How exercise contributes to a healthy lifestyle

According to the NHS, adults should do one type of physical activity every day. Adults should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week. Adults should also spread exercise evenly over 4-5 days a week or every day, reduce time spent sitting or lying down, and break up long periods of not moving with some activity.

Spending prolonged periods sitting down during the day isn’t good for your health, yet, with many of us having desk-based roles, 7-8 hours a day disappear sitting just at work. Unfortunately, with the average person spending 12 hours a day sitting down, physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. So, exercising moderately to vigorously during the week is critical to combat ‘sitting disease’.

Exercise can be a love-hate relationship for many people. Even though it can be hard to motivate yourself to go for a walk or run (especially when it’s cold and raining), regular physical activity does reduce your risk of various health conditions such as obesity, heart disease, depression, and dementia.

Since the start of the pandemic, lots of people have been working remotely, reducing their chances of exercising on the commute to work, e.g., walking, cycling. So, it’s necessary to consider how much exercise you actually do during the day.

A great way to monitor your activity is by using a wearable fitness tracker. Wearable fitness trackers not only count your steps but can measure heart rate and track if you’re doing a vigorous workout such as running.

Benefits of exercising

One of the advantages of exercising is that it boosts our ability to fight infections. Through working out, we encourage blood to circulate our body, which improves oxygen intake.

Being regularly physically active can help your general physical health. It:

  • Supports stronger bones, muscles and joints
  • Manages weight better
  • Lowers blood cholesterol levels
  • Lowers blood pressure
  • Reduces risk of a heart attack
  • Lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers
  • Feels better, with more energy and healthier sleep

Exercise can help improve mental health:

  • It increases hormones linked to happiness, such as endorphins and serotonin.
  • Even low-intensity exercise can significantly reduce the symptoms of depression by boosting the production of a hormone called norepinephrine.

Types of exercise

Taking part in daily exercise is vital for a healthy lifestyle and choosing a physical activity that raises your heart rate is ideal. However, it’s important to remember that whichever type of exercise you do is good for you. It doesn’t matter if you can’t run, but if you prefer to do Yoga or Pilates because you enjoy it, then do it. The important thing is you do what works for you. Exercise is not a one size fits all. Small amounts of exercise each day, even if that’s a leisurely walk, can be a great place to start to improve your physical and mental health.

With moderate exercise, most people need between 150 and 300 minutes of it per week. This includes:

  • Brisk walking until you can’t talk without being out of breath
  • Cycling at a leisurely pace
  • Dancing until you sweat
  • Hiking
  • Swimming at a leisurely pace

With vigorous exercise, you should generally aim for between 75 and 150 minutes of it per week. This includes:

  • Running
  • Martial arts
  • Aerobics
  • Skipping with a rope
  • Swimming at a fast pace

When it comes to reaching your weekly targets for fitness, remember that the more vigorous the activity you do, the less time you will need to spend doing it each week. If you try fast-paced sports with friends such as football or netball, you will notice your speed slowly start to improve as your fitness gets better. However, doing a mix of both moderate and vigorous activities during the week is an easier way to ensure you hit your exercise targets, meaning you’re less likely to burn out.

Start exercising

Before you start thinking about what exercise routine you’d like to do during the week, ensure you check any health conditions you have with your doctor to ensure you don’t take part in anything you shouldn’t be doing, e.g., further damaging your back.

Make a list of activities you’d like to participate in and figure out if they are moderate or vigorous activities, so you can get a rough understanding of how long you’d need to spend doing each activity each week to hit your weekly target. If you’re considering doing brisk walking, as it’s a moderate activity, you will need to do a minimum of 150 mins a week. So, if you spread this out across five days, that’s simply 30 mins a day. The next step is then to find a time that works for you to fit in your exercise. 30 mins of brisk walking a day could be done before work, during your lunch break, or even after your evening dinner.

Time poor

One of the biggest challenges many people face is finding the time and effort to fit exercise into their daily routine. However, when you know the benefits of exercising, treating it as a priority becomes invaluable. If you’re able to, perhaps try a vigorous activity as you only need to do a minimum of 75 mins to hit your weekly target. Doing two x 40 mins vigorous workout such as running, or aerobics is all you need.

Who says exercising is expensive?

