Reflections on sight loss - RNIB

Working with stress
as we are all fallible human beings. On a
practical level, perhaps if you feel personally
to blame for making someone redundant, you
can draw a circle and divide it into your
responsibilities, those of your organisation and
those of the individual. This gives a clear
picture and shows that you were not solely
responsible and to blame for the redundancy.
With a focus on social care workers, Palmer
says: “Helping professionals often feel stress
as situations they are in are not easy. A useful
approach is to think of solutions, which will
lift your feelings, rather than of problems that
will take you down. Sometimes there are no
easy solutions. Then it may be time to stand
back, think about the situation and consider
how you would advice a friend in the same
situation.”
Like Johnson and Clarke, Palmer also notes
time issues. “People give up if they are
stressed. They need breaks, a lunch break
away from what they are doing, not a
sandwich in front of their PC. The break will
lower blood pressure, stress levels will go
down and when they return to their desks
they will work more efficiently. It can also be
beneficial to leave work stress at work when
you go home at the end of the day.”
While stress management mechanisms can
help many individuals, there will be those who
find stress is more difficult to alleviate. Palmer
points to the importance of preventive
measures including assessing organisations to
discover whether the work environment is
stressful and could be changed, and training
and coaching individuals to deal with stress.
If these approaches fail to derail stress, he
advises working with a registered therapist
who offers cognitive behavioural therapy or
solutions-focused therapy.
Top tips to tackle stress
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Be aware of your thinking process and
make frequent reality checks – your
thinking may not be right and your
thoughts may be contributing to stress
Focus on solutions not problems
If you fail in a task do not blame and
berate yourself – everyone has skills
deficits and we are all fallible human
beings
In a difficult situation stand back and
think how you would advise a friend in a
similar situation
Do not personalise stress – in many
situations you will not be alone in having
responsibility for a difficult task. Consider
who else is responsible and do not take on
all the blame
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Use colleagues as a buffer – talk to peers
and managers who share your issues
Tackle stressful tasks as they arise – do
not put them off
Do not mind read – always check out what
others are thinking
Ensure proper breaks during working
hours – do not eat lunch at your desk
Leave work stress at work – unless you
have a partner who can help you
Encourage both formal and informal stress
management in your organisation
Seek external help if stress cannot be
managed within the organisation.
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