As the rate of change and complexity grows, mental health at work is in decline. We need to build stress resilience into our working practices. This is the introductory article to our series on stress resilience and mental health at work.
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Accelerating the causes of stress
In the West, workplace stress and problems with mental health at work now accounts for over half of all lost time.
Amounting to 12.8 million days annually in the UK alone. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Before people’s mental health drops to a level where they are too ill to work, stress manifests itself in massive inefficiency: An environment of conflict, poor decisions, waste, lack of motivation, and delays. And that is in addition to the massive human cost for those affected.
Furthermore, every time someone goes sick, the effect is to increase workloads, stress, and these negative effects on the people around them. Mental health issues create further mental health issues.
Stress is killing your people and your productivity – but it doesn’t have to
Not only is the general trend getting worse, but the causes of stress and poor mental health at work are also increasing. Faster change, greater competition, more complexity, longer exposure, increased uncertainty.
Technology and globalisation are powering ever accelerating disruption, and there is nothing we can do to avoid it.
Technology and globalisation are powering ever accelerating disruption, and there is nothing we can do to avoid it.
Building stress resilience
We cannot avoid change. But we can do something about the stress resilience of our people and organisations to engage positively with it.
And to do that we have to do something about our own engagement with change.
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Current data on stress
So what are the causes of stress for your organisation?
The HSE report into work related stress, anxiety and depression identifies the main precipitating events as follows:
- 42% are down to factors intrinsic to the job and its expectations
- 26% are due to interpersonal relationship issues
- 17% are caused by change and expectations of personal development
These figures are not dissimilar to mental-health figures reported in the US by the American Institute of Stress (46% workload, 28% people Issues).
Stress strikes at the core of who we are
Unsurprisingly, these events are connected with fundamental human needs for security, affection and control. Three things that are echoed in Maslow’s hierachy of needs.
This explains why they are so devastating for people.
It also ties in with what we need to be successful as we cope with the demands and opportunities of our work. The things we need to rebuild our mental health:
- The opportunity to deliver something of value,
- A support network of people to do the bits we cannot,
- And the learning and insight to do our own bit well.
Seven strategies to build mental wellbeing and stress resilience
Over the next few weeks, we will take a look at a number of strategies that organisations can adopt to take greater control of these things:
Structural influences on mental health at work
- Provide clarity of purpose and context. Use structured frameworks to enable people to see what is required, and how it fits in with everything else. These help to resolve complexity to a manageable level. Related Article: Structure complexity – use Design Thinking to improve mental health at work
- Establish practices to identify and utilise creative solutions. These help resolve the tensions and stress that arise as a result of increasing levels of change and competition. Related Article: Encourage creative solutions to stress – creativity and mental health
- Ensure your meetings equip people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and support they need to tackle the challenges they are facing. Use this to help people feel more calm and confident in their role. Related Article: Better meeting design to empower mental health and reduce meeting stress
Leadership influences on mental health at work
- Adopt facilitative practices that ensure more supportive and fulfilling dialogue between people. Help foster supportive relationships which make success more likely. And reduce the stress of conflict and criticism. Related Article: Wellbeing leadership – facilitate healthy supportive working environments
- Use Practice Zone thinking to develop skills and insights in people ahead of when they are needed. In this way, help build competence and confidence ahead of taking on new roles and challenges. Related Article: Use practice zone thinking to reduce stress and performance anxiety at work
- Build a culture which has a positive attitude to risk and failure. Enable people to learn from, rather than conceal, issues. Through this, build a healthy open approach to feedback that helps people grow. Related Article: Using feedback & growth mindset to sustain mental health at work
- Help people to adopt approaches that better engage more of their ‘spirit’ in engaging with the challenges they face. Help them build their stress resilience to avoid anxiety and depression and better develop their mental health. Related Article: Inspiration and spirituality as a means to better stress resilience at work
Each of these things not only reduces the negative consequences of stress that people experience. Each of them also make the organisation more effective, and dramatically reduce waste and inefficiency of time, effort, ideas and resources. Use Linkedin to follow our thoughts as they develop.
Acknowledgements: The four quadrants which evolved as this platform for understanding stress at work was inspired by the structure of a powerful self-reflective workshop created by Dr Sue Howard
Author: Mike Clargo | Culturistics
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Relevant Links:
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Patterns of collaborative excellence – Rediscovering the lost wisdom of design.
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Culture eats strategy for breakfast – but what sort of strategy are you feeding it?
Facilitating mental wellbeing – The power of adventure in keeping our minds fit & healthy.
Patterns of collaborative excellence – Rediscovering the lost wisdom of design.
Prescient emotional knowledge management – do you have what it takes?