What you, your manager and colleagues can do to reduce workplace stress
Stress related illness is currently the most common cause of sickness absence within the County Council – accounting for 20 percent of all days lost at work.
Positive steps can be taken by everyone to make healthy lifestyle choices, reduce stress and increase a sense of well-being.
In the workplace, it is also important for managers and employees to work together to identify actual and potential causes of stress, and take action to prevent and reduce it as much as possible.
Use the online stress audit
To support this, the Council provides an online stress audit assessment
system. This system helps teams identify stress 'hotspots' and to develop an
action plan to prevent, reduce and manage stress in the workplace.
HR advisers are available to help you devise
tailor made action plans. The assessment can be found on https://nottscc-safety.net/
or as an application in MyApps. The occupational health team at occhealth@nottscc.gov.uk
can provide a password.
Managers - try e-learning
An online stress management e-learning package is available for managers at: http://nottscc.skillport.com
Look after yourself
All employees have a personal responsibility to look after their own health and well being as far as possible and to make healthy lifestyle choices to support this, all of which help to reduce stress and build individual resilience and coping mechanisms.
Attend the mental wellbeing workshop and get a free flu jab
There will be a mental wellbeing awareness workshop on 12 December at 1pm at Sherwood Energy Village, New Ollerton. The event will be run with MIND. Come along and find out more about what to do when feeling stressed and get your free flu jab too!
Top tips on stress relief - from your colleagues!
Lots of Top Tips were sent in by NCC staff to Frontline magazine's Stress and Wellbeing competition. The winning tip was from youth worker Samantha Dakin who said:
My top tip is getting back to basics – going for a walk – appreciating nature – lots of fresh air, focussing on what is really important.
Some other good ones were:
- Take a lunch break with a good book so you can focus your mind on something else and also find something to laugh about
- Write down your tasks, then tick them off when done. That way you don’t have a head full of stress
- Think positive, there is always a solution - it can be done
- I love floating in the swimming pool with my ears under the water listening to the gurgle of water
- Zumba, it's fun, it's a giggle and a real stress buster, it's helped keep me sane these last few months!
- Get into Zumba to combat stress, it’s a workout that feels like a party, and helps lose inches too!
- Rate situation from 1-10 (10 = Life/Death) to see how much it matters
- Slowly roll both shoulders forward 10 times, backward 10 times, then raise them up towards your ears and release downwards
- Put music on, go for a nice long walk or take a dog out
- Reading cookery books. I can enjoy delicious food in my imagination without shopping, cooking or worrying about my health.
