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Page | 20 www.boostress.eu impacts of it as much because they believe they manage their stress well, despite the lack of support and resources to help them. From our combined desk-research activities, we can recommend that the BooStress project needs to address the implementation gap that currently exists in relation to the training materials and resources available that have been identified in the desk and field research conducted by partners. In addition, we also recommend that BooStress partners also try to raise awareness in general about workplace stress and the negative impact that stress can have on employee’s health. Raising awareness of this issue would be particularly beneficial to young employees in Spain who lack consciousness of this issue. As we have learned from the desk-research conducted in Ireland, the majority of Irish professionals who experience stress also worry about the impact that it is having on their health; therefore, we also recommend that the BooStress learning resources should address preventative measures to overcome bouts of stress before they occur. These can be simple instructional videos or tip-sheets which show how to practice breathing techniques when stress occurs in the workplace. • With the aim of ensuring that the outputs developed by the BooStress project teams are of sufficient quality and relevance to the target group, the following specific recommendations will be considered by project partners when planning the future development of the project outputs and results: • Young professionals in Cyprus want resources that will teach them to live with stress in a positive way through stress management games or quizzes. • Respondents from Cyprus also mentioned that they would like to see more meetings and partnerships established between “young and old employees” in order to share knowledge, experience, thoughts and feelings; and to develop “soft skills”, i.e. effective communication and collaboration with other colleagues, among both parties. While this is outside the scope of the project, it could be used as an innovative approach by partners when piloting the resources of the BooStress project. • Research participants in Spain highlighted the need for training in the area of “social abilities” for young people to prepare them for a professional workplace. These include training in the areas of: • interpersonal conflict resolution • problem-solving • communication skills • teamwork • client support • Among young professionals surveyed in Ireland, the most common training needs were in the areas of how to ‘switch-off’ once work has ended, how to identify stress, how to maintain a health work/life balance, how to talk to an employer about stress and understanding the impact that stress is having on one’s own health. • In Ireland, young professionals showed a preference for training materials presented in the format of a handbook or guidelines, which was not as popular among young professionals in Spain or Cyprus.