It is with an ironic smile I write this tip. With a
tissue
in one hand and hot drink in the other, I have faced the
reality of believing that I am indestructible and that I can
escape the consequences of working hard, with little rest.
...sometimes it is easier to give the advice than to listen
to it...
When your petrol gage flashes 'empty' do you ignore it and
just keep on driving?
If you get headaches every week, do you take a painkiller
each time to try and ignore the pain?
When someone upsets you, do you bottle up your emotions and
hope the problem will magically disappear?
That old saying that 'ignorance is bliss' couldn't be more
wrong!
Ignoring the warning signs of your car, body or staff
stresses, will drain their effectiveness and makes them
prone to burnout.
To help your staff (and yourself) to become resilient to
pressure and expand working capacity it is essential to
address the warning signs early.
Have you had a few weeks where there is just so much work to
get through you end up working late nights, early mornings
and take few breaks? Even at night, your mind is still
thinking about work and before you know it, you are back on
the internet responding to emails at 11.30pm....and that's
when you notice your throat becoming a little sore, a
sniffle developing and your energy is feeling flat.
Your body will warn you before it gets ready to crash.
Your workforce is destructible if they don't look after
themselves and adhere to their warning signs.
When you, or your staff, ignore these signs (because we all
have a lot of work to get through), health and vitality
becomes drained - often causing us to become sick or feel
'sick of it'.
This is because our bodies are directly affected by the
thoughts, and stresses, in our heads. If your head feels
stressed, then your body will feel the drain.
"The connection between the brain(s) lies at the heart of
many woes, physical and psychiatric. Ailments like anxiety,
depression, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers and Parkinson's
disease manifest symptoms at the brain and the gut level.
"The majority of patients with anxiety and depression will
also have alterations of their GI function", said Dr. Emeran
Mayer, professor of medicine, physiology and psychiatry at
the University of California, Los Angeles.
A study in 1902 showed changes in the movement of food
through the gastrointestinal tract in cats confronted by
growling dogs.
One system's symptoms - and cures - may affect the other.
Antidepressants, for example, cause gastric distress in up
to a quarter of the people who take them. Butterflies in the
stomach are caused by a surge of stress hormones released by
the body in a "fight or flight" situation. Stress can also
overstimulate nerves in the oesophagus, causing a feeling of
choking." [1]
The key is not to let ongoing stress linger.
Listen to the signs when you, your staff, and your
relationships are stressed. Pay attention to the signs
instead of ignoring them by staying busy, using pain
killers, or bottling up your emotions.
When a child whinges it is often to get attention.
When the body whinges it is also to get your attention.
When the child is ignored, the whinge may turn into a
scream.
When the body's whinge is ignored, it can turn into a spasm,
strain or illness.
ACTION STEPS:
1. Identify the stress signs of your team.
Don't wait for staff to complain, stress out or get run down
- be proactive. Learn to recognise their signs of stress
and respond to them quickly. Some signs of stress can
include:
* Less patience with other team members or themselves
* Headaches every week
* Frequent shoulder and neck tension
* Easily fatigued and having energy 'low spots' several
times a day
* Stomach aches for no apparent reason
* Reduced ability to focus and remember details
2. Listen to staff needs
Invest the time to ask your staff how they are managing with
the pressure and provide options to help them, such as:
* Sit down and listen to their situation. Most people just
want to know that you care and have taken the time to hear
them out.
* Have the courage the ask them the real questions about
their stress - how it affects their work, personal lives, and
interactions with others.
* Brainstorm methods to enhance their resilience to these
pressures, like stretch breaks, flexi-time, in house training to
learn how to become resilient to these pressure
3. Realize your limits
Your body is built to be pushed - however it needs to
regenerate in order to sustain that high level of output.
* Encourage your staff (and yourself) to unwind after work
and resist the urge to take work home or keep mobile phones
on
* Have the confidence to speak out when your workload
exceeds your limits. Allow your team to speak up when they
feel overloaded and help them to ease their workload
* Don't be a hero. There is no reward for getting sick from
overwork. Put your needs high on your priority list and give
yourself time out and time off.
Michael Licenblat B.Sc.(Psych) is a Resilience Expert who
helps people in business bounce back fast from pressure,
stress and burnout in their work and life. He is a
professional speaker, coach and author of three books.
