bythemethod.com blog

The UK Governments health advisers are advising businesses to deal with stress in the workplace. Not only is stress is a killer and destroyer of lives it is also the cause of an awful lot of lost money. As much as 25% of all business losses due to sickness are down to stress, according to the research. My own research might suggest that as much as 80% of the costs to business of sickness could be due to stress.

The BBC has a fuller report on the recommendations but I can’t help but wonder why it is so hard to get businesses to take stress seriously enough to do something about it?

Research undertaken on behalf of the BMJ has found that despite common expectations retiring early does not prolong life. In the research it was found that those who retired at 55 were actually more likely to die in the first 10 years after retirement than those who retired at 65. Whilst it is true that a percentage of the early retirees would have done so for health reasons the research shows that there is no reason to believe that retiring early will prolong a persons life.

You can read about this here …

Also a recent study undertaken by Nottingham University has found that stress tends to peak in workers who are aged between 50-55, after which stress reduces. There could be many reasons for this and most would seem to revolve around lifestyle changes and older people taking less pressured jobs. However with greater demand for people to work longer it seems it could be important to appreciate the pressure points and seek to help workers overcome them.

You can read more on this story here …

According to the gm.tv website research, led by psychologist Dr Malcolm Cross at City University London, has shown making and drinking a cup of Tea when under stress really does help. This, of course, goes against most other research that suggests the caffeine in a cup of Tea will raise your levels of stress. The research does seem pretty convincing though with a 4% reduction in stress being reported for those who had Tea after a stressful event compared to those who went without.

However 4% is a pretty meagure amount of stress reduction and this might not work for everyone. This study was undertaken in the UK where there is a kind of informal Tea ceremony in times of crisis – “let’s put the kettle on”. British people have often taken a few moments to think through a problem over a cup of Tea and it could well be the positive psychological effect of this stopping and thinking that could be the reason for these results.

I’m still to be convinced that Tea itself has any medical stress benefits but having a calming routine you can use whenever a crisis hits will certainly help (as I believe this study really shows).

In a recent study of Police in the U.S.A. it was discovered that the stress of the job was having a detremental effect on the health of the officers. The study factored out social and lifestyle differences between the Police and the general populace and found that lifestyle did not account for the difference in life expectancy. It was later discovered that it was the influence of stress that was causing the trouble.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630132017.htm

CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personell Development) have issued guidlines towards reducing stress in the workplace.

You can find the leaflets here:

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/health/stress/_lnstrswrk.htm

The guidance has been produced in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive and Investors in People.

A study undertaken in Finland has demonstrated that transition times in schools can be very difficult for children even leading to ’school burnout’. Girls are more susceptiable than boys.

There could be all kinds of reasons for why this is and it may not be a new thing but just proof of something that has always happened but it does have implications for education. A good self image seems to be the best antidote to the problem.

You can read more here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090514111359.htm

This will come as no surprise, I’m sure, but there is now scientific evidence to support the theory that listening to relaxing music (or classical music) after a stressful event really does lower your stress.

Research undertaken by the University of South Alabama in 2007 discovered that music really is good for relaxation.

Unfortunately for loud and heavy music fans, however, the research also showed that this relaxing effect only applies to relaxing music and classical music (I assume they mean traditional classical music) and the music must be self selected (so there may be no point in playing classical music in the workplace as an antedote to stress).

In a recent study reported in Diabetic medicine it was shown that men who suffer from psychological distress are 2.2 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Significantly this was not the case for women and further research is needed to find out why.

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Parents who care for children with developmental problems are likely to suffer from a reduced immune system. This reduction leaves them open to illness.

In a recent report produced by reasearchers at Birmingham University –  reported in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – found that carers of children with developmental problems had a poorer immune response to a vaccine against pneumonia.

The reason for this? Increased stress.

You can read more about this story at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7513661.stm

Stress can have a deteremental effect on the immune system which has big implications for any sufferer.

The reduced immune system will leave you open to all kinds of problems and is likely to result in more absence from work. Coughs and colds as well as more serious problems are all made more likely and worse by stress.

The answer is to manage that stress effectively.