Title: Manage Your Pressure Programme

Location: Swords, Dublin

Funding: €3,450

Description:
185 employees have participated, to date on the "Manage Your Pressure" programme.

Number of employees:  

	Total	Male	Female
Employed	966	323	643
Participated*	185	60	125

Achievements:
Participation of 185 employees in the "Manage Your Pressure" programme. Prior to taking part in the course work employees complete a questionnaire to identify work-generated stress.

Obstacles:
Managers and team leaders were very supportive of the programme for their employees and encouraged employees to attend courses. However, when it came to workshops aimed at managers and team leaders, attendance was sporadic. Possible reasons for this are workload and/or a reluctance to be seen to need this type of course. In the future this issue will be overcome by making the programme a compulsory part of the team leader development programme.

Lessons:

• Stress may not always be caused by work but it can have a significant impact on a person's ability to do their job. It is beneficial for the organisation to provide support and training to individuals suffering from stress, irrespective of the source of the stress.
•  The organisation has benefited from improved performance at work and increased loyalty.
•  The questionnaires highlighted the following areas as the main areas of concern
  (a) Communication and employee involvement in organisational change
  (b) Level of feedback regarding job performance (This feedback is in the process of being addressed through the introduction of a performance management system and by setting up some employee focus groups to address issues such as communication).

Future Plans:
The programme is an ongoing part of the employee development programme and will form a compulsory part of the company's team leader development programme.