Notes of Guidance for Employees

Occupational Stress Policy

Section 1: Foreword

Section 2: What is Stress?

Section 3: What are the Signs?
Section 4: Some Sources of Stress
Section 5: Ways of Dealing with Stress
Section 6: Sources of Help at Loughborough University
Section 7:Appendix:  Stress – the ‘Fight or Flight’ Response and How to Change It

Loughborough University wants to ensure that all employees understand about stress, and work-related stress in particular, and how to prevent and control it.  This booklet aims to give this understanding and also to give information on all the resources and support available to employees.

Stress is a complex issue, often involving work, home and external pressures and also individual approaches.  Where work factors are involved, always discuss the issues with your line manger first and see what can be done to help in your department.  Your manager or Head of Department or Section will know about the Occupational Stress Policy and has responsibility for implementing this. 

Whatever your concerns we hope that you find this guidance helpful.

The Occupational Stress Working Party (January 2002)

The definition we have used - “stress is the reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed upon them” - is taken from a booklet produced by the Health and Safety Executive: “Stress at Work:  A Guide for Employers”.

It can be helpful to recognise the signs of stress in ourselves, our family and our friends and colleagues.  Remember that these signs can arise for other reasons too, so consult your GP if problems persist.

Signs of stress affecting us physically:

• headaches and migraines
• panic attacks
• backache – muscle tension
• breathlessness, dizziness
• lowered resistance to infection – frequent coughs and colds
• high blood pressure
• feeling tired all the time, sleep problems (sleeping too much or not enough)
•   digestive problems, stomach upsets
  

Signs of stress affecting us emotionally:

• feeling anxious, tense, worried
• irritable, moody, angry
• confused, forgetful
• mind constantly buzzing, never calm, hyperactive, over-excited
• depressed, low, withdrawn, unmotivated, apathetic

Signs of stress showing in our behaviour:

• making more mistakes
• getting anxious about being anxious
• lowered interest in sex
• getting into conflict, snapping at others
• bursting into tears
• eating/drinking/smoking more than usual
• less able to multi-task, cope with interruptions

The following areas are ones which can build up to a stress situation.  Remember that lots of small problems can often add up to have the same effect as a big problem.  Our capacity for coping will also vary from time to time, so there may be times in our life when we have a higher or lower stress threshold.

Home 

• workload or pressure of demand from other family members
• responsibilities e.g. care of children
• changes e.g. child leaving home, care of older family member
• illness
• bereavement
• marital problems
• loneliness

Lifestyle

• too much caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, sugar
• too little exercise
• not enough fun, play, relaxation

Life Events

Major life events can be stressors even if they are pleasant.  Some examples of major stressors include:

• getting married/divorced
• moving house
• birth
• retirement
• holidays
• religious holidays and festivals           

Work

• the workload or pressure of demand
• deadlines and schedules
• management communication style/feeling respected
• unresolved conflicts
• changes imposed without consultation/preparation
• work environment: contact, noise, light, heat etc.
• travel problems
• boredom or lack of stimulation – this can be as stressful as overload

Remembering that the stress response is the body’s way of reacting to perceived threat or danger, there are four main ways that we can manage our stress:

5.1        Change the environment to prevent/remove the stress

Useful strategies include:

 

• Discussion with your line manager
• Prioritising
• Time management *
• Saying "No" or "Not Yet" to people
• Asking for help
• Ensuring you take your breaks, lunchtimes, holidays
• Learning assertiveness skills *

*   contact Professional Development for details of courses

5.2      Reduce the fear/tension by talking it through with someone –

For example, manager, colleague, friend, counsellor

• Maybe the worries are not life-threatening
• If they are life-threatening or perceived as life-threatening, generate ways of getting help
• Talking it out helps stop circular thinking
• Release the feelings: laugh and cry
• Explore another perspective
• Set some goals (for next week, next month, next year)

 

5.3    Change the Stress Response in your Body through Relaxation and Exercise

• Breathing exercises e.g. in to the count of 4, out to the count of 8
• Relaxation tapes, CD's
• Meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi
• Exercise – walk, dance, sports, run, swim etc.
• Sleep
• Complementary therapies e.g. Bach Flower Remedies, Reflexology, Massage
• Aromatherapy e.g. Lavender Oil

 

5.4    Build up your Resistance through Nourishing Yourself

• Take personal time to relax
• Eat well
• Have a good work/life balance with time for interests, hobbies, sports
• Have creative space
• Stroke a pet
• Listen to music
• Go for walks, get fresh air
• List your personal ways to unwind
• Give yourself positive messages: “I know I can cope”.  “I’ve dealt successfully with difficult situations before”.
• Work on feeling happy with who you are.  It is your expectations that matter, not those of others
• Remind yourself that you do not have to be perfect, you can be `good enough’
• If you notice that you are always criticising yourself, practice giving yourself praise and recognition.

 

The lists above have all been generated by university staff on stress management workshops.  You might like to add strategies that are important to you and you might like to try out some new ones.  It is always tough trying things out when you are in the middle of feeling stressed.  If this is the case, then do talk with someone – your manager, a friend, your GP, a counsellor – and this may help.

 

Bear in mind that all of us are likely to feel stresses at some point in our lives and may need some help.

