 |
|
|
|
Covid-19, sickness levels, and economic crisis are all acting together to make UK's workplaces amongst the most stressful in Europe. It has been known for along time that stress at work is a serious problem which can lead to ill health, bad mental health, and even in worst cases - suicide.
Now the CWU has issued a substantial document on the subject which also includes advice and sources of information on how to tackle workplace stress and organisations and reference points of information; that can be a source of help. Dave Joyce's letter (LTB165/22) entitled 'Stress Awareness Month – April 2022' can be downloaded in full from this website's E-Library using search word 'LTB165' and also by choosing category 'CWU LTBs'. In his letter Dave writes by way of an introduction: Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 to increase public awareness about both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic. Statistics from 2019 show that 74% of adults in the UK have felt so stressed that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope (Mental Health Foundation). The last two years have been especially difficult, particularly for our members working through that period whilst dealing with realities of the Covid-19 pandemic, so it’s even more important that we’re looking after ourselves and one another.
The month of April is an opportunity to help break the stigma around stress: talk about stress and its effects with your other CWU members and work colleagues, and show care, support and compassion to those who are feeling anxious, down or distressed. Also and importantly, look after yourself – the last two years have been an extremely difficult time for us all, so take time out of your day to relax and ensure you have space to breathe. The LTB is lengthy and full of information. One of it's key point is this: We in the CWU need to focus on this key issue of supporting our Reps, members, each other, families, friends, colleagues and ourselves. The remainder of LTB165/22 provides further details of organisations such as:- Stress Management Society, Mates in Mind, UK National Work Stress Network, The Samaritans, and of course the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) The following websites contain information about work related stress: https://workright.campaign.gov.uk/workingminds https://iiy.nwas.nhs.uk/national-stress-awareness-month http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/step1/index.htm https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk Plus, there are two videos available to view from the HSE's Peter Kelly, UK HSE Senior Psychologist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW8_QDkmC8E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWLknHJq3bA The LTB which includes links to a number of attachments, which can also be downloaded in PDF format from the Unionsafety E-Library by using search word 'LTB165/22'. The links to these attachments listed below, are also available direct from the E-Library or via the links below: mates-in-mind-managing-and-reducing-workplace-stress-handbook Stress-Are-We-Coping-MH-Foundation-Report Samaritans – Talking Got Me Through Leaflet DEAL_managing-stress_1 PowerPoint There are also a whole plethora of documents on both mental health and stress within the Unionsafety E-Library which can be accessed by using the search category of 'Mental Health' and 'Stress'. Source: CWU / Samaritans / Mates In Mind / MHF / UK Work Stress
|
 |
Stress is one of the greatest public health challenges, but it still isn’t taken seriously compared to physical illness. Stress is a significant factor in mental health problems like anxiety and depression, and is also linked to physical problems such as heart disease, insomnia, digestive issues, and problems with our immune system.