You couldn't make it up!

Just published in HR Director magazine:

Stress affects one in five of the working population and is the single biggest cause of sickness absence in the UK. With that in mind, employers need to be even more vigilant about stress levels in the workplace now that staff may be feeling the effects of the smoking ban.

To help employers empower their staff to combat stress, BUPA Wellness has come up with a list of stress symptoms to look out for. It has also created a list of top 10 mini work break ideas to help smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers stay cool, calm, and collected with customers and colleagues.

• Create a brain-teaser board with your team and test your brain power with a crossword/letters game/spot the difference
• Walk over to a colleague's desk rather than talking to them over the phone or via email
• Offer to make colleagues a cup of tea/coffee
• Combat muscle tension by setting up a stretch group
• Have a power nap!
• Practice some deep breathing exercises
• Take the stairs rather than an escalator/lift to the floor you need
• Take a water break – ensure you are drinking enough throughout the day to help avoid headaches through dehydration.
• Have some relaxing music ready on your iPod to listen to during a short break
• Have a laugh! 

Full article HERE. 

Comments

[Richard of Cornwall]

Hi Simon

Just read the article posted from HRDirector and decided to try out BUPA Wellness anti stress suggestions

Gotup this morning ready for work at 8.00am

- made a cup of tea for myself - I work on my own - 15 minutes

- Thought I'd have a go at spot the difference, so went on the Liam Donaldson and Hitler websites -no! couldn't find any differences - 30 minutes

So I rang my work collegue in my other office rather than walk - other office 200 miles away - 15 minutes

At last got on with some work - stress!

So, I thought I would try some streaching - great fun until I pulled a muscle putting my leg around the back of my neck - needed to be helped back to my desk, still in pain - 30 minutes

Door bell rang - I hobbled from my desk down the stairs, tripped and fell the last 5 steps - this brought on deep breathing.Luckily it was the postman at the door who saw what had happened and brought me a glass of water.

It's now 1.30pm - I have worked just 30 minute all morning and will spend the rest of the day in bed with my leg up listening to music on my ipod.

Got to laugh eh!

[Bill]

It sometimes beggers believe that so called professionals can come up with such tosh. If I were to participate in half these stress relieving activities, I would probably receive a letter on my file threatening disciplinary action.

Why is it that HR departments seem to attract people with no empathy towards human beings and also lack the most basic of communication skills?

Smoking is a stress relief you numpties, excellent for promoting clarity of thought and yes pleasurable. Far more pleasurable than having to implement all the latest work related legislation to provide a so called healthy and pleasant working environment. Give me the work environment from 25 years ago any day.

[Tonikt]

Might I offer a translation from flannel to HR Real Speak?

1) Buy Nintendo DS. Offset as business/research expenditure. (Ban all staff from using similar devices 'on company time'.)
2) Add exclusive gym membership to HR staff package. Introduce a compulsory charge (at double the rate of the local sweat barn) for off-peak use. Call it a 'corporate health initiative', and recoup all HR 'business/research expenses' in one fell swoop.
3) Make New Deal office junior redundant as part of 'refreshments efficiency scheme'.
4) Add yoga option to exclusive gym membership package for HR staff. Offset cost by launching a 'carbon friendly initiative' to reintroduce the broken, moulded plastic chairs that've been languishing in storage since the 1970s, to ALL non-HR/management staff.
5) A truly efficient HR department has plenty of time to make the best use of mid-afternoon 'conceptualist latent group brainstorming'. This is reclassified as 'sleeping on the job' for all non-HR/management staff.
6) See #5 and make sure all HR staff know that 'conceptualist latent group brainstorming' involves quite a lot of primitive sounds. And the more adenoidal the expulsion, the more effective the process!
7) Relocate HR to ground floor. Make reducing general staff lift use essential to meeting carbon emission targets. (Get keys to lift cut for all HR/management staff)
8) Cut costs by eliminating tea and coffee making facilities. Leave stack of plastic cups in the staff loos. (Order large cooler bottle of French mineral water for HR/management use only.)
9) See #1.
10) Leave plenty of false 'Internal Vacancy - Human Resources' notices around the office and hold mock interviews.

MUCH clear now, thanks BUPA!

[RedCat]

Or just have a fag.

[pat]

What a load of crap these people tell us to do. I dont suppose any of them put their stupid ideas into action. How much are these people being paid?I agree with redcat have a fag No have two!

[Thomas Laprade]

The smoking ban means it is against the law to use or permit a legal product on 'private' property.

Alcohol is on the back-burner of The World Health Organisation.
Fight for the smoker's rights then the smokers will fight for the drinker's rights.
The compatible non-smokers better stand tall and start fighting because maybe YOU might be next.

[Cathy]

This article is condescending to the nth degree. What I wouldn't do to return to the normality of 25-30 years ago (PS I was at school then!) But then even at school they didn't patronise us that much! If anybody else comes out with "Hey ho, giving up smoking can be such fun! There are SO many other things we can do!", I will surely insert a sharp instrument into some part of their anatomy!