Boostress_ebook
Page | 18 www.boostress.eu work-life balance and how to not bring workplace stress home; how to analyse what causes stress and deal with factors; crisis/conflict management, time management; managing relationships in work and managing conflict. In relation to their preferred format of training materials, Irish respondents stated that they would prefer training materials to be presented as self-assessment tests (50%), online training (45%) and handbooks and guidelines (45%). Empirical Research Findings from Spain For the focus group findings, researchers in Spain discovered mostly that awareness of stress management among both young professionals and stakeholders was quite limited. The situation which emerged from the focus groups with young professionals and stakeholders were very similar; namely that young employees are mostly left to deal with stress by themselves and that, similar to the results of the online questionnaire with young professionals, stress management for the most part consists of approaches like short walks, drinking water, having a positive attitude to cover up the stress, listening to music and playing Candy Crush. What we learn from these supposed coping strategies is that young professionals in Spain might be questioned on their ability to adequately deal with stress. When asked about causes of stress, young professionals stated that they think a lot of their stress stems from having to decide early in their lives what careers they would like to pursue; and so they often end up in jobs that are not enjoyable, but which they must do because they feel compelled to by external factors, including adults in their lives who influence their career choice or the economic situation. Stakeholders mentioned that the main stress-related issue affecting young people is unemployed and threats to their job security. According to stakeholders involved in the focus group, young people are also not familiar with Social Security, contracts or payrolls work and they are unaware of their employment rights. As such, the Social Security website was mentioned by stakeholders as a useful online resource for young employees because on this site, they can find information about types of contracts, professional categories and other information relevant to their job and legal rights. Another issue which could cause stress among young professionals in Spain was highlighted by one stakeholder who mentioned that in businesses in Spain there are no induction programmes for new employees; so therefore, young professionals with limited work experience may find it difficult to adapt to their new work environment and this could cause them considerable stress. As a result, young professionals learn through trial-and- error on their own, without proper training in a specific company. To overcome this, and as a means of mitigating workplace stress for young employees, one stakeholder recommended that employers organise a mentoring programme, where more experienced employees mentor new employees or particularly young professionals with limited work experience. Another issue which emerged through the focus group sessions is a lack of knowledge about stress: young people generally don’t know how to recognise their own stress; they don’t know when they are stressed because they lack self-consciousness, referring only to “feeling frustrated” and they also lack the ability to manage their own emotions. As such, training in emotional intelligence might be beneficial to young employees. Other gaps in skills and competences in young people that were identified by the focus groups in Spain included training in social skills and interpersonal relationships; training in how to use ICT in a professional capacity and training in personal development and self-esteem. When asked about ICT tools that can be used by young professionals to develop stress management skills, stakeholders mention online Mindfulness-based programmes which aim to support employees to reduce their stress; with one of the stakeholders also explaining how effective mindfulness is on stress management. Despite its effectiveness, two stakeholders stated that they have never used mindfulness-based tools with young professionals; and one said that it is still very new to them, but that it should be used, especially in the Education System with young people and children.
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