Description
Change does not necessarily lead to stress, but it is important to emphasise that change can have a negative influence on stress in many ways. The restructuring at Aarhus University makes it necessary that all staff understand and adapt to any changes to their work environment. This process requires extra energy, and over a longer period of time, this can contribute to stress.
ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE AND STRESS
– PREVENTING AND DEALING WITH STRESS
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
2
The main resource of Aarhus University is its staf.
The university’s 2009 psychological workplace
assessment showed considerable commitment
among staf. They appreciate their interesting and
varied tasks, which challenge their academic
knowledge, creativity and interpersonal skills.
In order for university staf to deliver their best,
job satisfaction and general well-being must be
taken seriously and given high priority. It is the
management’s responsibility to ensure a standard
of behaviour, communication, task prioritisation
and confict management that helps prevent stress
in the workplace.
The purpose of this folder is to contribute
to stress prevention during a period of major
changes. This is achieved by drawing attention
to the sources of stress and the factors that
can infuence staf during periods of major
change. Reducing and preventing stress is the
responsibility of everyone at Aarhus University –
from organisational level through to management,
colleagues and the individual staf members
themselves.
Rector Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen
INTRODUCTION
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
3
Background for the folder
Aarhus University is a modern workplace ex-
periencing change. The university is currently
undergoing an academic development process,
resulting in initiatives such as the merging of
faculties and departments. This can impact
on the future tasks and geographical location
of the staff.
This change process interferes with day-to-
day work, and the staff can ‘sense’ the changes,
so to speak. You can get a feeling of being in a
vacuum where questions like “What work will
I be doing?”, “Who will my new colleagues be?”
and “Where will we be located?” can lead to
feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. Com-
prehensive and ongoing change processes can
increase the risk of stress, and Aarhus Univer-
sity wishes to prevent this.
To prevent stress, it is important to know
what stress is – what is fact and what is fction?
It can have unfortunate consequences if a busy
working day is always associated with stress, as
staff members actually suffering from genuine
stress are then more likely to be overlooked,
and therefore may not receive the necessary
assistance.
With this folder, Aarhus University wishes
to focus on the following:
– What does organizational change
mean to the work environment?
– What is stress?
– What can lead to stress?
– How can staff and managers get help?
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
4
What is stress?
Stress is not an illness. There is no medical
diagnosis called ‘stress’, and the word stress can
therefore easily become a term used to describe
physical and mental discomfort during a busy
day. A defnition of the concept of stress, as it is
often used in Denmark, is that stress is a state
of high arousal and demotivation.
Figure 1: Arousal and motivation
Arousal
Motivation Demotivation
Relaxation
Job satisfaction
”Recharging
the batteries”
Stress
Boredom and
indifference
Organizational change
Change does not necessarily lead to stress, but it
is important to emphasise that change can have
a negative infuence on stress in many ways.
The restructuring at Aarhus University
makes it necessary that all staff understand
and adapt to any changes to their work environ-
ment. This process requires extra energy, and
over a longer period of time, this can contribute
to stress. In addition, change can result in a
certain amount of uncertainty and insecurity
among staff.
In the workplace, this can take the form of
thoughts like “How will my responsibilities be
affected?”, “Do I have the right skills?” or “Who
will my new colleagues be?” Such unanswered
questions can create confusion for individual
staff members and among staff groups. Confu-
sion about mutual demands and expectations
can give rise to misunderstandings that, in a
worst-case scenario, can develop into power
struggles, conficts within the group, a lack
of commitment and stress for individual staff
members. Change also affects many of the areas
mentioned as sources of stress, which means
that change can contribute to increasing the
sources of stress.
Arousal can be interpreted as a high level of
activity. Many experience arousal as a process
of fow: they are so absorbed in a particular
activity and so focused on it that they lose their
sense of time and forget themselves.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
5
Table 1: Physical, psychological and behavioural reactions:
Physical
• Headache
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness
• Stomach pains
• Diarrhoea
• Nausea
• Aggravation of
infections and
chronic illness
• Reduced libido
Psychological
• Memory lapses
• Difculties
concentrating
• Lack of direction
• Crowded thoughts
• Fatigue/a feeling
of exhaustion
• Irritability
• Loss of sense
of humour
• Teariness
• Demotivation
Behavioural
• Disturbed sleep
• Loss of appetite
• Reduced performance
• Low self-esteem
• Indecisiveness
• Introvertedness
• Short fuse/anger
and aggression
• Increased use of
stimulants
• Increased absenteeism
”I’ve always enjoyed
my work and been
pleased with the huge
challenges and the
fact that each day
was different, but
suddenly I started
feeling I didn’t have
the strength to do
certain jobs, and one
day I didn’t feel like
going to work at all.
