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Irwin Edgehill Training

Supporting individuals and teams to build their confidence and resilience empowering them to transform their personal & professional lives.

Month: January 2020

There really is a cure for your workplace stress

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How are you feeling? How is your morale? Is it low and impacting on your productivity and creativity? Then it’s quite likely that you are suffering from the impact of work place stress.

Having worked with a wide range of individuals at many levels of organisations who have dealt with the negative effects of workplace stress, it’s a fact that those who recognise and address this increasingly common affliction get the most out of their working lives.

In a recent labour force survey it was stated that:
• Staff take an average of 12 sick days a year, also 60- to 80% of primary care doctor visits are related to stress, yet only 3% of patients receive stress management help (JAMA Intern Med. 2013; 173(1): 76-77).
• The American Psychological report stated that 42 % of Americans report lying awake at night due to stress.

So where do you begin?

• Firstly and most importantly recognise that your emotional wellbeing is key to increasing productivity and creativity.
• Acknowledge that wellbeing doesn’t mean treating yourself to a cake or chocolates every now and again or coming to work on a Friday dressed casually. Even taking a holiday doesn’t really work as unless you deal with your workplace stress before you go, you only end up taking it with you.
• Consider how you really feel about the working environment, the way you are being managed or your current workload.
• Ensure that your organisation understands and recognises staff wellbeing and stress in the workplace. The days of ‘just get on with it and pull yourself together’ just don’t work in today’s always on, increasingly demanding working environment.
• Realise the value and benefit of investing time and money in your emotional wellbeing. See it as an investment in the business as you would a new piece of machinery or marketing campaign.
• Put in place a commitment and structure that recognises the value and benefit from regular life coaching sessions that cover stress management, assertiveness, mindfulness and self-esteem.

Recognise the situation? Want to begin to introduce the cure?

Contact us at Irwin Edgehill Training and discuss our range of services and solutions we offer to begin to address work place stress. Email: info@irwinedgehilltraining.co.uk or call 07842 435921.

Managing student exam stress

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What a great day.  We are just back from working with students at Tregonwell Academy in Bournemouth, helping them manage exam stress.

Throughout the day we worked with groups of year 11 students to find the best ways they can prepare for and take their forthcoming mock exams without being stressed. During our workshops we first gave  them an introduction about the root causes of stress and then information on how it can be combated.

The combat came in the form of showing them simple breathing techniques, aided using visual on screen data through the Emwave stress machine which highlights when an individual is in positive coherence or in other words ‘stressless’.

The end result: The students felt more confident and optimistic about taking their exams, giving them a better chance of obtaining the grades they want to achieve.

Thanks to IAG Lead Holly Andrews at Tregonwell Academy for helping to organise the workshops.  We are looking forward to returning again soon.

Do you think your students could benefit from a better understanding of what stress really is? Interested in exploring how we can help your students. Then contact Irwin Edgehill Training via Email: info@irwinedgehilltraining.co.uk or call 07842 435921.

If you don’t stand for something you are going to fall for anything

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This concept is taken from a workshop I recently delivered that focused on boundaries.  One of the attendee’s asked: “Irwin, I am sick and tired of the men I seem to attract in my life and of the subsequent tempestuous relationships that follow.  Why does this keep on happening?” 

My response was: “Do you have a stand, what do you stand for?” Her reaction was as if I’d just spoken in a foreign language, which  unfortunately wasn’t a surprise as this is a response I get from most people. I say unfortunately because of the fact that if more people stood for something in any or all of their relationships be they business, platonic or romantic they would not have to suffer emotionally, mentally and physically as many do. 

The help and advice I gave to the attendee and the rest of the group was that before you embark on another relationship first ask yourself these simple questions: 

  • What am I no longer prepared to put up with in a new relationship? 
  • What type of person do I want to meet and what positive characteristics do I want them to have?  
  • If I am expecting them to be of a certain positive character then am I that  person myself?  
  • Do I need to  work on myself with the right support and knowledge to become the person I want to meet? The reality being that we  assemble with those with whom we resemble? 

The attendee at first had a hard time in believing that she in some way resembled the negative men she attracted. However once we dug deeper she did recognise traits in herself that mirrored the men she met, such as having no boundaries. By focusing on these simple questions and sticking to them no matter what, will save her a huge amount of emotional grief and trauma in her life as well as making her feel positively empowered.    

If you are finding that you are falling for anything because you don’t stand for something then seek some advice and guidance by contacting us at Irwin Edgehill Training. Email: info@irwinedgehilltraining.co.uk or call 07842 435921.