Why Stress Management Programmes Don?t Work

Why Stress Management programmes don't work?

It seems that every week there's yet another report telling us how serious the problem of Stress is becoming ? how many working days are lost (anything between 6.5 million and 90 million days depending on whose report you read), how much it costs industry, what percentage of workers experience Stress, and so on. And despite the publicity, nothing seems to be changing. If anything, Stress seems to be becoming even more widespread, and at an alarming rate.

So why are things getting worse instead of better, and why don't Stress Management programmes seem to work?

From an individual perspective, managing Stress is a bit like getting fit. There are people whose idea of getting fit is to walk down to the bookshop, buy a book on fitness and exercise, take it home and read it? and do nothing. Or even worse, not even walk to the bookshop at all but buy it on the Internet! People can only get fit by exercising ? getting fit means taking action.

It's the same with Stress. Some people think the way to manage Stress is to go to a Stress Management workshop. What they don't realise is that to manage their stress they need to do something different. And why don't people take any action to manage their stress better? Why do they seem to be stuck in Stress?

There can be many reasons, but one of the most common ones seems to be fear of the consequences, that is, fear of how they will be seen by their employers and colleagues. The message that many organisations give out is that "It's not OK to be stressed, and it's certainly not OK to take the steps you need to manage your stress effectively". It's rarely stated explicitly, but it's there in organisational cultures nevertheless.

Another reason is that when people are already stressed, and they then have to think about taking time to exercise or relax, the thought creates more stress. It's yet another task in an already busy lifestyle, and so people are reluctant to make time for it -- even though we know it leads to better health, more effective working and quality of life.

The third reason is that many people make other things more important than their own health and well-being. Bizarre though it may sound, people will put time and effort into meeting their boss's expectations in preference to looking after their own health.

The reality, of course, is that unless we look after ourselves properly as employees the job will never be done properly anyway. So self-management has to be a priority.

Most stress management courses fail because they are "band-aid" solutions. They try to treat the symptoms instead of the underlying causes. To make Stress Management truly effective needs a fundamental shift in attitudes, both in individuals and employers. Employees must begin to put themselves and their health first. And employers need to make it OK for people to say they are stressed and to take proper care of themselves.

Many companies penalise their staff for arriving at work late. But how many companies do you know who penalise their staff for staying late at the end of the working day? One senior manager at a large IT company was seen recently throwing people out of the building at 6pm, telling them to go home and chill out. He recognised the law of diminishing returns ? and realised that if his team were to be effective in their work they needed to have a healthy balance between work and personal life. He not only made it OK for his staff to develop work/life balance ? he made it mandatory!

So many companies claim that "people are our most important asset". If it's true, why are they still stressed?

Rob Mottram and Lichfield Associates offer Work/Life Balance programmes aimed at helping organisations to become stress-resistant. For more information contact Rob Mottram on 01886 833588 or visit http://www.lichfield-associates.com

eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..
In The News:

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.
New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.
Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.
Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.
Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.
Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.
Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.
Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.
iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.
Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.
FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.
Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.
Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.
Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.
Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.
Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.
New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.
FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.
New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.
OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.
Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

Moving Through Breakdowns with Transformation

Success in recovery, or rather, staying in recovery, is dependent... Read More

Setting High Personal Standards

In his book, The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness, author... Read More

Unmanaged Stress Kills and Ruins Lives! Sit a Bit

When I pay attention, I clearly see the arresting ways... Read More

The Underlying Cause of Nervous Breakdowns

Life can offer us many challenges having to do with... Read More

Adventures in Relieving Stress

Whether we are at work, traveling, or at home, we've... Read More

Coping as a Tool of Enchantment

Many of my readers write to me about the tensions... Read More

Stress Management: An Owners Manual for Your Brain

Here's an amazing quote from Time magazine:"At birth a baby's... Read More

Do You Have Your Foot On The Pedal? Are You Overwhelmed At Work?

Is your in-tray or inbox full? I don't normally check... Read More

How to Relieve Stress

One question that is not asked enough by people under... Read More

Stress And Anxiety - Take Charge Of It!

Have you ever noticed what occurs when you are suddenly... Read More

The Cost of Stress ? the Need to Monitor and Manage the Risks!

How much attention is paid to one of the biggest... Read More

Generalized Anxiety Disorder - Do You Worry All The Time?

Do you worry all the time?Do the following symptoms bother... Read More

Let Go of Stress: Slow Down! Survive!

Don't wait to have a life-threatening disease to learn what... Read More

Assess Your Stress Using Haris Stress Inventory

This is a tool to measure the amount of stress... Read More

Common SENSS Stress Control

Statistics show that all of us experience stress at one... Read More

Stress Management: Are You a Worrier or a Warrior?

Do you attack problems and solve them or do you... Read More

Overwhelm: Love It or Leave It!

Amazing thing, overwhelm!You don't usually see it coming. It just... Read More

Relieving Stress

Where does stress really come from? Is there any simple... Read More

Stress Relief ? A Backyard Hot Tub Is Your Answer

We all know what it's like coming home from a... Read More

How To Use Diet To Reduce Your Stress

The Problem You don't need me to tell you how... Read More

Control Stress or It Will Control Your Business

When we think about stress in the workplace, we usually... Read More

The ABCs of Stress Management

A while back, I was in a minor fender-bender accident,... Read More

Stress Management: The Power of Expectancy

On a beautiful summer day years ago, I went water... Read More

Stress Management:: 4 Critical Distinctions

Stress Vs PressureStress is something we all have, it's not... Read More

Managing Your Persistent Fears And Anxieties

Everybody deals with fear and anxiety, however some people have... Read More

express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..