Life has changed a lot in the last few decades – far more than the pace of evolution helps us to adapt. Neuroscientist, Daniel Levitin suggests that we now have to cope with 5 times more information every day than we did in the 1980s. Ever look at Don from the TV series, Mad Men sleeping on the sofa after a large Scotch and wondered how he hadn’t been sacked? Other sources indicate that our efficiency has improved so drastically that now we could all take Friday off and be just as productive as the 1950s and 1960s.
Of course, with increased efficiency comes increased pressure. Resilience has become a hot topic and psychologists are rising to the challenge to help businesses and their employees to cope with the rising levels of stress and absenteeism. So how do we do this? The recent conference hosted by the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology showcased a number of ways psychologists are targeting employees’ stress and designing interventions to help. From mindfulness practice to positive psychology techniques to make change happen while keeping stress down and maintaining resilience. There were tips to manage your email pressure to addressing harassment complaints aimed at stressed-out managers. It was encouraging to see positive approaches bringing effective results to business, allowing us to show our human side, whilst also keeping the productivity and profits in good health.
Kade is giving organisations an opportunity to see how some positive psychology techniques can influence your own team’s well-being and resilience while also raising money for charity. Our “From the heart” campaign is designed to do just that this February – giving some positive words and encouragement to team members to develop team-relations and give people a happy glow! You can sign up here to take part. We’re also doing a short piece of research to look at how people feel before and after taking part. It’s anonymous and you can tell us if you’d like to take part through the link. Once you have given out your feedback and collected donations, you can donate on our Just-giving page. We’d love to hear from you on Twitter to find out about your experiences, and do tag us @KadeConsultancy. There is some more information on the sign-up and just-giving pages, or you can check out our previous blog here.
Julie is an Occupational Psychologist with experience of working with organisations and individuals around the globe to effectively meet their unique challenges.