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Stress

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  1. 0

    Survive and Thrive

    Added on 21st April 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Developing Organisational Brilliance, Mental Wellbeing, Stress

    Increasingly, I am noticing that during these turbulent economic times that many small to medium organisations are merging or being bought out by bigger ones.  This has got me thinking about what happens psychologically to the people who were once in a small business and now find themselves propelled into a much larger organisation.  I canvassed some people I know who have just gone through this situation and their comments were quite shocking, here’s a flavour:

    •  ”I felt like all the efforts I had put in over the last few years were now not valued as there was an existing Talent administrator in the bigger company and was doing things her way.”
    • “My manager seemed to be as lost as we were, the perception of the bigger organisation was them as the ‘rescuers’ and we were not really that good, after all we had to be ‘rescued’.  Morale dropped massively and personally many of us feel inadequate.”
    • “ We were told that any job role allocation would be done fairly and that as part of the smaller org. that we would not be disadvantaged.  In reality, what happened is that the new Operations Director had already picked his team and interestingly, none of them were from our organisation.”
    • “I have found it all very frustrating and exhausting, wondering what job you’ll get; whether your colleagues (who are also friends) will secure a job and above all it’s the rumours and gossip that just grind away at your self-esteem, I chose to leave the organisation in the end, I couldn’t take it.”
    • “I hate going to work and being, ‘looked down on’ by the company we have merged with.  The existing staff have made no effort to welcome us and my colleague hit the nail on the head by saying they felt ‘wrung out’.”

    It doesn’t make pleasant reading does it?  I spoke to 15 people about this and only 2 had a positive story.  Okay the sample was small etc. etc. but I wonder are other people’s experiences much different?  What do you think?

    When we’ve worked with organisations going through so much upheaval we have had to emphasise to our clients that you cannot over communicate to staff – even when there is no news – tell them.  What I think this does highlight is that the psychological wellbeing of  people going through mergers or buyouts cannot be underestimated and maybe it’s time for the Directors and Strategists when scoping their plans to merge that they factor in how they will fund and manage the psychological wellbeing of all employees involved, after all, the stigma of poor employee morale can stain an orgnaisation for a long time. 

    Have you been through a similar situation?  It would be great to hear your experiences…

  2. 0

    I’m stressed…the ultimate “Bale out”!!

    Added on 27th August 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Stress

    Cat in a Wheelie Bin…is it too easy to blame stress for ‘bad behaviour’?

    We are avid lovers and owners of animals at Ultimate U – dogs, cats and fish feature in our team’s menagerie!

    So, we were all mightily shocked by Mary Bale’s actions this week as she first appeared to befriend Lola but then put her into a wheelie bin.  We understand that she may lose her job with the Royal Bank of Scotland as a result.  Her reason for doing this act was that her father has been very ill.  One of the questions we are deliberating here is, how does your father being ill motivate you to hurt another creature? 

    There is evidence that if you’re experiencing a stressful set of circumstances that your behaviours can become different to the norm and sometimes you are not aware of how you are coming across to others. 

    Our concern is that there are people like Mary Bale who use stressful circumstances as an excuse for inexcusable behaviour.  We have seen a trend emerging for this tactic and we think that sometimes it is absolutely that – a tactic to get people out of a tight spot.   This in turn can diminish the experiences of people who are in genuine need of help with their situations – it ridicules stress as a serious issue.

     What do you think to this?  Do you think Mary was in control of her behaviour on that day?  Is she using her father’s ill health as an excuse?

  3. 0

    Feel the Fun…

    Added on 16th April 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Stress

    In Personnel Today this week there is an article about how employers are tackling the stress epidemic in the workplace. One of the interesting bits is that in the Bothered Britain Report commissioned by Simplyhealth, the health benefits provider, found that 33% of the respondents reduced workplace stress by ‘creating a fun atmosphere’.

    I am intrigued to know what exactly that means…

    Do people really know how to have fun at work? With all the caution around whether certain banter is acceptable plus the increasing levels of workload after the recession has hit, seeing staff numbers decrease, getting into ‘fun’ could prove quite a challenge. But I am absolutely convinced that it is the right thing to get into.

    I’ve seen small changes to the working environment making a huge difference to how people feel about their surroundings and whether they have permission to relax and have a bit of fun. For example, one of my clients has recently moved into new offices – all the walls are white and give a very clinical feel. The Operations Manager wanted the atmosphere to feel more friendly and personal. So, he invited his team to bring in some photos of themselves when they were younger and these were projected onto various walls. This created a talking point, interest and lots of giggles that reduced tension and allowed dialogue from different departments to increase.

    Okay I am not suggesting that we all start doing this but really thinking about what we mean by a ‘fun atmosphere’ and identifying what the boundaries to this will be are essential. So let’s get it on the next team meeting agenda, “Item 1 – How we can create a more fun atmosphere at work” and roll with it!