Not everyone can afford to pay for a gym membership, especially when you struggle to find the time during the week to go. Throughout the lockdown, people across the country found innovative ways to exercise at home. You can go for a walk, run, watch a YouTube video or join online classes for aerobics, Zumba or yoga.

Exercise with a friend

When people quit exercising, lacking the motivation to do it or finding the activity boring tend to be the reason. Well, try exercising with a friend or family member, or doing a group sport such as football where your presence is required. Working out with somebody else makes the activity more enjoyable, and you can also encourage each other to do it.

If you’re interested in improving your healthy lifestyle through exercise, then look at our latest course as well as the rest of our wellbeing collection to improve how you and your employees feel.

How to manage your personal stress

Work-related stress can lead to many health problems. It is one of the leading causes of absence from work and long-term sick leave for employees. When our stress is allowed to continue unchecked, it can lead to depression and anxiety, which can have devastating effects. According to HSE’s Labour Force Survey, 17.9 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in 2019/2020, this equated to an average of 21.6 days lost per person suffering.

Controlling work-related stress is a shared responsibility between employers and employees themselves. It can help employees cope if they know how to recognise the signs of stress in themselves and the steps they can take to control it.

What is stress?

HSE defines stress as ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them’. Employees feel stress when they can’t cope with pressures and other issues.

Symptoms of stress

Everyone experiences stress differently, but when it starts to affect your health and wellbeing, you must learn how to manage it.

  • Feelings of constant worry or anxiety
  • Feelings of being overwhelmed
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Mood swings or changes in your mood
  • Irritability or having a short temper
  • Difficulty relaxing
  • Depression
  • Low self-esteem
  • Eating more or less than usual
  • Changes in your sleeping habits
  • Using alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs to relax
  • Aches and pains, particularly muscle tension
  • Diarrhoea and constipation
  • Feelings of nausea or dizziness
  • Loss of sex drive

Here are some ways you can manage personal stress:

1 – Understand the root cause of stress

Stop and think about the real reason why you feel stressed. Do you have little time to complete a project ahead of a deadline? Was this passed onto you with little to short notice? Then there are two issues here: one is time management – feeling stressed because you know it might be difficult to complete the task within the deadline, and the second is communication – being given a task to complete within an unrealistic timeframe and at short notice with no prior heads-up.

2 – Reduce unnecessary stress

  • Learn to say no

We often want to be ‘yes’ people both professionally and personally because it’s human nature to want to be liked or help one another. But you can only bite off as much as you can chew. Understand how much time a task will take and whether the workload is feasible. If not, simply say you won’t be able to do it within that given timeframe and ask for an extension or find out if somebody else on the team has the availability to do it instead.

  • Review your to-do list

If you have too much on, work with your line manager to review your to-do list. Analyse your deadlines and how long each task will take and prioritise them in order of urgency.

  • Learn to control the situation

Figure out if you can reduce the stress in a particular situation. For example, if you constantly get stuck in traffic and worry about getting to work on time, then work backwards. Wake up earlier to make sure you leave the house earlier, allowing time for any traffic on the journey and still making it to work on time.

3 – Develop your coping strategies

  • Exercise

Regularly exercising, even just going for a walk, is a great way to relax your body and take your mind off things. Allowing oxygen to flow into your body will help improve your mood.

  • Relax your muscles

When you’re stressed, it’s normal for muscles to tense up, leading to aches and pains. Consider loosening up the muscles by doing yoga (stretching muscles), having a massage, or even relaxing in a hot bath.

  • Deep breathing exercises

When you suffer from stress or even anxiety attacks, deep breathing exercises work well to help reduce the tension and improve the mood. Try playing mindfulness music in the background and learn to take slow deep breaths in and out.

  • Eat healthier

Eating a well-balanced diet should be a staple requirement in our daily lives. Although we may enjoy indulging in fast food, as long as it’s not a regular occurrence, then it should be fine. Your meals should consist of a good variety of fruit and vegetables since eating better can help reduce stress. Your body will also feel better in itself; more alert and full of energy.

  • Take a break

Your body can only go so fast before it crashes. Schedule some regular breaks for your body to rest and be still. This can involve going for a slow walk in nature, reading a book in the park, or even doing yoga.

  • Make some time to do an activity

It’s important to schedule some ‘you’ time and take part in activities you enjoy to relieve stress. Try playing a team sport such as football or tennis, or release stress through a martial art such as kickboxing. It could even be a solo activity such as solving puzzles such as sudoku or doing some painting.

