 hours. It makes you better prepared for the daily or nightly challenges. Your brain as well as your body need time to digest the impressions of the day. When you sleep the parasympathetic nervous system dominates and makes your body relax, absorb energy and digest the food properly. Your body is a rechargeable battery which will run almost dry after 20-24 hours. After a nice sleep you have been recharged. People who meditates claim that they are able to reach that state by meditation. For this reason they do not need to sleep for that many hours each 24 hours. It works for them. For others a power nap is the solution in case of lacking consecutive sleep. I myself take a power nap once I can get to it and when I need it. It works for me. Figure out what works for you. Because being tired will cause you stress.

2. Manage to exercise
It is no longer a matter of contention! Exercising prolongs our lives, reduces and prevents not only stress but also a a wide variety of deseases. Research show that exercise is more important to your health than weight loss in case you are overweight. Research also shows that the health effect of exercise is greater than the health effect you achieve once you quit smoking. In an article in the danish online newspaper “Jyllands-Postens Internetavis” on the 5th of January 2004 exercise is designated to be the best medicine in the world. You can even get an ordination on exercise!

You don't have to run 10 kilometres a day. Walking for half an hour at a rather quickly pace or riding your bike will do. Even active gardening counts. Adrenaline helps your muscles to perform better. You can help your body burn out the adrenaline by using your muscles. Take a look at the mouse and the cock. Which one do you think feels best when he gets home?

To those of you who want to lose weight or quit smoking. Do wait untill exercise has become part of your everyday life. By then you will have more energy for those things.

Haven't you got the time for exercise? Well… then manage to find the time for more sick days!

3. Use your sense of humour - without being sarcastic
A good laugh or a silly comment might soften even grave situations. You can manage to use your sense of humour in order to get through tough times and in order to cool down once you reach your panic limit. I myself have never watched a bungee jump without making jokes about whether or not the rubber band would last or whether or not it had been correctly measured. At a workplace you can especially use your sense of humour in case a negative sentiment arises. Once we crowd we may create an atmosphere actually worsening things. At this point sense of humour acts as a brake pad. Even though things are stressful right now - light does exist at the end of the tunnel.

Many studies even show that laughter boosts the immune system by increasing the production of white blood corpuscles and antibodies in the mucuous membranes. This might be one of the reasons why optimists do live longer than pessimists do? Whatever the case it is getting to be an accepted fact that patients are relased more quickly if they are being subjected to funny people, movies and books. Especially at the pedriatrics units hospital clowns appear.

Sense of humour works! You should paticularly remember your self-irony. Avoid taking yourself too seriously. Once you do that you become a burden to your sorroundings. A main rule is never to laugh at others unless you are able to laugh at yourself.

4. Stop the perfectionism
Reduce or prevent stress by allowing your aspiration level to be consistent with the opportunities that you have got to fulfill the demands you have made on yourself. To a lot of people this is controversial advice. Time dictates that we have to be perfect managers, perfect employees, perfect live-in partners etc. Setting goals and striving for high quality performance each time is good. However it causes stress! Often the demands on quality and fastness which we strive for originate from ourselves. We cause ourselves to stress by putting demands on ourselves which are higher from the actual demands which the company expects us to fulfill. Take a look at the snail. He is not stressed. He knows his own pace and adjusts to it. In a variety of fields we are actually capable of doing the exact same thing; within our private life as well as within our professional life.

Perfectionism constitutes one of the worst stress offenders and it comes from within ourselves. You are not perfect even though you try to appear so! And no one expects you to be! Since neither are they, even though they try to appear to be!

5. Do not blame others for your problems - Are you a victim or a warrior?
Once I hear or read about stress it is often characterized by people blaming others for their problems. Colleagues, managers, the Government or someone else are being blamed. People may complain however besides that there is not much else they can do. The others never listen anyhow! I do understand that point of view and I do know the feeling of being a victim of circumstances. And this is exactly the feeling that we face sometimes - I am a victim of circumstances!

