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Your health Working with stress Health and social care workers frequently work in challenging and stressful situations. Sarah Underwood identifies problems and offers solutions In a hectic working world, stress, anxiety, confusion and depression can be frequent visitors, but they can be challenged and managed to deliver a better personal experience of work and a listening employer dedicated to sustaining a satisfying and efficient working environment. Nick Johnson, chief executive of the Social Care Association, a professional organisation for people who work in all aspects of social care, says: “Stress is not necessarily bad. Some stress can be healthy, increasing adrenalin and helping us achieve what we need to do. But when people are unsure of their job role, don’t know whether or not they are valued, face demands beyond reasonable expectations, are not well managed, or have a case load that is too large and too much documentation to complete, then stress creeps in.” Johnson believes good management and leadership are critical to stress management, as well as the strength and support that is derived from staff teams that function well. Communication is key (which raises questions about the health of increasing numbers of people working at home without structured support), and chats around the water cooler can be brief, unacknowledged counselling sessions. On a larger scale, with 35,000 registered employers of social care staff across the country, most of which are small to medium-sized businesses, there is a need to network. “Small companies don’t think of themselves as part of a network of 1.5 million workers. All they can manage is keeping afloat locally. To get more support, employees need to be connected outwards. We need a social care equivalent of Facebook, but probably a closed community, so that workers can share their views and problems,” says Johnson. Time, often in short supply, is also of the essence in stress management. Many social care employees work beyond contracted hours and have a greater commitment to service users than to their managers, but any management withdrawal of time and money leads to a feeling of failure, even if it is beyond the employee’s control. Johnson adds: “Time to reflect – as in the plan, do, evaluate and reflect cycle – has diminished or been lost altogether. Less time to reflect means less capacity to learn from mistakes and avoid stress. Many managers and workers feel they are on a hamster wheel and can’t stop running, but they need to get off and look at how they are doing things.” Johnson says there is little that keeps him awake at night, but acknowledges self-induced stress around deadlines and an abiding stress in the long-term leadership of an organisation that he wants to be credible and successful. 44
Working with stress Lance Clarke, chief executive of Surrey Association for Visual Impairment and former chairman of the National Association of Local Societies for Visually Impaired People, is equally comfortable with his stress catalysts, particularly taking on too much work, and tries to be realistic about what he can and cannot do, taking responsibility but not allowing it to become stressful. “We carry out a risk assessment and understand potential stress in the organisation. We make sure we deal professionally and properly with stress” He is keenly aware, however, of the stresses that can affect those working for the local society, which includes a team of 24 rehabilitation workers, 20 sessional workers working with deaf and blind people, and over 300 volunteers making home visits to blind and partially sighted people. Clarke explains: “On a formal basis, we have a stress policy. We carry out a risk assessment and understand potential stress in the organisation. We make sure we deal professionally and properly with stress. Managers and senior workers use the processes outlined in the policy, but it is also vital that supervisors do a good job of supervision, identifying stress, taking time to talk to people about their problems and helping them understand that their boss is concerned.” The local society, including Clarke, takes an open door approach to employee communication, offers the services of an external agency helpline to those who don’t feel comfortable talking to someone internal and also allows staff to appoint a representative they can talk to and who attends executive meetings to discuss and find solutions to staff issues. Similarly, if something is decided at an executive meeting that will affect staff, perhaps a reduction in working hours, the information will be relayed to staff within 12 hours using a Talkback email service that allows them to respond, perhaps saying they are worried about their jobs. Management must then reply to staff concerns. “Sometimes we have to make tough decision, but they are all transparent. Recently, I had to make someone redundant, which was horrible,” says Clarke. ➜ 45
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Reflections on sight loss - RNIB

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