  • Talk to someone about your worries

One of the most important ways to manage and reduce your stress is by talking to someone. Often, by bottling in problems, they seem worse than they are, but talking to someone allows us to voice those concerns. Speak with someone you feel comfortable with, whether it’s a manager, a colleague, family, friends or seek professional help with a therapist.

While these are some ways to manage your stress, check out our course on Stress Management for Individuals and our Managing Personal Stress Challenge to help guide the way. Remember to remain positive, talk to someone and get professional help from a doctor if stress is causing constant issues and worries. Have a look at the rest of the courses offered in our wellbeing collection for other courses.

DeltaNet International Strengthens Senior Leadership Team to Drive Business Growth

DeltaNet International, a global eLearning provider of compliance, health and safety and performance training solutions, has today announced two new appointments to its senior leadership team to help drive business growth. Jonathan Smith joins as the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Stuart Taylor as the Financial Controller; both roles are new positions within the company, amid its plans to expand.

Smith will lead the organisation’s commercial strategy to increase revenue and leverage the route to market, as well as cross-selling opportunities within Marlowe PLC. Overseeing sales and marketing, he will focus on customer success, building the DeltaNet International brand and value proposition. With more than 20 years’ experience in sales, Smith brings with him a wealth of knowledge in growing SaaS-based offerings, working on global and enterprise accounts, and sales leadership. He spent the last seven years in HR tech and has worked in large corporates and start-up organisations across various sectors including eLearning, IoT, FMCG, and legal technology. Prior to joining DeltaNet International, Smith was Head of UK Sales at Thomas International, a global talent assessment platform provider.

“Following the recent acquisition by Marlowe PLC, DeltaNet International is at an important milestone,” said Jonathan Smith, CCO at DeltaNet International. “I am thrilled to join the company on this exciting journey, working with the Senior Leadership team to realise the huge opportunities to drive revenue and achieve market leadership.”

Taylor will take over DeltaNet’s financial duties and act as a Financial Business Partner supporting all business functions, reporting to the Managing Director and Marlowe PLC. Controlling the organisation’s finances, he will focus on introducing new processes besides improving the quality of financial information and understanding in the business. With over 18 years’ experience in finance and as a Chartered Management Accountant, Taylor brings significant financial knowledge to support the company transition into its next phase. He spent the last ten years leading finance teams in small-to-medium enterprises. Before joining DeltaNet International, Taylor was the Head of Finance at 2OC, a project development business that built and managed a renewable power station.

“I am looking forward to leading the financial operations at DeltaNet. Joining a small company with big aspirations means that I will be able to support and facilitate that growth,” said Stuart Taylor, Financial Controller at DeltaNet International. “It’s an exciting time, and I want to add value by providing high-quality commercial finance support and make DeltaNet’s financial operations a more streamlined and smoother process ready for growth.”

“We are delighted to bolster our leadership team with experts in their respective fields who will strengthen the core of our organisation and ensure we are better placed to service current and future eLearning customers,” said Darren Hockley, Managing Director at DeltaNet International. “Jonathan and Stuart both bring expertise to our company that can support our visions to accelerate growth and increase our market share. This is an exciting time for us.”

Can Wellbeing Boost Business Performance?

Business culture is changing.

Workplace culture has always been thought of as the true reflection of a business and its people. Historically it has been left to its own devices, to develop organically.

The world is becoming more conscious. Employees want to know more about the company they work for and are demanding more from their working environment, and consumers now care more about the morals and actions of the companies they buy from. It is too risky to long term success to leave business culture to shape itself.

What shapes business culture today?

Business culture is intangible. Its very existence derives from the culmination of traits of the people the business employs. It has historically been placed into the following three categories – Beliefs and Behaviours, Satisfaction and Engagement.

However today, there are only two components that shape how a business’s culture develops.

  1. Beliefs and Behaviours – how a company handles external transactions.
  2. Wellbeing – how a business engages with their employees, aims to satisfy their requirements, and how they look after them.

What does a culture of wellbeing actually look like?

Contrary to popular belief, a culture of wellbeing is not just employee perk packages, away days, and 6 monthly pay reviews. While these things certainly contribute to increased wellbeing, a business needs to invest in their wellbeing infrastructure.

