First Aid for Stress
Presented by:
Julie Finn, Relationship Manager
First Marblehead
Sailing away the winter
blues with ISFAA …
2015 Winter Conference
Disclaimer
• The purpose of this presentation is to provide
some suggestions for how to cope with
everyday workplace stress. The information
contained herein represents the opinion of its
author and should not be relied upon to
diagnose or treat any stress-related illness or
mental health condition. If you have concerns
about your health, or would like more
information about how to deal with stress,
please contact your physician.
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
Content Developed by HRDQ
Objectives
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Determine your stress level
Debunk stress myths
Understand stress triggers
Learn how to proactively manage your stress
And more!
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
Stress Check
Acknowledging the Concept of Stress
✚ Working in financial aid is stressful
✚ Stress can affect our quality of life
✚ Stress can reduce productivity
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
Debunking Stress Myths
✚ Myth 1
– Stress does not exist
✚ Myth 2
– Stress is not a problem in this office
✚ Myth 3
– All stress is bad
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
What is Stress?
✚ Personal Perceptions of Stress
✚ Stress Indicators
✚ Psychological
✚ Physiological
✚ Behavioral
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
Summary
✚ We must accept that stress in the workplace exists and
work to understand what it means.
✚ Stress definitions range from the simple to the complex and
comprehensive.
✚ Stress can be defined as being a stimulus, a response, or a
relationship between a person and his or her environment.
✚ Stress can usefully be defined as an “umbrella” term under
which a wide range of issues and aspects of human
function and performance at work can be understood and
managed.
✚ Our definitions of stress guide our understanding and stress
management interventions at work.
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
Understanding the Causes of Stress
✚ Understimulation and Overstimulation
✚ The Problem of Understimulation
✚ Overstimulation: A Threat to Quality Work
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Common Causes of Stress
✚ Sleep deprivation
✚ Noise
✚ Stress and sickness, absence
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
Cultivating the Quality Workplace
✚ Acknowledge and value each other
✚ Make sure everyone feels they belong
✚ Be kind to each other
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
Causes of Stress Summary
✚ The balance between understimulation and
overstimulation in the workplace
✚ The need for organizations to become more
responsible and more proactive in their approaches to
preventing and alleviating stress at work
✚ The part played by work demands and information
flow on the quality of employee performance
✚ Stress and sickness absence
✚ The need to create and maintain a quality workplace as
much as a performance-driven one
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ
Activity:
Job Stress/Satisfaction
Final Thoughts
✚ Stress is present during the whole of the human
life span.
✚ We simply cannot assume that every single time
stress is experienced it is a bad thing for
employees. Stress can be a motivator as long as
it does not exceed our ability to cope.
✚ What we can say is that stress only becomes a
problem for workers if and when the significant
demands they face in their working lives exceed
their social, psychological, biological, and
somatic resources and abilities to cope.
© 2008, 2013 HRDQ