I just couldn’t
understand it …”
Being aroused for a short period of time can
be described as short-term stress. Short-term
stress causes the body to go into high alert, and
the senses are sharpened, for example. Short-
term stress is therefore an appropriate reaction
that helps you increase your performance.
Being aroused for an extended period of time
can be described as chronic stress. Chronic
stress means that the body is on high alert for
an extended period of time. What was an ap-
propriate reaction therefore becomes a reac-
tion with potentially harmful effects. Chronic
stress develops into a state of high arousal and
demotivation, and can be described according
to a number of physical, psychological and be-
havioural reactions that differ from one person
to the next.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
6
Stress is a dynamic phenomenon, and it can
therefore be diffcult to determine whether it
is green or red stress that is dominating at any
given point in time.
Only a fne line separates the two, and the
green stress can therefore imperceptibly move
towards the red area if the level of engagement
gets out of control, for example, and the indi-
vidual overlooks the body’s warning signs.
The model tries to give a more nuanced un-
derstanding of the stress concept. This can help
improve the psychological work environment in
the workplace, as it is important to determine
the factors that boost energy and those that
drain energy in connection with preventing
and dealing with stress.
• Stress is not an illness.
• Stress is a state of arousal and demotivation.
• Stress manifests as a number of physical, psychological and
behavioural reactions.
• Stress is appropriate in suitable doses
– as long as the individual has the opportunity to relax again.
Green
Boosts energy
Surplus
Motivation
Yellow
Neutral
Red
Drains energy
Defcit
Demotivation
What is important in the handling of stress is
frstly to ensure that the staff member has an
opportunity to alternate between performing
and ‘relaxing’. In other words, in the course of
a week there is both arousal and relaxation in
the job as well as at home.
Secondly, it is important to regard stress as
a fundamentally neutral concept that fuctuates
between motivation and demotivation. The
dynamic understanding of stress is helpful in
that regard.
Figure 2: A dynamic understanding of stress
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
7
What can lead to work stress?
Previously, the lack of infuence on one’s own
work was the primary source of stress. Today,
most people experience that they can infuence
their work, the planning of the work and its
execution. In addition, work is often structured
as projects and team work, and this makes huge
demands on the fexibility, self-discipline and
interpersonal skills of the individual. This type
The “traditional” sources
Pace, monotonous work, a lack of infuence, few development opportunities
(e.g. routine work)
The “relational” sources
High emotional demands, unclear demands, role conficts, other conficts,
violence and threats, demanding users
(e.g. consultancy and advisory work, etc.)
The “modern” sources
Never-ending demands, blurred lines between work and leisure, a lack of
predictability, individualised demands and expectations
(e.g. research, project work, IT, etc.)
It is rarely possible to isolate the different
sources of stress in the course of a working day.
What leads to stress can only be understood if
seen in a context. If a task is a source of stress,
it is important to examine what aspects of the
task cause the stress. Is it the collaboration
about the task? Is it a lack of qualifcations?
Is it the number of tasks of this nature or the
complexity of the task?
of work can lead to questions such as “When is
my work done?”, ”Who does what?” and “Do I
have to be available by e-mail and phone over
the weekend?”. Unless these questions and roles
are clarifed, it can be diffcult for a staff mem-
ber to judge when a task has been satisfactorily
solved – and therefore completed.
The sources of work stress can be divided into the following three categories:
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
8
Figure 3: The stress psychology triangle
The stress psychology triangle shows that stress
rarely comes from a single source. Stress is
most often caused by a combination of sev-
eral work-related sources, and the individual’s
private life and the expectations and demands
the person has to himself/herself also play an
important role.
Sources
of stress
Private life
Divorce
Serious illness
Young children
Tight fnances
Individual
Committed
Responsible
Conscientious
Perfectionist
Job
Large workload
Lack of infuence
Unpredictability
Poor social climate
Harassment
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
9
At the organisational level
The workplace is responsible for the goals and strategies that defne the frame-
work for the work performed by the staff and therefore their well-being, including:
– occupational health and safety work, e.g. work assessment procedures and tools.
– staff policies regarding interviews in connection with absence due to illness, etc.
– competence development.
At the management level
The manager plays a key role in stress prevention.
The manager must be a leader in this feld by:
– being aware of the sources of stress.