It is understandable yet emmensely stressful. Once you blame others you are also giving them control of you. And the feeling of others having the control triggers a very negative kind of stress in which we have lost control of the situation. "I did not chose to be here and I cannot get out because the others are in charge". To get out of this situation you need to give up playing the role of being a victim and start assuming the role of a warrior which is much more difficult but far less stressful. This deserves further explanation.

A North American Indian by the name of Hawk of the Yellow Wind, has authored a book describing two ways of living our lives. We may live as victims or as warriors. We contain both personalities. The question is which of the ways we wish to be dominant.

The victim within me considers me to be subjected to a cruel destiny mastered by others. Life passes me by and I cannot prevent that from happening. Once something goes wrong the victim immediately lies down and starts making up excuses. The victim blames others with his problems. The victim quickly gives up and does not believe that things can get better. The victim rarely trusts others and think that others will only do me harm. We all have that tiny devil inside. Do you know that side of yourself?

The warrior within me considers me as being an active player mastering my own life. The warrior does not complain and does not talk of all the things he wants to do differently. He just does so! In case he wishes change he will take his part of responsibility to make these changes happen. Once the warrior experience crisises and problems he does not blame others. Instead he tries to figure out how he himself can improve his situation. Do you know your inner warrior?

Once your inner victim takes over you may suffer from stress because you feel that you no longer have control of your life. Once your inner warrior takes over you will feel active control of your life and therefore feel less stressed even during quite difficult periods of your life. Once your life is getting to be unpredictable and you start sensing the negative stress sneaking in on you, you can choose to handle the situation either as a victim or a warrior. The difficult path is that of the warrior because it imposes high demands on you. Ask yourself this question when things get rough: "Am I a victim or a warrior?"

Take control of your life - practise saying NO and GOODBYE
To feel like a warrior. To feel that you are in control of your life there are two words that you need to practise saying. You must say NO once asked to do something that you do not want to do. You must say GOODBYE once you are finding yourself in a situation or a relationship in which you do not feel good. Those are difficult words to speak so you may start practise saying them.

Within the fable there are more examples of animals having difficulties saying no. It really is a very difficult word to speak. You risk people getting angry or sad once you tell them no. However the alternative could be that you yourself will get sad or angry within. It is always a choice you make in the specific situation. If you do not say no, you will have to say yes. That might mean that you will get overburdened. In case you are bad at saying no you will more often end up in negative situations or take on assignments which you do not have the time for or which you do not want to do. How do you feel about saying NO?

In case you experience that you are not being respected nor accepted once you say no at your workplace you may consider using another word - namely GOODBYE. You rarely need that word but it may change your life for the better. Maybe you do not feel good in your partnership and therefore you may have to say goodbye to your girlfriend or boyfriend. Maybe you do not feel good at work and have to say goodbye. Those are drastic decisions which require long considerations. Sometimes it also involves saying goodbye to good things. It can be difficult to say goodbye to an exciting task however it may be necessary in case that task gets out of line with your daily workload. It is also a way of saying goodbye once you scale back your ambition. It is difficult but very effective against stress.

To the warrior NO and GOODBYE are some of the most important weapons for beating stress.

7. Think positive and focus on your possibilities
Changes are unavoidable! They are and have always been an established part of being at a workplace. Changes can bring on stress, however fear of changes and resistance against changes can also cause stress even before the change has been made. In case you are against changes and matters come to a deadlock for you once changes are made you will experience that you have no control of your working life. Instead you should focus of the opportunities that the changes bring to avoid stress. It will give you the opportunity to control at least some parts of the development.

Again and again research shows that people who focus on their possibilities through tough times do weather better in the long run and do experience less stress than the negative people.

You should still be critical and ask questions about the things that go on at your workplace, however you should focus on your possibilities.

8. Guard your relationship to other people
Having a good relationship with your colleagues, family and friends reduces stress. Studies show that social support is an important factor in our ability to handle stresfull times. Having someone which we can share our happiness and sorrow with is important to us. Be sure to maintain a social network at work and within your private life. It is also good to have hobbies that take your mind off work.

