April marks the annual national stress awareness campaign. Now I know what you regular Fans of Plans blog readers are thinking… ‘awareness’ and ‘campaign’ are all very well and good – but how does this translate into ‘action’. 

Many people are probably aware that they have been feeling additional stress lately, it’s not surprising with what we’ve each been through in the last year. Businesses too are aware that their teams might be feeling this way too. So what good can a month of awareness do when this is a reality for some people all year round? 

Working in communications, I am always conscious of the amount of information that organisations are expecting their teams to be briefed on or know about including:

• inductions for new starters
• day to day job role tasks
• mandatory training
• annual, half yearly or quarterly objectives
• additional ad-hoc tasks that crop up

When you have to deliver all of the above - where on earth do you fit in the wellbeing ‘campaigns’? Just thinking about all of the above may feel stressful!

Wellbeing in your organisation should not be merely a campaign, it is something that needs to be weaved in and included through all the above bullet pointed areas. 

Here are a few examples:

Inductions for new starters

From the very beginning of an employee’s journey with your organisation, they should be made aware of the importance you place on their wellbeing. At this early stage, even before they walk through the door on their first day, let them know there are all sorts of support available to them, should they need it. Factor this into their induction through communication channels including their line manager or a welcome email/letter. 

Day to day job roles

Whenever you are letting your teams know what is expected of them that day or week, ask them the question – is this going to be possible? Sometimes we may not realise we are giving our teams unrealistic targets that may cause stress. Give your employees the opportunity to let you know if they may need extra support to get things done. This shouldn’t be seen as a negative and employees should be made to feel empowered to speak up. 

Mandatory training

In nearly every organisation, we have mandatory training that we must do at certain intervals, be that an annual manual handling course, or display screen equipment (DSE) assessment. These are key points where the question of stress can also be asked and recorded – but not just that, there needs to be actions too on how the organisation can help to alleviate any unhelpful stresses to the employee. Make sure that there 

Annual/half yearly/quarterly objectives

In your employees’ objectives, it would be a good idea to factor in an objective around health and wellbeing. This can include managing stress. Remember to make objectives SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely). The key word here in the objectives is realistic – if objectives aren’t realistic, then employees can feel stressed about them from the get go. Also, if organisations circumstances change – re-evaluate these with your team. 

Additional ad hoc tasks that pop up 

This can be a common occurrence and if you are a manager, take time to think about which of your team might be best to undertake this unforeseen task to avoid placing too much additional stress on what might be an already stretched department. Think about what is achievable and who is best placed to complete it. That extra bit of forethought can go a long way in making sure your team’s stress levels don’t get out of control. 

As you can see, there are many areas where we can be thinking about to make sure that stress is kept to a minimum across and organisation. By keeping this a constant throughout your normal business plans, means that you can use these national awareness campaigns, such as stress awareness month as an additional reiteration and signposting to services that your organisation already offers employees.