– promoting openness and dialogue about stress.
– reacting if a staff member does not appear to be thriving.
At group level
Staff members are responsible for contributing to well-being and
collaboration in the workplace by:
– clarifying roles and responsibilities within the group and with the
immediate supervisor.
– being polite when communicating with colleagues – also in stressful situations.
– paying attention to the well-being of colleagues.
– actively supporting new initiatives to promote well-being in the workplace.
At an individual level
Staff members are also responsible for contributing to well-being and collaboration by:
– becoming familiar with their own stress signals and asking for help, if necessary.
– asking and listening to colleagues about their well-being.
Stress prevention
Stress prevention requires a joint effort at work,
as stress is a shared responsibility. Everyone in
the workplace must therefore work to prevent
and limit stress, and all levels of the workplace
must be involved in this work.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
10
There is no uniform procedure for preventing
and dealing with stress at Aarhus University.
OHS at AU Human Resources has established
collaboration with psychologists working for an
authorised OHS adviser. The procedure is that
the immediate supervisor can contact OHS at
AU Human Resources in the event that a staff
member is suffering from stress. OHS at AU Hu-
man Resources coordinates assistance with the
psychologist, who contacts the person suffering
from stress, whereupon anonymous assistance
is offered in the form of fve consultations. Any
additional consultations must be agreed with
the immediate supervisor – either directly or
via OHS at AU Human Resources. The costs
are covered locally.
Stress is a shared responsibility at Aarhus University
At Aarhus University, the management has a
special responsibility with regard to preventing
and dealing with stress. Although stress is often
caused by many different factors, the organisa-
tion and planning of the work play an impor-
tant role in the workplace. The management
must therefore be able to help the staff clarify
their roles and ensure their co-determination
through dialogue. When a staff member is ab-
sent due to illness, it is the responsibility of the
manager to provide the necessary assistance,
for example by contacting Occupational Health
and Safety (OHS) at AU Human Resources (HR),
the staff member’s OHS group or by invoking
local agreements.
As a colleague, you are responsible for creating
a good climate/working environment in your
own employee group. Mutual awareness and a
clear understanding of your own responsibili-
ties and those of others are two fundamental
components. If you notice stress symptoms in
a colleague, it might be helpful to have a chat
to the person in question and perhaps help by
contacting the immediate supervisor or OHS
representative and asking them to deal with
the matter.
As a staff member, you are responsible for
yourself, of course, in terms of being aware of
your own stress symptoms and stopping to ask
for help from your immediate supervisor or OHS
representative. In addition to approaching the
immediate supervisor or OHS representative,
the staff at Aarhus University can ask for help
from OHS at AU Human Resources.
Preventing and dealing with stress at Aarhus University
”The worst part of it was to see my own commitment
and ability to judge disappear, both at work and at home.
Thanks to the professional assistance, I was able to recover
and quickly regained my pleasure in interacting with others.
Today, I would ask for help sooner.” Staf member at Aarhus University
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
11
In 2011, OHS at AU Human Resources will
organise 35 local workshops in collaboration
with the OHS adviser CRECEA A/S.
The purpose of each workshop is to focus
on specifc local issues relating to stress and
change. A workshop consists of an introduc-
tory meeting with a manager and, if relevant,
an OHS representative; a half-day workshop
and a follow-up meeting.
Workshop on stress and change
Two examples of workshops
If your department, section or group would like
to avail yourselves of this offer for a workshop,
please briefy describe the issue in question
and submit an application to OHS at AU Hu-
man Resources at [email protected]. You will
then receive further information and perhaps
be referred to CRECEA A/S.
1: A department with 35 members
of staf has repeatedly experienced
sick leave on account of stress. It wishes
to discuss the issue of stress to prevent
and deal with this problem as well as
possible in the future.
2: A group of staf members feel
uncertain about the current change
processes and therefore wish to
acquire tools to deal with the situation.
Aarhus University
Occupational Health and Safety, AU Human Resources
Nordre Ringgade 1
Bygning 1430
8000 Århus C
nge
STR
ess&
cha
You can fnd further information here
http://medarbejdere.au.dk/hr/arbejdsmiljoe/
www.arbejdsmiljoviden.dk
www.personaleweb.dk
www.lederweb.dk
Made in collaboration
with CRECEA A/S
Ph.: 89 42 67 50 / 89 42 68 37 / 89 42 67 89
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://medarbejdere.au.dk/hr/arbejdsmiljoe/
D
e
s
i
g
n
/
p
r
i
n
t
:
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doc_943636129.pdf
Change does not necessarily lead to stress, but it is important to emphasise that change can have a negative influence on stress in many ways. The restructuring at Aarhus University makes it necessary that all staff understand and adapt to any changes to their work environment. This process requires extra energy, and over a longer period of time, this can contribute to stress.
ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE AND STRESS
– PREVENTING AND DEALING WITH STRESS
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
2
The main resource of Aarhus University is its staf.
The university’s 2009 psychological workplace
assessment showed considerable commitment
among staf. They appreciate their interesting and
varied tasks, which challenge their academic
knowledge, creativity and interpersonal skills.
In order for university staf to deliver their best,
job satisfaction and general well-being must be
taken seriously and given high priority. It is the
management’s responsibility to ensure a standard
of behaviour, communication, task prioritisation
and confict management that helps prevent stress
in the workplace.
The purpose of this folder is to contribute
to stress prevention during a period of major
changes. This is achieved by drawing attention
to the sources of stress and the factors that
can infuence staf during periods of major
change. Reducing and preventing stress is the
responsibility of everyone at Aarhus University –
from organisational level through to management,
colleagues and the individual staf members
themselves.
Rector Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen
INTRODUCTION
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
3
Background for the folder
Aarhus University is a modern workplace ex-
periencing change. The university is currently
undergoing an academic development process,
resulting in initiatives such as the merging of
faculties and departments. This can impact
on the future tasks and geographical location
of the staff.
This change process interferes with day-to-
day work, and the staff can ‘sense’ the changes,
so to speak. You can get a feeling of being in a
vacuum where questions like “What work will
I be doing?”, “Who will my new colleagues be?”
and “Where will we be located?” can lead to
feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. Com-
prehensive and ongoing change processes can
increase the risk of stress, and Aarhus Univer-
sity wishes to prevent this.
To prevent stress, it is important to know
what stress is – what is fact and what is fction?
It can have unfortunate consequences if a busy
working day is always associated with stress, as
staff members actually suffering from genuine
stress are then more likely to be overlooked,
and therefore may not receive the necessary
assistance.
With this folder, Aarhus University wishes
to focus on the following:
– What does organizational change
mean to the work environment?
– What is stress?
– What can lead to stress?
– How can staff and managers get help?
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
4
What is stress?
Stress is not an illness. There is no medical
diagnosis called ‘stress’, and the word stress can
therefore easily become a term used to describe
physical and mental discomfort during a busy
day. A defnition of the concept of stress, as it is
often used in Denmark, is that stress is a state
of high arousal and demotivation.
Figure 1: Arousal and motivation
Arousal
Motivation Demotivation
Relaxation
Job satisfaction
”Recharging
the batteries”
Stress
Boredom and
indifference
Organizational change
Change does not necessarily lead to stress, but it
is important to emphasise that change can have
a negative infuence on stress in many ways.
The restructuring at Aarhus University
makes it necessary that all staff understand
and adapt to any changes to their work environ-
ment. This process requires extra energy, and
over a longer period of time, this can contribute
to stress. In addition, change can result in a
certain amount of uncertainty and insecurity
among staff.
In the workplace, this can take the form of
thoughts like “How will my responsibilities be
affected?”, “Do I have the right skills?” or “Who
will my new colleagues be?” Such unanswered
questions can create confusion for individual
staff members and among staff groups. Confu-
sion about mutual demands and expectations
can give rise to misunderstandings that, in a
worst-case scenario, can develop into power
struggles, conficts within the group, a lack
of commitment and stress for individual staff
members. Change also affects many of the areas
mentioned as sources of stress, which means
that change can contribute to increasing the
sources of stress.
Arousal can be interpreted as a high level of
activity. Many experience arousal as a process
of fow: they are so absorbed in a particular
activity and so focused on it that they lose their
sense of time and forget themselves.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
5
Table 1: Physical, psychological and behavioural reactions:
Physical
• Headache
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness
• Stomach pains
• Diarrhoea
• Nausea
• Aggravation of
infections and
chronic illness
• Reduced libido
Psychological
• Memory lapses
• Difculties
concentrating
• Lack of direction
• Crowded thoughts
• Fatigue/a feeling
of exhaustion
• Irritability
• Loss of sense
of humour
• Teariness
• Demotivation
Behavioural
• Disturbed sleep
• Loss of appetite
• Reduced performance
• Low self-esteem
• Indecisiveness
• Introvertedness
• Short fuse/anger
and aggression
• Increased use of
stimulants
• Increased absenteeism
”I’ve always enjoyed
my work and been
pleased with the huge
challenges and the
fact that each day
was different, but
suddenly I started
feeling I didn’t have
the strength to do
certain jobs, and one
day I didn’t feel like
going to work at all.