It can also be very stressful to have unresolved trouble with your colleagues or your manager. It is easier said than done to solve conflicts. After all there are always two or more parties to a conflict. However it will be a good investment to raise the profile of a conflict, maybe handle it and talk things through. The handling of conflicts may hurt badly and be almost boundless to get through. However usually the relationship has been at least slightly improved afterwards.

9. Figure out what makes you relax - and do some more of it
What makes us relax is individually-based. You know best what makes you feel completely relaxed. Make sure you do that as often as possible. You may try to imagine some situations or tasks at work which you enjoy doing and which do not require big considerations or skills. At least in the fable there is one who looks like he has found his own way to relax.

Make sure you take breaks from your work. It is rarely possible to work efficiently for more than one hour at the time. In the fable there are a couple of guys considering whether they have the time for a break. There HAS to be time for breaks.

10. Cut down on your consumption of coffee, cigarettes, medication and alcohol
Except for medication all of the above are stimulants. Not anti-stress means. Unfortunately they are often used to reduce stress symptoms. On the face of things it may seem like a good idea to reduce stress by the help of coffee and cigarettes. However the issue is that these things reduce the stress by sedating your body. Not by moderating the causes of stress. By cutting down your consumption of these matters you will be better at sensing stress and when it is time to slow down. Furthermore, you are unable to reduce or avoid stress within yourself if you are not able to sense when you are stressed!

In this part we have noticed some of the possibilities of handling your own stress. There are some things you pay attention to. A very important part of the fight against stress takes place in the "common space" of the work place. The following part deals with what can be done at the work place to reduce or prevent stress among the employees and managers.

Part 7: Handling Stress at the Work Place

In this part I will describe some ideas to help you reduce or prevent stress at your work place. Once again I must emphasize that what causes stress varies among the people at a work place. This means that the steps described here must be adjusted to your work place and also the people who work there. There is no such thing as easy solutions. All steps require support from the top management. To make the steps into success the employees must be involved in all parts of the processes.

The road to avoid a stressful work place is the same as the road to a healthy mental working environment. Therefore this part will focus on how to provide a comfortable mental working environment. If you succeed in creating this environment you will also feel less stress. As a bold way of putting it you might say that stress equals the absence of satisfaction. Now let's see how one can provide satisfaction and thereby the absence of stress…

What can be done at organization level?

In the office right next to the "job satisfaction office" you will find Manager Lion. It seems like he is having a constructive conversation with a manager colleague who is viewing some employees with a bit of scepticism. In one hand Manager Lion is carrying the so-called "6 grains of gold". The 6 grains of gold are what the Danish National Institute of Occupational Health (AMI) calls the recipe of a healthy mental working environment. There is a striking resemblance between these six items and some of the issues I mentioned as being potential stress factors. If these issues are not present one will get stressed. In case they are present, your mental working environment is healthy. The grains of gold have been covered through several years of research. They even apply to animal studies! The 6 grains of gold are as follows:

1. Influence on the planning of work etc.
To thrive at working we must have appropriate influence; on the work content, planning, placement of working hours, coorporating people etc. This does not mean that we must have influence on it all. Naturally some decisions must be made by others - for instance by the management. However it is important that we are being consulted with and also as often as possible that we are part of the decision making itself. It can be complicated, however it is a sound investment because it will yield staff who are more motivated.

2. Meaning in work.
Do you work only because of the salary? In case your answer is yes you do not find much meaning in your work. Meaning is the feeling of making a difference. It may be feeling pride in a strong product - for example a nicely printed newspaper. It may be journalism which moves opinions or which places important issues on the agenda. It may also be the feeling of being part of a well-functioning team. Anything which contributes to meaning and pride in your work. In case you don't feel it, the chances of you getting stressed are much bigger. The thought alone of your work not having meaning may actually cause you stress!

Make sure everyone has a meaningful employment. Also make sure everyone talks about the good parts of working once in a while.