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The term ‘wellbeing infrastructure’ refers to a business investing in long term structures that create a humanistic environment. For example, a manufacturing company investing in the health and safety of their employees. Meaning they feel less at risk, less stressed about coming to work, and therefore feel happier and in theory are more productive.

Another example may be a call centre implementing a walking meetings policy. Where employees have the option to take their meetings as a walking-meeting outside the office to increase physical activity levels and combat the affects of their sedentary working environment. A wellbeing infrastructure is seen and experienced by all employees daily. Impacting their health, happiness, and productivity. Organisations that only invest in perks, such as money off vouchers, tickets to events and so on, can feel as though the company’s wellbeing policy doesn’t extend past the writing on their contract. This can leave employees feeling disengaged and can cause the companies culture to suffer.

A culture of wellbeing – does it really matter?

Having high-levels of staff wellbeing means that employees are happier, that they have a better work-life balance, and they are generally healthier. It would be nice to believe that every business would invest in the wellbeing of their workforce because of these reasons! However, the vast majority are more concerned with the financial implications of investing in wellbeing measures, e.g.,does it create a return on investment?

The short answer is yes. It does indeed create a return on investment. In fact, there are numerous benefits to the business of having healthy and happy employees …

Attracting the right talent to an organisation

A business is only as good as its employees. The CIPD state that company culture is one of the top considerations for candidates when looking for a new job. If an organisation’swellbeing infrastructure is robust enough and deeply engrained , it is more likely to attract a higher calibre of candidate. After all, high-quality candidates will have more market-value and this includes the ability to choose an employer that benefits them as much as they benefit the business.

Less turnover

An engaged and supported employee who is enjoying their work is much less likely to look for another job. Lower labour turnover means less client disruption, less internal disruption, and no negative press associated with high numbers of staff leaving the business; it also means lower recruitment and training costs. All these factors can be shown as a financial return on investment and can save business expenditure.

Increased productivity

Increased wellbeing at work does more than just make your employees happy. By promoting healthy lifestyles as part of a company’s wellbeing infrastructure it makes them more productive, too. Businesses that promote health and wellbeing regularly have been proven to out perform those that don’t (6Q), which in turn increases profitability and is proven indicator that the return on investment for wellbeing infrastructure can be very profitable.

How do you improve wellbeing, and business culture in your workplace?

We know that a good business culture that embraces wellbeing can be profitable, but how can business leaders instigate change and improve wellbeing within the workforce? The nature of wellbeing is that the needs and circumstances of everyone in the business is different, so it is not good enough to let wellbeing develop organically. It has to be managed.

Step 1 – Invest in your businesses knowledge infrastructure

In order to achieve good wellbeing the workforce needs to be given knowledge about their part to play in creating this positive business culture. Our Wellbeing eLearning Collection covers all the areas that a business needs to positively change organisational culture. It provides understanding on how employees can live a healthier lifestyle, how to support mental health, how to recognise signs of alcohol or drug addiction, and how to prevent illness spreading within an organisation, plus much more.

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A business cannot create an atmosphere of understanding and support around wellbeing without the whole workforce being educated on best practice. You can see a full list of our Wellbeing courses here.

Step 2 – Communicate with employees about business performance

Transparency is key to trust in any relationship, and the working relationship between employer and employee is no different. Ensure all employees are kept up to date with performance. Let them know when the business is doing well, or when it’s not doing so well.

This helps employees feel ‘seen’. It makes them feel like they are part of the business and allows them to see the fruits of their labour. They are more likely to be motivated to stay and work harder to help the business in tough times should there a history of transparency.

Step 3 – Listen to your employees

Sometimes people just need to be heard, and this is the case in the workplace too. It is so important to give employees a route to communicate easily with their employer. Not only does it make them feel valid and boosts mental wellbeing, it can also help uncover better ways of working, further improving business performance.

Step 4 – Invest in business infrastructure

Providing a safe, secure and well-equipped workspace makes employees feel valued, secure and safe while at work. If they have the equipment, or the working environment that empowers them to do their job to the best of their ability then they will feel happy at work, and be more productive.

Step 5 – Go beyond your workforce

At first this may seem counter intuitive, but as an employer it is important to understand that your employees care about more than just work. Employees value seeing their employer lead by example and engage with the local community and doing charitable work. This helps to develop business culture, and makes employees feel like part of something bigger.

