Boostress_ebook

Page | 19 www.boostress.eu Among those young professionals who completed the online questionnaire in Spain, 65% of all participants reported stress at their current workplace, with over half of these (53.8%) stating that they experienced it daily and just under one-quarter of respondents (23.1%) experiencing stress on an hourly basis or only weekly. Of this group, only 20% stated they have previously taken part in training to help with stress management, of which most seemed to be related to practicing Mindfulness. All participants who took part in this type of training were offered the training by their employer; however only half of all those who took part in the training (2 out of 4) found it useful. Similarly, only 10% of all participants were aware of any training or support that specifically addresses work-related stress management among young workers and only 5% knew of online tools on the subject. Percentages are higher when participants were asked about whether they have specific coping strategies for dealing with stress. Here, 40% named an activity that they do to overcome bouts of stress; while 30% stated they had a strategy for dealing with stress, though, these typically included meditation, yoga, respiratory exercises or simply “positive thinking”. And none of the young professionals surveyed in Spain mentioned that they had ever taken part in self-help groups. Over half (55%) of all survey respondents in Spain expressed their interest in participating in a BooStress training programme; as such their input into the design and format of the BooStress materials is valuable for the consortium. In relation to the preferred topics, survey respondents were interested in developing “skills for stress management” (14 votes), “stress management techniques” (11 votes), and “intervention for stress management” (10 votes). Other topics received varying degrees of interest, typically attracting between 5 and 7 votes each; with the topics of “how to recognise stress” and “what is stress” the least popular among respondents in Spain, receiving 1 vote and 0 votes respectively. In terms of the format of these training materials, only blended learning resources (12 votes) and online learning (10 votes) received votes from at least half of the research participants. Other formats, such as online games (9 votes), manuals/guidelines (8 votes) and online advice via an online platform (8 votes) received comparatively high scores as well, while worksheets/brochures (3 votes) and podcasts (1 vote) drew the least interest among young professionals in Spain. Recommendations & Suggestions for the BooStress Project The aim of this eBook is to present the findings from the transnational research activities undertaken by BooStress project partners and to make recommendations, based on the outcomes from our research activities, which will highlight key gaps in the provision of stress management training and support for young professionals, and will inform the future development of the BooStress project outputs. What we have learned from the extensive literature review process undertaken by all partners that in all participating partner countries, and also more generally across Europe, there are several gaps at both policy and practice level to support young professionals to develop stress management skills; further supporting the rationale for the BooStress project in Europe. We also learn that there is a differing attitude to stress among professionals working in each partner country; with professionals in Spain more preoccupied with tackling incidence of unemployment and underemployment rather than managing stress; employees in Ireland suffering quite extensively from increased levels of work-related stress but unable to access support or report it to their employers as an ‘illness’ impacting their ability to perform their work; and employees in Cyprus also regularly experiencing stress but not feeling the