3. Predictability.
As human beings we have a great need for security and predictability. We wish to know our whereabouts for tomorrow. Preferably as far into the future as possible. The fulfillment of this need is very important to a healthy working environment. This makes demands on the management to provide as much relevant information as possible. The competent boss will fill in the employees on changes ahead of time and also allow them to get rid of frustrations and ask questions.

The need for predictability is strong. In case we do not receive the necessary information to create a picture of the future, we start guessing. Guessing become rumours and this is when trouble begins. This is because rumours create even more worries and unpredictability than there was beforehand.

Rumours cannot be wiped out by yelling out loud! Only by providing the right information. There is no fire without smoke… Remember that stating "There is nothing new to inform you of!" is also useful information.

As a manager make sure you provide the necessary information. As an employee make sure you ask for information.

4. Social support.
Social support and good cohesion are important issues when dealing with job satisfaction. The support must come from both colleagues and management. Support must come from the management once an employee is being put under pressure by external cooperating partners or customers. Stress Consultant Thomas Milsted outlines five different kinds of human support which may contribute to a healthy mental working environment.

1. Practical support - such as help solving concrete tasks. Here the anteater serves as a great example.

2. Emotional support - It is important that we listen and share personal and work-related problems. In the printing office there is a mouse in need of support. And it seems to be getting it.

3. Evaluation support - As humans we reflect in one another. We need feedback to discover and learn new things about ourselves and our abilities. It is difficult to provide feedback. Quite fast it will be perceived as non-constructive criticism. For that reason you should only provide feedback when the other person is asking for it. Remember to ask for feedback from others. If we do not receive feedback we risk getting isolated. We may become out of touch with whether or not we are doing what we are supposed to be doing.

4. Cohesion support - The feeling of being part of a great team really means a lot to all of us. Cohesion can be created by using negative wording regarding other groups. It is an unhealthy kind of cohesion. It brings controversy and conflicts along with it. The positive kind of cohesion is characterized by people who stand together using positive wording on themselves and not the least on others.

5. Supportive atmosphere - Being offered help can be of great joy once we are being put under pressure. A supportive atmosphere in which we are mindful of helping each other stands a good chance of creating a healthy mental working environment. For instance take a look at how a nice chat has helped the crocodile with his mood.

You can work yourselves towards these five kinds of support by communicating at meetings and during your work day on what you wish and expect from each other. This will make it easier to offer each other the necessary and appropriate support. After all it is individually-based what kind of support we wish and expect.

5. Rewards.
We all need to feel that we are being justly treated. We wish to be rewarded as deserved. In order for us to have an optimal mental working environent we need to feel that we are being rewarded in relation to what we perform. It may consist of salary. It might consist of praise, promotion or other kinds of rewards. Salary always matters. However more often research and surveys focus on praise and other kinds of positive indications to be as important to us. Nevertheless a small bonus or an extra day off work is always welcome!

It is a good idea to have managers and employees communicate about what is considered a good reward at your work place. Do people want days off, money, promotions, gifts, praise or other kinds of rewards once they excel in performance?

6. Demands.
Demands can be set too high as well as too low. This is a very individual issue. Some like constant high demands for quality and quantity and being pushed and put under pressure all the time. Others like really low demands enabling them to do routine tasks in a very low work rate. A lot of people like what is in between. Days with the adrenaline pumping through your body because of the high demands are nice. After a day like this has ended you feel very satisfied but also very exhausted. On other days it is nice to relax, clean-up some stuff and just talk to some of your colleagues whom you haven't been talking to lately. After a day like this you are calm and looking forward to the next days' tasks.

In Ber.Serk.Print Ltd it looks like the demands are exceeding the limits as to what the employees have time to live up to. The manager is being pushed by customers. And the employees are being pushed by the managers' demands for high work pace. The pot is reaching boiling temperature and the mice looks as if they are already boiled tender. Being in a situation where you feel the demands are being set to high on you - it is very important to say/do something to make it stop, just like the hen is constantly doing. As a manager you won't get anything out of raising the work pace. This will cause more days off sick as well as your employees becoming unmotivated and inefficient. Complaints from the employees are to be taken seriously and you should have a constructive conversation concerning the possibilities.