DeltaNet wellbeing eLearning collection

Here are DeltaNet we have been hard at work developing our Wellbeing Collection. Designed to provide businesses with an all-in-one eLearning package to help drive positive physical and mental wellbeing changes in their business. We have worked alongside subject matter experts in mental health and wellbeing to ensure that the contents of the courses provide expert information.

To discover more about the Wellbeing Collection or to book free course demos click here.

DeltaNet International Launches new Mental Health and Wellbeing eLearning Collection

DeltaNet International, a global eLearning provider of compliance and performance management training solutions, has today announced the availability of its Mental Health and Wellbeing collection of eLearning courses. The collection is designed to help organisations support their workforce with mental health awareness training and is the latest addition to the Performance suite, with a comprehensive collection of 19 courses.

Taking a holistic approach to its wellbeing offering, DeltaNet International tackles the most common issues facing workers’ mental and physical wellbeing. Created with the support of industry experts, the Mental Health and Wellbeing collection is a complete suite featuring all the engaging wellbeing courses in one set, with regular updates and automatic access to new courses as they are released. Organisations that look to get up to speed with just a few courses, will also have the option to ‘pick and mix’ between the courses offered. The new list of courses include:

Healthy Lifestyle
Leading a healthy lifestyle is crucial to maximising an individual’s wellbeing. DeltaNet’s selection of Healthy Lifestyle courses are broken down into four simple categories to help the learner understand how to make healthier choices.

  • Sleep
  • Food
  • Drink
  • Exercise

Mental Health

Mental Health issues are common in the workplace, so recognising the signs of mental health is the first step in getting support. DeltaNet’s selection of Mental Health courses highlights the importance of creating a workplace culture that promotes mental health and how to recognise the common signs that an individual or a colleague may need support with.

  • Supporting Mental Health at Work
  • Recognising Anxiety and Depression
  • What is Mental Health?
  • Spotting Mental Health Red Flags
  • Supporting your Colleagues’ Mental Health

General Wellbeing

The General Wellbeing courses introduce learners to the main concepts of online wellbeing and how they can better manage their online activity to reduce its impact on their wellbeing. The course on Resilience is ideal for learners to understand how to maintain emotional wellbeing and workplace performance. Drug and Alcohol addiction is also a complex issue, the courses on Drug and Alcohol Awareness support individuals in identifying and tackling the behaviour.

  • Drug and Alcohol Awareness
  • Online Wellbeing
  • Resilience

These courses will add onto the following pre-existing courses that have been updated to reflect changes in society:

  • Preventing the Spread of Infection
  • Managing Your Personal Stress
  • Managing Stress in Your Team
  • Managing Personal Stress Challenge
  • Managing Stress in Your Team Challenge
  • Identifying Stress in Your Team
  • Remote Working

“Physical and mental health issues are critical in the workplace. If business leaders don’t take these issues seriously, then it will not just impact productivity, but also the workforce in its entirety,” says Darren Hockley, Managing Director at DeltaNet International. “We are excited to launch our Mental Health and Wellbeing collection as part of our Performance eLearning courses to better support organisations to benefit from a happier, more productive workforce. Addressing mental health issues is necessary, and employees recognise and appreciate the organisations that offer them that support.”

For more information on DeltaNet’s Mental Health and Wellbeing collection, please visit: https://www.delta-net.com/performance-management/wellbeing. For more information on DeltaNet’s performance eLearning suite, please visit: https://www.delta-net.com/performance-management.

How does Sleep Contribute to a Healthy Lifestyle?

How does Sleep Contribute to a Healthy Lifestyle?

