Helping your colleagues beat stress

The definition of stress in the Oxford English Dictionary is "a demand on physical and mental energy".

Stress can be caused by different factors and can be related to both work and home life. People will exhibit stress in different ways and at different times, and so it can be hard to spot and monitor.

When trying to beat stress it is important to remember that what works for one person may not work for another. Here are some tips for helping colleagues cope with stress:

• Speak to your colleagues. Ask them what they find stressful, what makes them stressful and how they normally cope with stress. The more you know, the more you can do to make things right.
• Some people aren't aware of their own limitations. If you think they're doing too much, tell them or offer to share their workload.
• Often people don't realise that their stress can have negative effects on others. Help them understand this.
• A problem shared is a problem halved. Getting colleagues to tell each other when they're stressed can be a route to solving the problem.
• People may get stressed by focussing on the negatives and forgetting about the positives. When people are feeling down, you can remind them of the positive things and try to help them turn the negatives into positives.
• Praise your colleagues when they do well. This can put them in a positive frame of mind.
• Make sure colleagues take regular breaks. If people rush around, as they often do in the hospitality business, they don't give themselves time to put things into perspective or order. Also make sure that people have enough to drink and eat. People need to take days off too. Make sure that people use the leave that they are entitled to.