“You can’t spend your life in the stretch zone”

Yesterday, Honeydew Health attended a Stress Management Training course run by our partners Corporate Health.

The aim of the course was to make managers aware of stress within their team and how to manage your employees whilst under stress, which is obviously very pertinent these days.

The first thing we were told was that pressure is very different to stress. Pressure, given our very predatory nature, is good for us: it pushes us to achieve more than ‘normal’ and although we are out of our comfort zone we can cope with this. Stress, is the very opposite. Stress is the rapid decline from our optimum productivity zone where we become anxious, reacting both physically and emotionally in a negative way.

The aim is to get your employees to reach their optimum pressure level, without allowing them to tip off the edge. This great middle ground is called the ‘Stretch Zone’, and as the title suggests, you can’t spend your life there. You will tire and eventually burn out, slipping down to stress.

The tutor, Jane Drapkin, went on to ask us how we would cope with certain situations such as traffic or giving a presentation to 1000 people. Jane then asked us some key questions that everybody should ask themselves when stress hits;

‘Is this thinking accurate?’ Will I REALLY be fired for being 10 minutes late to this meeting?

‘Is this thinking rational?’ Would you expect a colleague to be this pent up when 10 minutes late?

‘Is this thinking helpful?’ Will I be at my most productive and charming if I turn up to this meeting, 10 minutes late and this frustrated?

Once you answer these and realise that this really isn’t the end of the world, it becomes much clearer to you which coping mechanism you should use. Perhaps breathing exercises or re-framing the situation might help. Turn this 15 min traffic jam into time to listen to your favourite CD or time to plan your day ahead – anything more productive than stressing!

Lastly, understanding the 6 HSE (Health and Safety Executive) Management Standards is key. If the way you manage your employees negates any of these standards, then unfortunately, you are likely to be the source of stress amongst your employees.