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Everyone who has ever missed out on a proper night’s sleep can tell you: the amount of rest a person gets has a huge effect on their vigilance, concentration, and productivity. That’s why encouraging and educating employees about the benefits of good quality sleep is beneficial to the business as well as supporting employees’ wellbeing.
Lack of sleep – or lack of quality sleep – also has long-term effects if the issue becomes chronic, impacting motivation, mood, and engagement, and negatively influencing mental health.
One reason for this is because, when we don’t get enough sleep, we produce lots of cortisol – the body’s main stress hormone. We know that in little doses cortisol can be useful (think of it like a natural alarm system). However, too much cortisol can leave us feeling under constant duress, leading to a number of health problems including:

  • Anxiety and depression
  • Headaches
  • Heart disease
  • Memory and concentration problems
  • Digestive issues
  • Sleep disorders
  • Weight gain
  • Diabetes
  • Early death (in extreme cases)

Circadian rhythms and our sleep
Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that make-up part of our body’s internal clock. They run ‘in the background’ so to speak, carrying out various physical and mental functions, one of which is our sleep/wake cycle.
Our Circadian rhythms work by ensuring that our body’s vital processes occur at optimum times during the day, e.g., we are awake in the daylight (when, historically, it would be safest) and asleep at night, as we can’t see very well in the dark.
Our sleep/wake Circadian rhythm is generated by light (which sends signals to our brain to stay alert) and by darkness (which initiates the production of melatonin, the hormone that promotes sleep). In this way, the rhythm creates a stable cycle of restorative rest that enables us to stay focused and motivated.
Why do we need sleep?
We spend about one-third of our life sleeping – and for good cause! Many critical biological processes occur during sleeping hours, including:

  • Our brains store new information and memories and get rid of toxic build-up
  • Our nerve cells communicate and reshuffle, helping to support a healthy brain function
  • Our bodies repair cells, restore depleted energy stores, and release vital hormones and proteins

Whilst a lot is still unknown about the full purpose of sleep, it’s widely accepted that sleep promotes our wellbeing in several ways:
Conserves our energy supply – we need sleep to conserve energy; our time spent asleep reduces the need for more calories, as we function at a reduced metabolic rate (in other words, we need to spend less time, energy, and resources ‘hunting’ for food).
Cellular restoration – We use our time spent asleep to restore our bodies; during this time, our cells grow and repair themselves, including muscle repair, tissue growth, hormone release, and protein synthesis (when our cells make proteins in order to function).
Emotional wellbeing – Sleep has a big impact on our emotional health. During sleep, the parts of our brains that regulate emotion are working extra hard, supporting healthy functioning in this area and promoting emotional stability. When we are sleep deprived, the emotional centre in our brain cannot adapt to and interpret new situations very well, meaning we are more likely to emotionally overreact, feel angry or inferior, or experience the fear response (fight or flight). All of this can leave us feeling emotionally drained.
Research shows that sleep and mental health are deeply intertwined. On the one hand, sleep disturbances can contribute to the onset and progression of mental health issues, but on the other hand, mental health issues can cause people to lose sleep.
Weight maintenance – Sleep impacts how much fat we store because it regulates our hunger hormones, helping us to control our appetites and feel full after eating. Lack of sleep removes this control, which may increase the risk of over-eating and gaining unhealthy weight. Research indicates that chronic sleep deprivation increases the risks of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and Type 2 diabetes.
Proper insulin function – Insulin helps our cells convert glucose (sugar) into energy. However, if we suffer from insulin resistance, our cells cannot respond properly to this hormone, increasing high blood-sugar and putting us at risk of Type 2 diabetes. It’s thought that sleep helps protect us against insulin resistance because it allows our cells to repair and regenerate. This means they are more likely to function normally and work with our insulin hormones to convert glucose to energy in a healthy way.
Immunity – During sleeping hours, our bodies make antibodies and release cytokines, both of which are essential for the regulation of our immune system. We need extra cytokines when we get poorly or if we are under a lot of stress, which is why lack of sleep often leads to increased or prolonged illnesses or high levels of stress. It’s also why we tend to require more sleep when we get ill.
Heart health – It’s thought that lack of sleep is associated with various risk factors that increase the risk of heart disease, including high-blood pressure, increased inflammation, elevated cortisol levels, obesity, and insulin resistance.
Sleep occurs in 4 stages:
Stage 1: You transition from being awake to a restful state (usually this takes 5-15 minutes).
Stage 2: Light sleep occurs during this stage; your brain activity, breathing, heart rate, and muscle movements slow down, and your body temperature drops (usually this takes 10-25 minutes).
Stage 3: The deep sleep state begins, and this is when you process and store the day’s events in your memory. Your heart rate and breathing are at their slowest during this time.
If you wake up tired despite having had eight hours’ sleep, a lack of deep sleep may be the cause.
Stage 4: Around 90 minutes after you fall asleep, you enter REM sleep. during this time, your eyes move quickly from side to side, your brain waves increase, and your heart rate and breathing both speed up.
Dreaming often occurs during REM sleep as this is when your brain processes information, making it important for both learning and memory.
How to get better sleep
It’s obvious that getting enough sleep is an essential component of our physical and mental wellbeing. However, despite all the information out there about the benefits of a good night’s sleep, many of us still find ourselves struggling to switch off and regularly deprived of good quality sleep.
This is bad news for our personal health and bad news for business since sleep-deprived employees find it difficult to maintain focus and vigilance, have slowed reaction-times, and are more likely to make errors and omissions.
In some professions, these ailments may mean missing an important phone call or deadline, or not listening properly during meetings. In other professions, such as construction, engineering, emergency services, or lorry drivers, slow reaction times can mean the difference between life and death.
Additionally, research from Rand Europe back in 2016 estimated that sleep-deprived workers cost the UK economy £40m a year, due to being less productive at work or absent for related sickness.
In order increase the chances of a good night’s sleep we should avoid:

