As HR managers and professionals, there is a current imperative to manage these difficult times where many companies are suffering financial losses or greater struggles than before. One of the human consequences is the increase in stress on those left behind, following redundancies or restructuring. Here is some helpful and practical advice for individuals, from Jenny Wells, Clinical Director of TELL Community Counseling Service. This is timely advice for individuals suffering from stress but equally applies to managers and HR professionals keen to understand their experience and how to support them.

Everyone feels stressed at some point in their life. It is a normal part of our day to day living. If we didn’t feel stress, then we wouldn’t achieve anything. However, at times, we can feel stressed to the point that it is overwhelming.

What is Stress?

The feeling of stress is the body’s response to any demands or pressure; these are called “stressors.” When we experience these stressors, our body reacts with chemical, cognitive and emotional responses. These responses are called the “symptoms” of stress. If you feel stressed, you will probably not notice all of these symptoms. It is important that you think about YOUR normal level of functioning, and when you are stressed, how does this differ? If you usually sleep a lot and eat very little, then this does not necessarily mean you are stressed. Look for differences in the way you are. Are you having a difficult time at home or at work? Do you feel different? Do other people around you notice differences? Are people asking you if you are OK? When we feel stressed, we may not be the first people to notice how much it affects us.

Stress Prevention in the Work Place

There is little doubt among mental health practitioners that prevention is as important as intervention. However, we normally react to a problem, rather than being proactive to prevent a problem happening. So, what can we do to try and prevent stress having a significant impact on our lives? Many professionals use the term “work-life balance.” What this essentially describes is the balance that an individual has between their work and life outside of work. Current thinking is that, in our busy lives, our life outside of work should be just as important as our work life. For many people, this often seems too difficult to achieve. However, there are some small steps that can assist in reducing the possibility of stress, as well as improving the work-life balance.

Put into place some simple stress-beating rules to your working day. Always take a lunch break (this does not include lunch meetings!) and plan your week so all your big events are not next to each other. An instant cause of stress can be a quick glance in your diary only to see you have 5 difficult meetings all on one day. Importantly, use the weekend to relax. Don’t fall into the “I can get some real work done at home this weekend” routine. Included in this need to relax should be regular holidays; even if you don’t get much holiday time, take some long weekends.

HR professionals and managers can get involved in ensuring that some balance exists in the workplace; certainly it is understood that we live in competitive times and demands are high, but if the cost is to lose most or even some of our workforce, is it worth it?

Lead by example. What can I do when I feel stressed?

All professionals agree, the earlier the intervention, the better. One of the first steps of being able to intervene when you need to, is to learn what your stress signals are – what happens to you when you feel stressed? Being alert to these and being able to pick up on them early on will help you manage your stress effectively. This will help you recognize the need for action. Once you can say, “I am feeling stressed,” you can then decide on some stress management strategies. As HR managers, are you doing all you can to make others aware of the signs and how to manage their work-life balance? These guidelines are a useful reminder.

Below are some suggestions. You should assess what works for you. Do not feel afraid to ask for help from friends, family, or professionals. Being able to talk through your stressful experience can really help you work out what strategies are right for you. Don’t dismiss any suggestions; try everything and evaluate whether it worked for you. Stress can take control of you, and strategies help you regain the important feeling of strength and resilience.

When to offer support to others?

This is a difficult choice. People have busy and stressful lives and there still exists a stigma that if you ask for help, you are somehow weak or vulnerable.

This is where managers and HR professionals can be a great support: make it OK to seek help, see it as a sign of strength. After all, you would encourage staff members to go to the doctors if they had a bad cold.

At TELL, we always promote healthy choices; one choice is to ask for help. Counseling does not have to be long-term; in fact, being able to talk through the issues with a counselor can help people feel a relief from the stressful situation. Counseling can assist in looking at the stresses in your life and working through ways in which it manage this stress, in order to reduce its impact on your life. Remember it is always better to seek advice and help earlier, rather than later.