I just couldn’t
understand it …”
Being aroused for a short period of time can
be described as short-term stress. Short-term
stress causes the body to go into high alert, and
the senses are sharpened, for example. Short-
term stress is therefore an appropriate reaction
that helps you increase your performance.
Being aroused for an extended period of time
can be described as chronic stress. Chronic
stress means that the body is on high alert for
an extended period of time. What was an ap-
propriate reaction therefore becomes a reac-
tion with potentially harmful effects. Chronic
stress develops into a state of high arousal and
demotivation, and can be described according
to a number of physical, psychological and be-
havioural reactions that differ from one person
to the next.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
6
Stress is a dynamic phenomenon, and it can
therefore be diffcult to determine whether it
is green or red stress that is dominating at any
given point in time.
Only a fne line separates the two, and the
green stress can therefore imperceptibly move
towards the red area if the level of engagement
gets out of control, for example, and the indi-
vidual overlooks the body’s warning signs.
The model tries to give a more nuanced un-
derstanding of the stress concept. This can help
improve the psychological work environment in
the workplace, as it is important to determine
the factors that boost energy and those that
drain energy in connection with preventing
and dealing with stress.
• Stress is not an illness.
• Stress is a state of arousal and demotivation.
• Stress manifests as a number of physical, psychological and
behavioural reactions.
• Stress is appropriate in suitable doses
– as long as the individual has the opportunity to relax again.
Green
Boosts energy
Surplus
Motivation
Yellow
Neutral
Red
Drains energy
Defcit
Demotivation
What is important in the handling of stress is
frstly to ensure that the staff member has an
opportunity to alternate between performing
and ‘relaxing’. In other words, in the course of
a week there is both arousal and relaxation in
the job as well as at home.
Secondly, it is important to regard stress as
a fundamentally neutral concept that fuctuates
between motivation and demotivation. The
dynamic understanding of stress is helpful in
that regard.
Figure 2: A dynamic understanding of stress
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
7
What can lead to work stress?
Previously, the lack of infuence on one’s own
work was the primary source of stress. Today,
most people experience that they can infuence
their work, the planning of the work and its
execution. In addition, work is often structured
as projects and team work, and this makes huge
demands on the fexibility, self-discipline and
interpersonal skills of the individual. This type
The “traditional” sources
Pace, monotonous work, a lack of infuence, few development opportunities
(e.g. routine work)
The “relational” sources
High emotional demands, unclear demands, role conficts, other conficts,
violence and threats, demanding users
(e.g. consultancy and advisory work, etc.)
The “modern” sources
Never-ending demands, blurred lines between work and leisure, a lack of
predictability, individualised demands and expectations
(e.g. research, project work, IT, etc.)
It is rarely possible to isolate the different
sources of stress in the course of a working day.
What leads to stress can only be understood if
seen in a context. If a task is a source of stress,
it is important to examine what aspects of the
task cause the stress. Is it the collaboration
about the task? Is it a lack of qualifcations?
Is it the number of tasks of this nature or the
complexity of the task?
of work can lead to questions such as “When is
my work done?”, ”Who does what?” and “Do I
have to be available by e-mail and phone over
the weekend?”. Unless these questions and roles
are clarifed, it can be diffcult for a staff mem-
ber to judge when a task has been satisfactorily
solved – and therefore completed.
The sources of work stress can be divided into the following three categories:
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
8
Figure 3: The stress psychology triangle
The stress psychology triangle shows that stress
rarely comes from a single source. Stress is
most often caused by a combination of sev-
eral work-related sources, and the individual’s
private life and the expectations and demands
the person has to himself/herself also play an
important role.
Sources
of stress
Private life
Divorce
Serious illness
Young children
Tight fnances
Individual
Committed
Responsible
Conscientious
Perfectionist
Job
Large workload
Lack of infuence
Unpredictability
Poor social climate
Harassment
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
9
At the organisational level
The workplace is responsible for the goals and strategies that defne the frame-
work for the work performed by the staff and therefore their well-being, including:
– occupational health and safety work, e.g. work assessment procedures and tools.
– staff policies regarding interviews in connection with absence due to illness, etc.
– competence development.
At the management level
The manager plays a key role in stress prevention.
The manager must be a leader in this feld by:
– being aware of the sources of stress.
