Advice for Employers to Recognise Stress and Support Colleagues
This Stress Awareness Month (April), GroceryAid is raising awareness of the support available to employers who want to support colleagues who may be experiencing stress in the workplace. This blog from our partners Rightsteps, provides employers with information on how to spot the signs and provide the right support.
Some people believe that a certain level of stress is acceptable or even beneficial. When that pressure becomes excessive, it can become a problem that harms both an employee’s health and their ability to perform their job.
Here are three steps to providing support:
- Recognise the symptoms of stress
Managing the causes and being able to spot the signs of poor mental health are important parts of managing work-related stress.
The following are common emotional or mental symptoms of work-related stress:
- Having difficulty concentrating
- Not feeling motivated or committed to the job, and finding it difficult to make decisions
- Feeling down, anxious, more emotional
- Becoming more irritable or having a short temper
- Experiencing mood swings
By being on the lookout for potential causes or signs of work-related stress, you can better position yourself to support stressed employees or colleagues. GroceryAid Helpline partners, Care first offers free resources for managers to use as additional support, helping them to work through workplace relates issues such as time management, critical incidents, or management consultancy. Find out more here.
- Start the Conversation
If you think one of your employees is experiencing stress, try talking to them. Ask them how they’re feeling in an honest way and show that you care about them. When a co-worker opens to you, listen without judging them and don’t give them advice unless they ask for it. You don’t have to know everything but showing that you care is a good place to start.
- Create the right Culture
To reduce workplace stress, create and maintain a supportive workplace culture where employees can openly discuss stress and mental health issues. Start by asking your co-workers how they’re doing regularly. Showing you care is a fantastic way to build a supportive workplace culture.
You and your colleagues can also access Rightsteps self-help sessions via GroceryAid’s online health and wellbeing platform here. This online self-serve mental health and wellbeing platform provides colleagues with 24/7 on demand access to evidence-based support. This enables individuals to proactively address issues that could be affecting their work, including stress, anxiety and low mood.
How can GroceryAid help you?
If you work in the grocery industry, you can call our free, confidential Helpline on 08088 021 122 anytime of the day or night and speak to a BACP accredited counsellor who will provide you with in the moment emotional support. Plus, you may be referred to Citizen Advice Bureau trained information specialists who are available 8am – 8pm Monday-Friday to provide advice on any practical issues that may be causing you stress or worry. For more information about what happens when you call the GroceryAid Helpline, read this blog