If you would like more information about counseling options, please call TELL Community Counseling Service on 03 3498 0231. If you would like to enquire about our Stress Less Workshop which is very popular within the business community or to ask about any other workshops on Stress, please send an email to: clinical.direct@telljp.com.

In addition, if you or anyone you know would like to speak in confidence to an English- speaking person, Tokyo English Life Line is open each day from 9am to 11pm (03 5774 0992).

“When looking through the jobs section, and seeing jobs similar in content, role, location and salary, what motivates candidates to submit their application to one company and not to another?”

It almost goes without saying, but a very important factor is image, and how a company is perceived by the people outside of it.

In an age where access to information is more freely available than it has ever been and the medium that people choose to access that information is the Internet, it is important to realize that by being proactive and getting your message out, it is possible to effectively control the information candidates are likely to base their opinions on.

Looking specifically at how an Internet-based job site such as GaijinPot can help here; branding, credibility and a recognizable corporate personality are all vital in attracting great personnel. A recent study indicates that people need at least 27 instances of visual perspective to remember something.

“To successfully seize the attention of a wide range of candidates and obtain the ones you really want, you need to focus your web presence.”

A banner on GaijinPot will help maximize awareness of your corporate brand; increasing visibility and generating even more exposure for your job offers.

A Company Spotlight gives job-seekers detailed information about your company, giving candidates a taste of what you’re all about, pointing them to your available positions, and providing a link back to your website.

A Company Presentation generates a branded presence for your organization and gets more exposure for your job offer and gives candidates a more in-depth portrait of your business, thus helping candidates to self-select, which benefits everyone involved.

Contact us today to learn more about how a GaijinPot Custom-Tailored Package can help you hire the staff your company needs.

The amount of working days lost worldwide by businesses as a direct consequence of sick days taken by employees is absolutely staggering. Looking at figures by country we can see the average time taken off by workers.

Whilst the figure for Japan remains relatively low when compared to other nations it certainly does not mean that it is OK to be complacent as companies in Japan are still seeing profits slip as a direct consequence to sick leave. A good sickness and absence policy can make an important difference in determining whether yours is a thriving company or one that is destined to struggle.

On average, workers in Japan take nine days off every year from their sick day entitlement. This is relatively not at all bad, especially when you consider that the days off workers were entitled to was far in excess of this figure. It is, however, important to bear in mind that this figure is greatly reduced by the large number of employees who never get sick at all, meaning that some workers are indeed a significant drain on a business’ resources, and not always for legitimate reasons (graph below) .

All is not doom and gloom as there are two simple things you can do to improve the way in which sick leave is managed, thus enabling you to cut down on the days taken if by those few workers who are taking advantage of the system and at the same time offer your full support to those with genuine sicknesses.

Reporting Days Off

It is absolutely essential to have a clear and well outlined policy regarding sickness; a procedure that everyone understands and is able to adhere to if they are ever absent from work due to any sickness.
An employee taking a day off due to illness should have to call in by telephone and speak to a manager (or someone of equal authority) and not leave a message or send in an e-mail, they should be told to call in as soon as possible and to advise when they will be able to return to work.

Requiring an employee to provide a note from their Doctor is of limited value for shorter periods of sickness and even then, given the relatively easy way in which they are dispensed with, they are of limited value.

Perhaps of more value would be to require that all employees fill out an ‘absence statement’ detailing when and why they were off – this statement can then be kept on record in the workers file.

Return to Work Interviews

Whilst a return to work interview is often seen as being an needless and time consuming task for management it is without doubt a real deterrent for those who are considering faking days off work or even those who are perhaps are a little under the weather but otherwise able to come in to work, having decided that the prospect of an interview with their supervisor is more scrutiny and hassle than taking a day off is work

Whereas those with genuine sickness will be more than pleased that their company and its’ management are taking a genuine interest in their health and well-being. Those pulling sickies on the other hand, may decide that the scrutiny of an interview makes taking unauthorized sick leave far more hassle than it’s worth.