The European Framework Directive on Health and Safety at work in 1993 specified that employers have a duty to ensure the health and safety of workers in every aspect related to the work they do.

HSE in UK estimated that 20% of workers admitted taking time off work as a result of work related stress and 8% was seen by their GP. The CBI estimated that absenteeism due to work related stress cost the industry £11 billion pounds a year.

Work Related Stress is caused by the relationship between a worker and the working environment. Lazarus claimed in 1991 that stress develops when demand exceeds the resources a person can summon.

Stressor and Strain.

Strain describes what happens as a result of being in a stressful environment. It describes the individual’s physical, psychological or behavioural response to a stressor.

Stressors: Cooper and Marshall in 1976 categorised the factors in the workplace that are stressors.

• Intrinsic to the job. Noise or lighting etc.
• Career development.
• Organisational Structure and Atmosphere. Politics, level of communication, management style.
• Role in the Workplace.
• Home and work interaction. Long hours, time pressure and free time.
• Psychological aspect of the job. Workload .

Research shows that Organisational stressors have more impact on work related stress than intrinsic stressors.

As a result of the changing nature of the work place, Sparks et al identified four sources of stress especially in the current economic climate.

1. Job Insecurity.
2. Work hours.
3. Control at Work.
4. Managerial Style.

Cooper in 1999 suggested that the intangible psychological contract between employers and employees are severely undermined by workplace insecurity.

Dr. Phil Hariram.

Anxiety is a dreadful feeling one gets when worried, uneasy or distressed about something that could happen or may never happen.

On the other hand, feelings of extreme sadness, despair or inadequacy that last for a long time is recognised as Depression.

Most common mental health problems are mild. Anxiety and depression are the most common and often due to difficult life events such as loss of a family member, moving home or job insecurity. These are usually short term and medication prescribed by a family doctor is usually adequate and effective. Failure to improve may lead to referral to a specialist

Sometimes work related stress and mental health problems go together and the symptoms are similar. In both, a person can be fatigued, have loss of appetite and become very tearful. In addition work related stress can trigger mental health problems. If some one has existing mental health problems, then work related stress can make it worse.

The difference between the two is that the causes are different. Work related stress is caused by a reaction to events and experiences at work but Common mental health problems are caused by outside factors and these can be divorce, post natal depression, bereavement or problems within the family.

Companies can improve work stress by improving working conditions and good liaison with employees, and common mental health problems are usually treated by family doctors.

If you have either of these or both, take action. Do something about it.

Dr. Phil Hariram.

Performance and stress are closely linked. Too little stress such as a boring and unrewarding job will result in poor performance and as the stress demand of a task increases, you become more productive  until you reach optimum efficiency. Unfortunately if that stress continue to increase your level of performance suffers.

From the graph, you can see that when there is low stress, performance is not good but as the stress level increases, performance increase and reach the top of the curve. This is the optimum stress. Optimum stress is the level of stress that an individual will perform at his or her best.

This will vary from one individual to another. Some people reach their optimum stress level early while others thrive on it and continue to excel when others succumb to the pressure that additional stress produces. In other words, some are burned out while others keep going.

When stress increases beyond the optimum level, performance drops accordingly. The Inverted C curve shows how quickly performance drops with only small increases of stress.

Optimum stress is the good stress and any more beyond this becomes bad stress. Beyond optimum stress, the demand exceeds the natural resources you can muster to cope. At this stage stress becomes a real issue. Not only is performance a problem, but persistently high level of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisone is bad for your general health.

This type of stress can cause other illnesses. It stimulates the heart, reduces the response from your immune system and can also affect vital organs of the body.

If you recognise stress beyond optimum stress level, then it is up to you to take positive action and make the important changes.

Dr. Phil Hariram

Phil the Stress Doc.

These can be broken down into five categories.

Emotional, cognitive,behavioural. physical and spiritual symptoms of stress.

Emotional symptoms of stress.

• Short tempered.

• Agitation

• Restlessness

• Moodiness

• Irritability, impatience and intolerance.

• Cannot relax

• Feeling on edge and tense.

• Feeling overwhelmed

• General unhappiness or feeling depressed.

• Sense of loneliness and isolation

Cognitive Symptoms of stress

• Loss of objectivity

• Unable to make decisions.

• Inability to concentrate

• Unable to think clearly.

• Poor judgement and decision making.

• Persistent negative thoughts.

• Anxious or racing thoughts

• Constant worrying

• Impending fear.

• Effects on the Memory.

Behavioural Symptoms of stress.

• Altered eating habit. Eating less or more.

• Sleeping too much or too little

• Isolating yourself from others

• Procrastination, neglecting responsibilities

• Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax

• Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)

• Teeth grinding or jaw clenching

• Easily have arguments or fights.

