1.Why did Samaritans decide to set up the Worklife training programme?
When Samaritans launched the Emotional Health Promotion Strategy in 2004 we made a commitment to tackle the causes of emotional distress that can lead to suicide before they become acute.
Samaritans’ vision is for a society in which:
- People are able to explore their feelings
- People are able to acknowledge and respect the feelings of others.
- Fewer people die by suicide
Samaritans identified areas where we need to be more proactive about emotional health and one of these was the workplace. Stress in the workplace is often described as a silent epidemic and Samaritans as an emotional health charity needs to be able to address this..
2. Why do you think companies should pay to do Worklife training for their employees?
Worklife training is about companies investing in their employees. We are equipping managers and staff with the skills and confidence to have difficult conversations with each other before problems escalate. We have found that companies want to help their staff become emotionally healthy and can see the benefits. .
Samaritans Worklife programme trains people to give ‘emotional first aid’. A staggering 13.8 million working a year are lost each year to stress at a cost of £3.7 billion.
3. Why should managers be concerned about the emotional wellbeing of their staff?
Managers should be concerned about the emotional well being of their staff and their own emotional health. When a member of staff has to go on sick leave because of stress, anxiety or depression they are out of the office for an average of six weeks. If you lose someone there is increased pressure on the rest of the team in terms of workload and you can end up losing more staff for similar reasons – the problem can spiral out of control.
4. In your opinion, are companies taking the issue of stress in the workplace seriously enough?
Organisations are definitely recognising that workplace stress is something that they can’t ignore anymore. They are starting to address the issue of emotional health in a positive way and that is what Worklife offers – a proactive and positive approach to emotional health in the workplace.
5. What are the most common issues related to stress that people experience in the workplace?
Research has shown that excessive workload is a very common reason why people experience stress in the work place
However, another common reason is the breakdown of relationships people have with their manager or relationships they have with fellow colleagues at work, Samaritans’ Worklife training aims to try to help people to communicate more effectively about the issues that are affecting them.
6. What impact do these stress related issues have on employees?
It is rarely one issue that leads to a stress related absence, more typically it is a combination of negative events that build up and can leave us feeling overwhelmed.
7. How can Worklife training help to solve these issues?
Samaritans’ Worklife training equips people with the skills to tackle emotional issues in the workplace before they escalate. A five minute conversation can really help, talking about problems or concerns can act as a safety valve, without which people tend to let things build up and get out of control. It is important for people to recognise that emotional health is a mainstream issue and not something to shy away from or be afraid to talk about.
8. What do employees get out of the training?
People often fear addressing the issues involved in emotional health, they worry that they will make things worse. People finish the training with enhanced skills leaving them more confident and equipped to deal with these issues when they occur.
9. Do you have any evidence to prove that after completing Worklife training stress in the workplace is reduced?
We have had very positive response from companies that have completed our training. For example, Alice Graves-Morris from Intervet completed the Worklife for Managers course and gave us the following feedback:
“We found the Worklife for Managers session provided a very practical, skills focused approach to dealing with difficult people focused situations. Using straightforward concepts our managers were easily able to apply the models used to cover a range of employment situations.
The programme delivers a ‘first aid kit’ for stress, in that it tells you how to identify the symptoms, how to approach your initial discussion with an individual and then guidance on what to do next. The advice was very constructive and gave everyone the confidence to deal with situations themselves rather than referring them to other support services (like HR) or worse just not doing anything at all.”
10. How can international companies transfer skills they have developed through Worklife to colleagues in other countries?
Samaritans has developed an award winning interactive Worklife CD Rom which can be used internationally or for companies where employees were unable to attend training days.
11. Please can you describe what’s covered on a typical Worklife course?
Through the day we talk about the importance of emotional health. We look at the differences between stress and pressure, introduce the Worklife domain model and tools to have effective conversations about emotional health needs. We put these tools into practice by doing a series of role plays. We also look at people’s own disposition to stress and the impact it has on others around them.
12.What do you find most rewarding about your role as an External Training Services Co-ordinator?
I believe the most rewarding part of my role is seeing the light go on for some people, when they recognise that they can make a difference. When people walk away from the course they often feel empowered, equipped to deal with emotional health issues and more emotionally healthy themselves.
To find out more information about the Worklife course please call Jonathan Moran on
+44 (0)20 8394 8374 or visit www.samaritans.org/worklife