Mapping out the psychological working environment.
By completing the questionnaire from AMI in order to evaluate the psychological working environment, your work place may take the temperature of the working environment. Filling in the questionnaire may give you some ideas for areas of development at your workplace. You can order the questionnaire by contacting AMI (www.ami.dk).

What should you recognize as a manager?

In this section I will pounce on a couple of situations in the fable which show some points about good and bad management. Being a manager you are specially responsible - also when it comes to reducing and preventing stress. As a manager you should act as a role model to the employees. It is important that the employees can do as you do rather than do as you say. And this leads me to the first point.

Words and actions must match
Notice the manager on the terrace. He says that the employees are our most important resource! That is a beautiful value to have within a work place. It is one of the most spoken values within work places. In some companies it is just a view value. In other companies the value is implemented. It does not work for you as a manager to just speak those fine words. You must meet the employees to show them that you really do think they are the most important resource. If you buy technical equipment for the amount of two million and cut down on the employees' course budget, then you are NOT considering the employees as being the most important resource. Then you consider technical equipment as being the most important resource! There is nothing wrong with buying technical equipment for the amount of two million and cutting down the course budget. You just have to honestly share how you and the management have set the priority with the employees. Most likely they will also make sense of it. Being a manager your words and actions must match!

Provide space for saying no - it pays!
There are more situations in the fable where a manager asks or orders an employee to take on a task or attend a meeting. If you are a manager and you really WANT an employee to attend meetings then speak it out instead of asking. This is most fair. In case you phrase a question you should be prepared of them answering with a NO. They may have learned how to by reading this Stress Handbook! It is important as a manager to provide space for them employees to sometimes say no. Most likely they won't say no each time. Once phrasing a question then await the answer and permit the other to think it over. This way you avoid putting people under pressure to say YES where they should have replied NO. It may appear to be taking a soft line when you permit the employees to say no. However you could consider whether you prefer a meeting participant who is suffering from stress rather than a non-stressed employee who is not attending the meeting? Yes, of course it all depends on the situation.

Provide clear communication
The ram sitting at the meeting table seems a bit absent-minded. He also succeeds putting his foot in it. He says: "Someone here is NOT doing his work properly!". Notice the reactions he gets. A lot of the animals are getting nervous and insecure. Some get angry. They all share not knowing who he is referring to. They may well all know who he is reffering to, however they do not dare talk about it. No matter what, unclear communication like this always affects the emplyoees to feel insecure and part of a hostile work environment. If you want to say something as a manager, then speak directly to the person concerned. In case you are calling attention to an error which has been made and which the others do not need to know about then make sure you do so in private to avoid public humiliation. However do get as much information out in the open to avoid myth-making. Be careful not to use unclear communication.

Hold development meetings with your employees
Holding a private development meeting is a good management tool. The talks with your employees may provide you with an inestimable insight into knowing what the employees preoccupations are. The talks may also contribute to show which direction the company can and shall be moving in. At the same time it is caring for the employee, because the employee now gets the possibility to engage with you as a manager. There might not always be enough time for this. It does not pay to skimp on the development meetings! In case you do not feel positioned to hold these meetings there are training courses, books and tools to help you get started. For example you could phone Grafisk BAR to get ideas how to start up development meetings.

Get consultancy assistance
As a manager you may often end up in difficult situations. You will experience employee conflicts. Maybe you are to mediate in a conflict between the employees. Maybe you have to communicate about great changes. You may even have to be that unlucky you will have to let people go. The eagle in the printing office doesn't look like he is feeling that good. He doesn't know how to inform the employees about something difficult. And of course the employees are keeping a close eye on him. After all it is also their future which may be at stake. Often it gets so tough being a manager that he or she will also go down with stress. To avoid that you as a manager should get some consultancy assistance. You may want a coach. You could also participate in different kinds of manager fora. There are a lot of possibilities. Fact is that thousands of managers in Denmark now benefit from some kind of consultancy assistance. It may guard against stress and it may also make you a more competent, calm and confident manager. You can get referrals to various types of management consultancy assistance by contacting Grafisk BAR.

