Today is Stress Awareness Day which takes place on the 1st Wednesday of November. This day has been set aside annually since its creation in 1998 by the International Stress Management Association. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the effects of psychological distress in the workplace and more importantly identify ways to address it.
The oil and gas industry predominantly consists of men which means they are less likely to discuss stress. Plus, workers in this sector are subjected to an extremely tough environment dealing with issues relating to hazardous conditions, heights, moving vehicles, extreme weather, consequences due to mistakes, working long shift patterns and being away from family.
Whilst the promotion of physical health and safety is widely maintained and regulated by companies the management of stress is not so easily identifiable. Meaning it is often down to work mates to recognise signs in each other.
Here are ways to identify stress in your team:
- Mood swings
- Taking time off
- Being late for work
- Appearing withdrawn
- Easily tiring
- Loss of motivation
One of the most important things we can all do is turn to our work colleague and ask them a simple question: how are you ‘really’ doing today?
It’s time to set aside pride and get talking.