  • Consuming alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine (especially in the evenings)
  • Working in bed
  • Using devices with screens before sleep because the blue light they emit stimulates the brain
  • Napping for too long or too late in the day
  • Eating too late

Instead, try implementing:

  • A consistent sleep schedule
  • A relaxing environment free of distractions
  • A pre-bed routine (wind down for at least 30 minutes)
  • An agreeable room temperature (not too hot or cold)
  • Pleasant aromas, such as lavender, to provide a soothing, fresh scent
  • An exercise routine – this can help promote solid sleep
  • A sleep diary – this can help identify factors impacting your sleep

Remember, a doctor is the best person to offer medical advice for those having serious difficulties sleeping.
Talk to your doctor if you find that your sleeping habits are worsening, if they persist over long periods of time, or if they’re affecting your health, safety, or wellbeing.

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How to manage stress in your team

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According to Perkbox‘s UK workplace stress survey, in 2020, 79% of British adults commonly experience work-related stress, which is 20% higher than the findings in 2018. The most common causes of work-related stress included ‘work-related office politics’ (at 37%), then a ‘lack of interdepartmental communications’ (at 34%) and ‘the work and performance of others (at 33%). The research also revealed that 55% of respondents experience anxiety because of work stress, more than two-fifths (43%) lose sleep, and a third of respondents turn to comfort eating.
With stress having such a negative impact on employee’s physical and mental wellbeing, business leaders and team leaders must understand how to manage stress in their teams and find ways to alleviate that stress.
1 – Create a healthy wellness culture
When employees feel stressed it can cloud their judgement and affect their decision-making skills, as well as their creative ability. Organisations should create a culture that encourages good mental health and wellbeing. Managers should encourage staff to leave their desks during lunchtime and go for a walk to get some fresh air, as it helps to clear the mind. Organisations can also encourage healthy wellbeing by subsiding gym memberships, hosting (in-person or virtual) yoga or Zumba sessions or even team walking activities, aiming to hit 10,000 steps a day.
2 – Build a better working environment
Organisations should try to improve the atmosphere of the workspace because it’s no surprise that the working environment can impact a staff member’s stress or mental health. Business leaders can make small changes, e.g. if the office environment is genuinely dull, add some colour to the walls to brighten them up. Different and bright colours are known to lift moods, so add a splash of paint to the walls to improve the atmosphere. According to Erika Woelfel, a yellow hue is sure to brighten up your workspace because it infuses energy and optimism into a room to infuse creativity.
If painting walls might be a bit difficult, add some life into the office by getting your team some plants. Indoor plants are a great addition to creating a harmonious work environment as they emit oxygen, so why not try adding an Aloe Vera plant or a Snake plant to help reduce anxiety and stress? Although if you don’t have green fingers, fake plants can give the space a boost too. Make improvements to the work environment, such as organised desks and communal areas – all of which can add up to make an employee’s day less stressful.
3 – Have a flexible or hybrid working culture
Employees feel more responsible when they’re trusted to get on with their work when and where possible. This independence can help reduce stress levels in teams as employees can be more productive and happier working in a work environment that suits them. Research from Gartner revealed that 48% of employees are likely work remotely, at least part of the time after Covid-19.
Remember that employees have personal lives too so, sometimes this means allowing employees to work around their commitments such as school runs or family doctor appointments. Allow employees to work earlier or make up the time later in the day. This flexible approach can help them to become more productive and reduces stress about working around other commitments. Allowing people to work remotely can also help by removing the commute, as this can be a stressful activity trying to beat the traffic to get to work on time.
4 – Encourage company social activities
Employees can feel stressed when they’re trying to juggle their personal and work lives, trying to keep them separate. However, not talking about employees’ personal lives and understanding what’s going on creates barriers. To improve communications on the team, encourage company social activities such as going for a meal or a coffee together, or doing a team sport such as football.