What should you recognize as an employee?

I have already described what you can do yourself to reduce or prevent stress. However as an employee there are some other points you should recognize.

Take good care of yourself!
As an employee you should be sure to take care of yourself. You shouldn't expect others to notice whether or not you are feeling down. You may hope that they will. However it is foremost your own responsibility. Don't you ever forget that!

Kangaroo Mom needs to be stopped. She looks stressed. We do not know the reasons why the others do not notice it or do something about it. Maybe they have tried telling her and she has responded "No, just let me make the coffee today!" Maybe she enjoys the role of martyr. Fact is that if she doesn't take care of her self things will go wrong.

Do you know a kangaroo mom at your work place? Is anyone trying to stop her? Why doesn't she stop herself?

Say NO sometimes! (this cannot be said too often)
The horse at the front page has a problem. It is his day off but he feels under strong pressure to go to work anyways because the others are busy. He is being self-sacrificing and the employees as well as his manager will probably be happy about it. However he does not look happy. And he will probably not feel good working this day because he knows he should have had the day off. This won't be a good day for him.

Take a look at the hen instead. She has taken time off to counterbalance overtime. She has had a nice steady calm day and she has been taking care of things at home. It looks like it has been quite healthy for her. Do you have a clear conscience when you take a day off?

Look for new cheese!
On the floor in the printing office there is a book called "Who moved my cheese?" This strange title covers a very easy-to-read and instructive small book written by John Spencer. The chief meaning of the book is rather simple: that all exciting stuff in our lives (working lives) - all the delicious cheese bites - don't come by themselves. We must go look for it. We might be in the here and now thinking that we already have all the cheese that we need and then stop looking for more. In case you stop looking for new cheese such as new challenges, one day there won't be any challenges for you. If you wish to have a good working life you have to take an active part in developing it! Be a cheese-warrior!

Don't expect miracles to happen!
Don't expect you or your company to change over night. Guarding against stress and building up a healthy mental working environment is a prolonged process which demands hard efforts from you as well as your colleagues and managers.

Following we will take a closer look on some of the tools which may provide you with inspiration for developing a healthy working environment at your work place.

Part 8: Tools for Organization Development

All over the working places within the fable there is stuff lying around like scraps of paper, books etc. On some of them words like "Kaizen, the 5 buzz words, CPS, stress politics etc appear. Behind these headlines are methods for working with organization development. You may find inspiration for developing your work place by clicking on the headlines to read about the various methods. In case you have questions or wish consultancy assistance about the use of these methods you should contact Grafisk BAR. Following you can read about the methods.

A common characteristic of all methods is that it takes active support, participation and commitment from all levels of management within the organization. To become a success all employees must be involved in the planning and the execution of the procedures. Take a look at the group working with visions. They look like they have a say in the development of the company. It brings motivated employees and it is something which any company could benefit greatly from.

Stress policy - why and how?

An obvious opportunity to reduce or prevent stress is to create a stress policy. I wish to emphasize the word "create" since this is exactly what you have got to do. You cannot get nor buy a stress policy. It is a process which you have to go through together for the sake of all. Working on a stress policy is not something you can complete fast. It is a prolonged process which thrive on being a part of the common development issues within the company such as in connection to development projects, work place evaluations etc.

In order for the stress policy to become a success it is important that the management and the employees work together on the project all the way through it. Both must be satisfied with the results - else all work is wasted. No one follows a company policy full-hearted unless they have had a say in it.

The contents
A stress policy must contain guidelines on how management and employees must think and act on lead-up to stress at the work place. Furthermore it must contain a list of acute actions to be taken once a person is suffering from stress.

The acute actions list may say what which people are to do in case a colleague goes down with stress.
o How do we act on it - for example do we call him/her to hear how he/she is doing?
o What is the manager to do / not do?
o What are the colleagues to do / not do?
o Should there be a possibility to call a psychologist or the like?