• Overdoing activities (e.g. exercising, shopping)

• Overreacting to unexpected problems

Physical Signs and symptoms of stress.

• Tension Headaches.

• Muscle tension and stiffness

• Altered bowel habits.

• Dizziness and nausea.

• Lack of sleep. Insomnia.

• Heart symptoms. Chest pains or fast heartbeat.

• Altered weight. Either gain or loss.

• Skin breakouts. Urticaria or eczema.

• Frequent colds.

• Loss of libido.

Spiritual

• Loss of Meaning.
• Self Doubt.
• Losing Direction.
• A challenge to Faith.
• Feeling of Emptiness.

Dr. Phil Hariram.

Below are some more stress relief tips.

Shut out Irritating Noise: Wear earplugs for instant peace any time, any place. It works well to reduce noise stress.

Learn a Meditation Technique. Two methods: Observe your thoughts as they pass through your mind. Or, repeat a word or phrase with an uplifting meaning. For stress relief there is no better treatment than meditation.

Practice progressive relaxation for 20 minutes twice a day to reduce raised blood pressure and other physiological responses to stress. Tighten and release each muscle group in turn, starting with the soles of the feet and slowly working up to the scalp. It may take some time to acquire a good meditation technique that works for you, so use progressive relaxation for quick stress relief.

Plan a weekend activity that is a change of pace. If your week is heavily scheduled, relax and enjoy non-competitive activities. If you are never able to finish anything during the week, choose a project that you can complete in a few hours on Saturday or Sunday.

Take time out for a diversion in the middle of your workday. When the pressures of completing a project are too great, your productivity can drop. Take a walk or stop for lunch. A break helps relieve stress.

Savour Life’s Little Delights. Give yourself some physical pleasure to relieve stress.

Treat yourself to a professional massage, or trade massages with a loved one.

Give yourself permission to enjoy a movie, watch a sports event, listen to music or read a book.

Savour a soothing cup of chamomile herb tea with a dollop of honey. Chamomile has long been used to relieve nervous tension.

Plan a day of beauty or fun with a friend. Do each other’s hair, paint your nails and chat or play a sporting game together.

Create a simple steam facial at home by boiling water. Remove the pan from the stove. Cover your head with a large towel so that it creates a tent over the pot. Steam your face for five or 10 minutes. Add aromatic herbs to the water for a sensual touch.

Focus completely on any of the senses – hearing, seeing, eating or body movements – for a few minutes.

All these activities drop your brainwave pattern from beta to alpha, alpha/theta or theta level. The brainwave patterns of relaxation.

Use Visualisation and Affirmation Techniques. You can arm yourself against a situation you fear by going over the event in your mind. Imagine the scene in vivid detail and picture the best possible outcome.

You can also shrink an imagined fear down to size by picturing the worst possible results. Imagine describing this worst case to your best friend the next day and the sympathy you receive. Imagine telling a group of friends the next month, who share their similar experiences. Finally, imagine joking about your unpleasant experience with a complete stranger a year later. If you carry this exercise through to the end, your stress will become something to laugh about.

Fear heighten stress. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It is our perception of what will happen that causes fear. Reduce fear and you reduce stress.

Replace negative self-talk with affirmations. The chatterbox in your mind is filled with gloom: You’re too fat. . . you’re too old. . .you’ll never amount to anything. Dispel all these negative thoughts and nourish your mind with a constant stream of “I know I can.””If someone else can do, so can I.”

Remember when you were a child. Everything was achievable. You saw it in other people’s reality. “If some one else can do it, so can I”. Why is it different for you now? Search deeply for an answer.

Emile Coue used a powerful affirmation with outstanding results. He told his patients to repeat frequently “Every day in every way I am better.” Do the same and enjoy the positive changes.

Get enough Sleep. Determine how much sleep you require for optimum performance. Sleep deprivation aggravates the body’s responses to stress. Consider setting an alarm clock to remind yourself that it is time to go to bed.

Aim to Achieve your Dreams. Plan ahead to meet your most cherished goals in life.

Great motivators emphasize the importance of writing down your important goals.

Break big projects down into a series of small steps that you can work on every day. Want to change jobs? Make one phone call contact today. Is writing a book your dream? Commit to writing one page a day.

Knowing that you are striving toward your dreams relieves frustrations that mount when you feel stuck in a rut of endless responsibilities that seem to lead nowhere.

How about making a firm commitment like this: Every day, I will take one step, be it small or large, towards achieving my goals in life.

By taking steps to gain stress relief, you can become a happier, healthier person, a more efficient worker and a better friend to others.

Keep a notebook as new ideas come to you through your reading and your own creativity. If you decide to make a note later, the chances are that you will forget.