Always discuss with your line manager first and see what can be done to help in your department.  If your manager is not aware that you have concerns, he or she is unable to take any action to tackle the issues.  The University is committed to managing Occupational Stress, and so you should not be afraid to raise valid concerns.

 

You can also contact any of these direct:

Personnel Department

For advice to all staff including managers, heads of department and section and also referrals to Occupational Health, please contact your usual Personnel Advisor, as follows:

Mary Thomas, General Policy Issues and Specialist Advice.  Also HR Adviser for Faculty of Engineering, tel: 01509 222166, e.mail:  M.E.Thomas@lboro.ac.uk.

Joanne Arno, HR Adviser for Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, tel:  01509 223608, e.mail:  J.M.Arno@lboro.ac.uk.

Anne Lamb, HR Adviser for Faculty of Science, and Estates, tel:  01509 222168, e.mail: A.E.P.Lamb@lboro.ac.uk

Ruth McHugh, HR Adviser for Division of Information Services and Systems and for Support Services,  tel:  01509 228022, e.mail:  R.McHugh@lboro.ac.uk

imago, Ellie Casey in Human Resources, tel: 01509 222072, email: E.J.Casey@lboro.ac.uk

 

The Counselling Service

This service is completely confidential, available to all staff and free.  Tel. Ext. 2148 or e-mail ucs@lboro.ac.uk The University Counselling Service web pages also contains more information on Anxiety.

 

Staff Development Unit

For information and advice on training on stress management, meditation etc. Tel:  Ext. 2381 or e-mail pd@lboro.ac.uk

Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy centre office in Brockington Building (room B003) for help and referrals for all denominations, Tel:  01509 223741 extension 3741. Or email chaplaincy@lboro.ac.uk

Your Trade Union Representatives

 

• UCU – contact Rob Kirkwood, tel. 222311, e.mail:  R.S.M.Kirkwood@lboro.ac.uk
• UNITE  – contact Dave Roche, tel. 227301, ext. 7301, e.mail:  D.J.Roche@lboro.ac.uk
• UNISON – contact Dave Jordan, tel. 228298, e.mail:  D.Jordan@lboro.ac.uk

Further copies of these Notes for Guidance for Employees may be obtained from Human Resources, tel: 01509 222169 or email  hr@lboro.ac.uk.  Alternatively, contact the HR Adviser for your area of the University (see above).

It is useful to know what is happening in our bodies when we feel stressed.  This can help us get more of a handle on it to help change things.

When we see danger or a threat (and this can be real or imaginary), our body automatically goes into a state of high alert.  This is called the “fight or flight response”.  It has ensured the survival of the human race. 

The conscious, intellectual part of our brain perceives the threat and sends a signal to the automatic part of our brain which causes the release of various stress hormones such as adrenalin into the blood.  These enable lots of changes to happen quickly to give us a massive surge of energy to save us from the danger.  We put up a fight or run for our lives.  We can do amazing physical things such as lifting up a car to reach an injured child or leaping a high fence to escape from a wild animal.  We burn off the energy in doing these things and our body returns to normal.

Short-term stress is not harmful.  Unfortunately, modern life means that the pressures are often longer term and our body is constantly in a high alert state.  Even more unfortunately, modern day problems tend to be hampered rather than helped by the fight or flight response.

The effects on our bodies:

• heartbeat increases to pump the blood faster round our bodies
• the circulation is more directed to the big muscles and less goes to our extremities (we literally get cold feet when scared)
• we breathe quickly and shallowly, taking in more oxygen
• our liver secretes stored sugar into the blood
• the pupils dilate to let in more light
• all the senses are heightened
• muscles tense for movement
• blood flow to the digestive organs is restricted
• there is an urge to empty bladder, bowel, stomach (less weight to carry if running for your life)
• the body perspires more to cool you down as all the above heats the body up
• we feel tight, tense, anxious
• it can be harder to think clearly

All these effects are invaluable if we need the physical strength to run away from a wild animal.  They do not help us in problem-solving situations.

How to change it:

The good news is that if we are aware of all this, then we can use our conscious, aware brain to help change things.  The part of our body that we have easy voluntary control over is our breathing.  If we breathe slowly and deeply with the emphasis on the out breath, then we decrease the amount of oxygen in the blood and increase the amount of carbon dioxide.  This gives a signal to the rest of the body that the high-alert situation is over and so things return to normal.

This is why breathing exercises are the basis of relaxation skills, pain control, meditation, child-birth, post-surgery healing etc.

When we are relaxed, the blood flows freely round the whole body, including the brain and we can think clearly, creatively and problem-solve.

An easy exercise is to breathe in to the count of four and then out to the count of eight.  Do this regularly throughout the day if you feel stressed.

The Professional Development programme at Loughborough University includes meditation sessions and stress management sessions.  A tape or CD of relaxation exercises is available at a subsidised cost from the Counselling Service.  There are also many different tapes available commercially, a CD called "Under Pressure : Successfully Coping with stress - Practical Solutions for Individuals" is available on loan from Mary Thomas in Human Resources or from Professional Development, and you may prefer to experiment until you find one that works for you.

Other ways of reducing stress are described in Section 5 above.

See the University Counselling Service web pages for more information on Anxiety.

Author: Human Resources (MET)