Within the more preventive part of the stress policy you could for instance have a clarification of:
o How do we take good care of ourselves?
o How do we take good care of eachother?
o How and how often do we talk together about stress, for instance at mass meetings?
o How do we apply the stress policy to the workplace assessment and other development moves?

The process
THE START-UP:
Once the management in consultation with the employees has decided to introduce a stress policy it is important to provide information about it right away. Space has to be provided for questions and also a degree of scepticism. All changes cause concern within an organisation so you shouldn't think of it as being an exception.

Next step is to finish goals and visions with introducing the stress policy. Why are we going to have one implemented? What are we going to use it for? And how are we going to do so?

You should quickly invite employees and managers to participate in a steering committee which should act as a committee with responsibility for the project management throughout the whole procedure. It will be an advantage to partially brace the steering committee in SiU and SU because of the fact that there are people there used to working with the development of the company.

IN THE PROCESS:
Some of the things to include in the process of working with the stress policy could be:
o How do we make the improvements which come from working with the stress policy visible?
o How do we communicate decisions?
o In which fields do we involve all employees in decisions regarding the stress policy?
o Which hurdles are we facing?
o Which factors of our structure and cultures contribute to promote a behaviour or attitude which may cause stress? (Are the employees allowed to take a break, to leave work before time, to work late, to say no to tasks etc.)
o Which tasks are we facing and how do we distribute tasks and responsibilities?
o How are we communicating? How does the information flow through the organization?
o Does unresolved conflicts exist within the organization? (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!)
o Does everyone feel supported by the management and their colleagues?

Make sure you involve all employees as much as possible - for instance by holding meetings in the process where the various questions can be discussed.

THE END:
A real ending cannot be described since the stress policy is a sequential process. However in time you have reached a point where the discussions you have had and the following decisions can be written down and be communicated to all employees. After that it is up to the individual to keep a watch on himself, on colleagues and management to see how they are doing and whether or not the stress policy is being followed.

The CPS method - structured and creative problem solving
On the floor by the meeting table there is a piece of paper saying "CPS". Maybe they shouldn't have it lying about. "CPS" stands for "Creative Problem Solving" and it is a structured and creative problem solving method. Among other things CPS can be used in the process of working with the creation of the stress policy and also in other contexts where you need to solve problems which have come to deadlocks or which simply need new ideas. CPS ensures that all participants are involved and can be a support to the final solution.

You can complete a CPS in less than half an hour in case the participants are used to the method. Often it may be an advantage to commit between a couple of hours to a whole day to the event. Under optimum conditions you should be between 4 to 25 people participating.

The CPS is executed by the use of very fixed ground rules. It is an advantage to have a process consultant or someone who is meeting leader. The meeting leader must keep track of the process and make sure the ground rules are being complied with. It is an advantage to sit in horseshoe formation or in circle. The participants' suggestions are written on a blackboard. The participants must be informed of the ground rules before the session begins. The ground rules can be set as follows:
- Everyone is asked by turns.
- One suggestion/input only can be made by title words or a short sentence.
- Comments must be withheld
- Clarifying questions may be asked if necessary
- In case you have no input/suggestions you say pass
- In case you have said pass you are still part of the next round
- Everyone is being asked untill everybody says pass.

Typically a CPS will go through four stages:
- Making the problematics and the data become relevant through questions: Which factors are causing us stress? What are we able to change and what is permanent?
- Presentation of the problems/areas of action with following rating and selection
- Presentation of the proposed solutions with following rating and selection
- Action plan with a timetable and assignment of responsibilities concerning each task. Be as concrete as possible. Also put in names and deadlines for each area of responsibility.

The 5 buzz words

Another tool which can be a source of inspiration when working towards developing a healthy mental working environment or developing a stress policy can be found on the meeting table by the mouse and the bull. It is the 5 buzz words. The 5 buzz words can be used to create an occupational health and safety policy statement for the company to follow. The method helps clarifying the various factors. Who does what? Why are we doing it? We must do it! Prioritizing tasks. Solving tasks. Rating the performance level. And finally the method must raise the visibility of the working environment.