– promoting openness and dialogue about stress.
– reacting if a staff member does not appear to be thriving.
At group level
Staff members are responsible for contributing to well-being and
collaboration in the workplace by:
– clarifying roles and responsibilities within the group and with the
immediate supervisor.
– being polite when communicating with colleagues – also in stressful situations.
– paying attention to the well-being of colleagues.
– actively supporting new initiatives to promote well-being in the workplace.
At an individual level
Staff members are also responsible for contributing to well-being and collaboration by:
– becoming familiar with their own stress signals and asking for help, if necessary.
– asking and listening to colleagues about their well-being.
Stress prevention
Stress prevention requires a joint effort at work,
as stress is a shared responsibility. Everyone in
the workplace must therefore work to prevent
and limit stress, and all levels of the workplace
must be involved in this work.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
10
There is no uniform procedure for preventing
and dealing with stress at Aarhus University.
OHS at AU Human Resources has established
collaboration with psychologists working for an
authorised OHS adviser. The procedure is that
the immediate supervisor can contact OHS at
AU Human Resources in the event that a staff
member is suffering from stress. OHS at AU Hu-
man Resources coordinates assistance with the
psychologist, who contacts the person suffering
from stress, whereupon anonymous assistance
is offered in the form of fve consultations. Any
additional consultations must be agreed with
the immediate supervisor – either directly or
via OHS at AU Human Resources. The costs
are covered locally.
Stress is a shared responsibility at Aarhus University
At Aarhus University, the management has a
special responsibility with regard to preventing
and dealing with stress. Although stress is often
caused by many different factors, the organisa-
tion and planning of the work play an impor-
tant role in the workplace. The management
must therefore be able to help the staff clarify
their roles and ensure their co-determination
through dialogue. When a staff member is ab-
sent due to illness, it is the responsibility of the
manager to provide the necessary assistance,
for example by contacting Occupational Health
and Safety (OHS) at AU Human Resources (HR),
the staff member’s OHS group or by invoking
local agreements.
As a colleague, you are responsible for creating
a good climate/working environment in your
own employee group. Mutual awareness and a
clear understanding of your own responsibili-
ties and those of others are two fundamental
components. If you notice stress symptoms in
a colleague, it might be helpful to have a chat
to the person in question and perhaps help by
contacting the immediate supervisor or OHS
representative and asking them to deal with
the matter.
As a staff member, you are responsible for
yourself, of course, in terms of being aware of
your own stress symptoms and stopping to ask
for help from your immediate supervisor or OHS
representative. In addition to approaching the
immediate supervisor or OHS representative,
the staff at Aarhus University can ask for help
from OHS at AU Human Resources.
Preventing and dealing with stress at Aarhus University
”The worst part of it was to see my own commitment
and ability to judge disappear, both at work and at home.
Thanks to the professional assistance, I was able to recover
and quickly regained my pleasure in interacting with others.
Today, I would ask for help sooner.” Staf member at Aarhus University
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND STRESS
11
In 2011, OHS at AU Human Resources will
organise 35 local workshops in collaboration
with the OHS adviser CRECEA A/S.
The purpose of each workshop is to focus
on specifc local issues relating to stress and
change. A workshop consists of an introduc-
tory meeting with a manager and, if relevant,
an OHS representative; a half-day workshop
and a follow-up meeting.
Workshop on stress and change
Two examples of workshops
If your department, section or group would like
to avail yourselves of this offer for a workshop,
please briefy describe the issue in question
and submit an application to OHS at AU Hu-
man Resources at [email protected]. You will
then receive further information and perhaps
be referred to CRECEA A/S.
1: A department with 35 members
of staf has repeatedly experienced
sick leave on account of stress. It wishes
to discuss the issue of stress to prevent
and deal with this problem as well as
possible in the future.
2: A group of staf members feel
uncertain about the current change
processes and therefore wish to
acquire tools to deal with the situation.
Aarhus University
Occupational Health and Safety, AU Human Resources
Nordre Ringgade 1
Bygning 1430
8000 Århus C
nge
STR
ess&
cha
You can fnd further information here
http://medarbejdere.au.dk/hr/arbejdsmiljoe/
www.arbejdsmiljoviden.dk
www.personaleweb.dk
www.lederweb.dk
Made in collaboration
with CRECEA A/S
Ph.: 89 42 67 50 / 89 42 68 37 / 89 42 67 89
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://medarbejdere.au.dk/hr/arbejdsmiljoe/
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doc_943636129.pdf