If you focus on a problem, your subconscious mind, will bring up several ideas. Immediately make a note and if they are good, it could be that acorn that grows into a giant oak tree. Most great achievements in this world came from simple ideas.

From this blog post and the previous one, you will be aware that the most important key to gaining stress relief is your decision to take time for yourself, to simplify your life whenever possible and to define your goals.

Dr. Phil Hariram.

Stress and Illness.

In hot and humid conditions a person could be at risk of heat stress if doing heavy work and wearing  protective clothing.

How does this Happen?

1. Heat will be produced within the body due to the work rate and, if insufficient heat is lost, deep body temperature will rise.
2. Sweat evaporation is restricted by the type of clothing and the humidity of the environment.
3. Heart rate also increases which puts additional strain on the body.
4. As deep body temperature rises the body reacts by increasing the amount of sweat produced,which may lead to dehydration.
5. If the body is gaining more heat than it can lose the deep body temperature will continue to rise.

After a while, the body’s control mechanism begins to fail.
If the individual continues to work in this environmemt, symptoms will worsen.
How does heat Stress affect us?
Some people are more susceptible than others and the effects will vary.

Typical Heat Stress Symptoms are:

1. Unable to concentrate;
2. Heat rash;
3. Severe thirst – a late symptom of heat stress;
4. Fainting;
5. Muscle cramps;
6. Headaches,
   moist skin
7. Heat exhaustion – fatigue, giddiness, nausea,
8. Heat stroke – hot dry skin, confusion, convulsions and eventual loss of consciousness. This is the most severe effects and death can result if not picked up early.

Heat Stress occur in industry where the environment is too hot and thereby creating the problem or if  the workplace is restricted.

Areas at Risk are:

• Boiler Room
• Brick-firing and ceramics plants
• Bakeries and Catering Kitchens
• Laundries
• Glass and Rubber Manufacturing Plants
• Mines
• Compressed Air Tunnels
• Conventional and Nuclear Power Plants;
• Foundries and Smelting Operations

In addition, seasonal changes such a hot sunny day can increase air temperature and may contribute to the cause of heat stress.

How do you cope with the risk of heat stress?

The first thing to do is change behaviour. The body adapts to environmental changes but you can help by removing unnecessary clothing, take cool drinks regularly and make conscious efforts to cool down or reduce your work rate. In circumstances that make it difficult to reduce heat stress such as Asbestos removal, an accurate risk assessment must be carried out.

When carrying out a risk Assessment look at these things.

• Working climate – this includes air temperature, humidity, air movement and effects of working near a heat source.
• Work rate – the harder someone works the greater the amount of body heat generated.
• Worker’s age, build and medical factors – may affect an individual’s tolerance.
• Worker clothing and respiratory protective equipment – may impair the efficiency of sweating and other means of temperature regulation.

If you are concerned about heat stress at your workplace, talk to nurse, doctor or occupational hygienist. This way you can determine your risk and find a way around it.

Ways to reduce risk of heat stress:

• Control the temperature using engineering solutions, eg- change the processes, use fans or air conditioning,  use physical barriers that reduce exposure to radiant heat.
• Remove or reduce the sources of heat where possible:
• Provide mechanical aids where possible to reduce the work rate.
• Regulate the length of exposure to hot environments by:- allowing workers to enter only when the temperature is below a set level or at cooler times of the day, – issuing permits to work that specify how long your workers should work in situations where there is a risk, – providing periodic rest breaks and rest facilities in cooler conditions.
• Prevent dehydration. Working in a hot environment causes sweating which helps keep people cool but means losing vital water that must be replaced. Provide cool water in the workplace and encourage workers to drink it frequently in small amounts before, during (this is not possible in some situations eg respiratory protective equipment use or asbestos removal) and after working.
• Provide personal protective equipment-protective clothing is available which incorporates, for example, personal cooling systems or breathable fabrics. This may help protect workers in certain hot environments. Protective clothing or respiratory protective equipment is often required when there will be exposure to some other hazard at work eg asbestos. This type of equipment, while protecting from the other hazard, may increase the risk of
  heat stress.
• Provide training for your workers, especially new and young employees, telling them about the risks of heat stress associated with their work,

Strategy to Employ.

Allow workers to acclimatise to their environment and identify which workers are acclimatised/assessed as fit to work in hot conditions.

Identify employees who are more susceptible to heat stress either because of an illness/condition or medication that may encourage the early onset of heat stress, eg
pregnant women or those with heart conditions. You may need to seek help from a health professional.
Monitor the health of workers at risk. If there is a residual risk remains after implementing as many control measures as practicable, you may need to monitor the health of exposed workers. You need to all the facts when working in heat stress situations.