De 5 words is a method working with terms. There are some ground terms which cannot be changed. There are other terms which can be changed by management actions. Also some terms can be changed by the combined actions made by the group. And finally some terms can be changed by the individual actions.

Following I will run through the 5 buzz words with some examples of relevant questions for each category. They should be worked through in the specified order.

Framework:
- Which tasks exist?
- Which powers exist?
- What are the economical frames?
- Which other relationships are relevant?

Direction:
- Which work goals are we facing?
- What is the common vision?
- Which results are expected - to whom and why?

Roles:
- With the framework and the direction clearly set up - what does the current role set-up look like?
- In proportion to competences?
- Do we need other, new or more roles?
- Do we need to need to redistribute or co-operate in new ways?
- Is each individual aware of his/her role and its contents?

Rules:
- Which ground rules do we want for the co-operation? - internally as well as regarding external cooperation partners!
- What do the information highways look like?
- How do we call for the best cooperation possible concerning working operations?
- Do we need deadlines regarding working procedures or something else to ease the cooperation?
- What does the optimized division of work and the working operation look like and how do we implement it on the basis of framework and direction?

Relations:
- How do we optimize the job satisfaction through the mutal relations we have at work?
- What kind of communication do we wish to have - professionally, socially, privately, and with whom, where and when? (employee - employee, employee – manager, employee – external cooperating partner, manager – external cooperating partner etc.)
- What kind of mutual support do you want at the workplace?
- How can you bring it to reality?

It can be an advantage to have someone from the outside to control the process (same goes for other methods). It is a process which takes a lot of work. However it brings clarity which again brings a healthier mental environment. In other words it is definately worth the effort.

Kaizen

The ants at the letterpress printer is in full swing working on some books entitled ”Kaizen”. Perhaps they should offer it to their manager. That may boost the company - especially managerial where it looks like it could need some boosting. Kaizen is a japanese management method, focusing on the small improvements and plenty involvement of the employees. By using Kaizen as a management tool it will make it easier for you to have a constructive conversation about the development of the healthy mental environment, which you need to reduce and prevent stress.

Roughly Kaizen consists of 5 key elements - following which I will run over in short.

1. Customer focus
May not have that much impact on stress - not directly that is. indirectly a positive relationship to the customers may mean something to company economy. The economy may rub off on the job satisfaction. Besides a good relationship to the customers may contribute to the feeling of meaning among the employees. Meaning is one of the "6 grains of gold" - so it may also have a positive effect.

2. Spreading of the superior objectives and policies
Focusing on this point will result in the employees' workdays becoming more visible and predictable. This will cause more security and thereby greater job satisfaction. To be able to engage in our work we feel good when we have an overview of where we are heading and how we are going to get there.

3. Process orientation of the company activities
The Kaizen method believes that improvements must involve all across the company. Thereby a strong sense of solidarity is provided. The employees and the managers have good capabilities for entering a dialogue about the development. By being proces-oriented the opportunity for all to have influence arises. This results in more commitment and a healthier mental working environment. This way the company resources are also being more effectively used.

4. Systematic and continuous improvements of the company processes
By identifying key processes and by measuring performance the company can make sequential small improvements commenced by both employees and managers. This is another example of how employee participation can bring advantage to the individual as well as to the company.

5. Total commitment from all
In case your company wishes to create motivation by creating positive commitment instead of cracking the whip then it is already heading towards becoming a company in which employees and managers thrive.

Kaizen is a way of considering your company and being a manager. The Kaizen way of thinking may well be combined with one or more of the presented methods.

The described lines of procedures are examples of methods to use towards organization development. There are lots of other ways to handle the development at your work place. In case you are interested in getting ideas and guidance regarding reducing and prevention of stress through the use of organization development - please feel free to contact Grafisk BAR with questions.

This is what we chose to communicate in this Stress Handbook. Now it is up to you and your work place how to use the ideas. Enjoy yourselves!

And remember: Take good care of yourself and others!