December 2017

Stressed Out?

For as long as there is life, there will be stress. Stress cannot be avoided altogether. Stress is not always harmful though. People generally endure short-term stress rather well, whereas prolonged stress can lead to a complete burnout.

A stressed out body produces hydrocortisone, which is needed to give us enough energy to survive a challenging situation. Nevertheless, if the situation continues for a long period of time, different symptoms of stress start to emerge.

Long-term stress strains the body in many ways. Common symptoms of stress include stomach problems, headache, rashes, back pain, recurring colds, anxiety, irritability, depression, problems with sleep or memory, and weakened decision-making abilities.

Our culture often glorifies people who make it all alone, without the help of others. “He left with his boots on” is a common salute to someone who – although died suddenly and perhaps before their time – was a heck of a worker!

Still, accepting the fact that we need each other might be better for our wellbeing. Most studies on happiness agree on at least one thing: co-operation with others makes us feel better.

Stress can be prevented and treated for example by learning to manage time. Work or studies should not take up all our waking hours. There should be enough time for relaxing, resting, and spending time with friends and family. Most adults sleep far too little, and stress can make falling asleep even harder.

Excessive consumption of coffee or alcohol can put a strain on the body, while there is no doubt about the benefits of exercise in stress control. It’s always a good idea to spend time outdoors. Fifteen minutes spent in the open lowers your blood pressure and makes you calmer. The affect on blood pressure can be reached merely by sitting at a park bench or in a forest, while exercising in the open helps improve your immunity – which stress tends to weaken.

One of the most important changes to make when aiming at better stress control is surprisingly simple: let yourself believe you are in control of your feelings. The way you experience stress and how you learn to live with it has an effect on how well you cope with it. Do you see more threats than opportunities around you? To control your stress, learn to focus on the opportunities instead.

We can all learn to clear our minds and slow down when things start spinning out of control. Different mindfulness-exercises help to relax and calm down, and to focus on the moment. It’s very important to learn lower your demands on yourself as well. You should not spread your energy too thin.

Sometimes stress can make us dream of work that is easy and doesn’t require thinking but in fact, a job that is too unvaried and boring can also cause stress. Stress can also be caused by “work underload”.

Positive stress helps us achieve things, but it is important to consider ways to prevent work overload at work places. Ways to manage time and taking care of yourself during hectic times can be discussed in the working community. Teams should consist of people with different strengths, so they can compensate each other and help each other get through busy times.

Your employees’ well-being is like money in the bank

We’ve all heard that investments in well-being prevent bigger problems. Still, taking care of well-being at work is often considered done by giving our employees free access to the gym or occasionally performing other tricks unrelated to every day life at work. Holistic well-being is much more than that.

The aim to increase well-being should be visible in the company strategy as clear statements; as investments to supporting managers and their leadership skills; as monitoring and measuring the employees well-being; and in supporting the whole workforce to take care of themselves and their own well-being.

Well-being is not something that happens automatically: it needs to be put into practice and developed systematically. Companies can for example provide their employees with height adjustable desks so they can work standing up; it is known that reducing sitting as little as 20 minutes per day has a positive effect on your muscles. Too much standing is not good for you either; the important thing is to vary your position during the day.

The Finnish society loses at least 25 billion euros per year because of insufficient well-being at the work place. That’s a lot of money. Many studies show that investing in well-being decreases healthcare costs and increases productivity at the work place.

In Finland, approximately 20 000 people are pensioned prematurely every year. From the year 2000 to the present, the working life in Finland has lost at least 14 billion euros due to invalidity pensions.

That is not a small sum either, especially since some of these human and economic losses could have been prevented. We tend to think savings are made by cutting costs, but a modern leader knows that the companies that make good investments make the best profit as well.

Finland is the world’s leading country in sick leaves caused by pain, but only a fraction of sick leaves and invalidity pensions is caused by physical symptoms. Many of us carry too much of a mental load at work.

Psychosocial burden at work is often caused by problems in leadership, scarce interaction, bad atmosphere at the workplace, or bullying. There are many ways to promote well-being at the workplace.

Are all employees aware of the common goals? Does everyone know their own role in reaching them? Does the workplace enable healthy eating? Can some of the meetings be arranged outdoors as walking meetings? How does the company take into account the differences between workers? Is everyone’s ideas about their own work listened to?

There’s never only one way to do things right, but one of the most important things that further well-being at work is the management’s commitment. It’s important that well-being is considered throughout the organization, and that the whole personnel is invited to join the effort of improving it – together. Whether the company provides healthcare in-house or at a private healthcare station is, in the end, not of big relevance to the workers. Well-being is something built in every day life.