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Stress Awareness Week – Addressing the Pandemic Influence

03 November 2021
 

DeltaNet International, a global eLearning provider of compliance, health and safety and performance training solutions, has revealed that there has been a significant jump in users taking courses in managing stress since the start of the pandemic. 

Following almost two years of a global pandemic, DeltaNet has analysed its learners to understand how organisations have prioritised stress management in the workplace. 

After the start of the pandemic, a survey of 1,000 UK office workers, conducted by UK-based online printer instantprint, highlighted current job satisfaction levels of those employed within the UK, as well as examining what employers could do in a bid to retain their restless workforce. Notably, almost half were considering other roles, indicating the necessity for FMs to maintain genuine and regular channels of support in order to improve employee retention, especially after the last year of adaptation. Recent reports by Randstad UK highlighted that 69 per cent of employees feel confident about moving to a new role in the next few months, with staff burnout being one of the predominant factors. According to DeltaNet’s analysis, it found a 33.4 per cent increase in its "Managing Your Personal Stress" training course in 2021 compared to 2020 and a 40.4 per cent increase in its "Managing Stress in Your Team" training course in 2021 compared to 2020.  

 

Going Further to Support

 

"Business leaders must make it their priority to support their staff through these issues."

 

– Darren Hockley
Managing Director at DeltaNet International

 

“It’s great to see that organisations are increasingly supporting their employees with stress management training – however, support does not just stop there. Understanding and knowing how to spot the signs of stress is just the first step. Providing additional support with one-to-one discussions, encouraging staff to take a walk every day and teaching employees to take up mindfulness activities such as Yoga is important,” highlights Darren Hockley, Managing Director at DeltaNet International. 

“Unhealthy stress leads to employee burnout, which is bad news. Organisations need to understand the reasons why employees feel stressed. Is it due to the workload? Is it due to the team being understaffed? Is it due to time management or deadline issues? Or is it simply due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic and personal worries? 

“Business leaders must make it their priority to support their staff through these issues. Employees who don’t receive any support will soon feel that their organisation and line managers don’t care enough about them. Remember to treat employees as people – they are not just another number. Everyone has feelings, and the minute staff feel they are being overlooked or unsupported, especially with stress and mental health, is the quicker they will look for that support elsewhere.” 

 

Setting a Positive Example



In an opinion piece last year, Psychotherapist and Change Facilitator Noam Sagi defined the employee wellbeing priorities every facilities manager should know about. Sagi recognises the ripple effect of the pandemic on mental health and acknowledges that facilities managers are an integral part of employee wellbeing and positive mental health facilitation.

Stephen Peal of PPS power recently become a role model manager by taking up the responsibility for Mental Health First Aid in his company, with plans to roll out training to employees. "Mental health first aid in the workplace should be looked at as first aid in the workplace," he said in the interview featured below. "There are very few, if no, businesses that don’t have a first aider. A first aider’s job is to ensure that everyone is safe until professional help arrives." 

Take a look at Employment Engagement service providers in our Spotted Cow Media Business Directory to explore other ways to facilitate a happier, more productive team.


 

Picture: a person looking up at a building.

Article written by Bailey Sparkes | Published 03 November 2021

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