De-Stress at Work

Book excerpt: Burn-out, excessive hours, office politics, handling complaints, isolated remote working, complex and inefficient processes – this book addresses the full complexities of chronic stress at work. It explains the potential for emotional and physical illness resulting from work, and importantly, presents ways in which occupational health and wellbeing can be enhanced through strengthening chronic stress diagnosis and promoting resilience. The latter is a win-win, for the worker, for the organization, and for society in general. Drawing on 40 years of research in collaboration with some of the best-known occupational stress gurus (including Cary Cooper, Susan Jackson, the late Ron Burke and Arie Shirom), Simon L. Dolan translates abstract concepts of chronic stress into practical guidance for enhancing resilience in a VUCA world. The ILO and many governments recognize stress as a principal cause of emerging physical and mental disease and one of the strongest determinants of high absenteeism, low morale and low productivity. While important advances have been made in the diagnosis of acute stress, the field of chronic stress in the workplace remains less clear. This book seeks to address this by presenting a wealth of diagnostic tools, including "The Stress Map". The text is brought to life for the reader by short vignettes in the form of anecdotes and stories. This book will be of particular interest to HR professionals, consultants, executive coaches, therapists and others who wish to help employees and clients better manage their own and others’ stress and to build resilience that leads to a more productive and healthier workforce.