Everyone has different personalities and commitments outside of work. So, getting to know each other in an informal setting can help cultivate these relationships. This way, managers can work with their employees to find any solutions to alleviate stress.
5 – Allow for quiet time
Employees can become disengaged or stressed if they have back-to-back meetings. Not only is this unproductive, but some meetings are not needed. Consider doing them over email or communication platforms such as Slack or MS Teams. Also, create dedicated slots where meetings aren’t allowed to take place, e.g. Wednesday afternoons. This quiet time can help employees to get in some focused time to get work done. Managers should work with their teams to understand where time is wasted and help them manage their workload to improve efficiency – overall, reducing their stress.
If budget allows, some large companies offer company benefits to help relieve stress, such as offer staff a head and neck massage or even days off due to staff burnout.
6 – Provide access to mental health and wellbeing services
Many organisations now provide access to external services such as healthcare or mental health apps to support employees. This allows employees to access virtual appointments with GPs, mental health services or wellbeing support such as nutrition.
Various factors can add up to stress for employees and having this on-demand access where employees can speak to a third-party confidentially over the phone and in personal time means more people are likely to make the most of this offer to reduce their stress.
7 – Provide training on stress management
Support staff with training that can help them pinpoint the reasons for their stress. This way, they can act on addressing it and feel much better about it. Organise activities to relieve stress, such as nature walks or playing with puppies to take their mind off things.
Stress can also be caused by poor time management and organisational skills, so if staff learn how to manage their time effectively and learn how to say no, or push back on deadlines, they are less likely to feel stressed. Managers must help staff manage their workload.
8 – Maintain transparency and encourage communication
Managers should keep team members updated about what’s going on in the business because leaving people out of the loop can create a disconnect and major “FOMO” (fear of missing out). Employees feel stressed about the future of their job security if senior management doesn’t communicate to the rest of the company what’s happening.
Maintain frequent communications with the team and share goals and values from the top-down – this will help them understand why their work is vital. But equally as important is to encourage communication both ways. Find out if an employee needs to care for an elderly member at home or drop their children off at school. It’s crucial to be respectful of one another and ensure everyone feels welcomed and recognised for their work. Communication is key to helping reducing stress in teams.
9 – Encourage plenty of sleep
While it’s tempting to stay up late to have a “Netflix binge”, it’s not healthy. Sleep deprivation is linked to lower productivity at work. In the UK alone, it costs the economy £40.2 billion in loss of productivity and a loss of 200,000 working days a year. Employees must get enough sleep since inadequate rest can adversely affect employee physical and mental health. This is also where stress and a lack of sleep feed into each other. Employees may be unable to sleep due to feeling stressed at work or inability to concentrate and likewise, they may be unable to feel productive at work due to sleep deprivation. It’s a never-ending cycle.
10 – Encourage staff to take breaks
It’s vital to take breaks away from work and mentally shut down your brain from work activity. According to a study by Spana, British employees feel the need to take a break every 43 days to avoid total burnout. The top tell-take signs of a holiday being due, include feeling stressed (56%) and finding mental wellbeing is starting to suffer (53%). Therefore, encourage staff to take a holiday – even if they don’t go away to another city, planned rest and recuperation time is necessary.
Hopefully, these tips can help you manage stress in your team. But, why not take our ‘Managing Stress in Your Team‘ course to further help understand how you can improve the wellbeing of your staff? Enquire with us today to book a free demo.

Related Courses

How to Support a Colleague with a Drug or Alcohol Issue

How to Support a Colleague with a Drug or Alcohol Issue

Misusing alcohol and/or drugs is a serious problem. Indeed, according to a recent government report, there were 270,705 adults in contact with drug and alcohol services between April 2019 and March 2020.

As well as negatively affecting the business by causing performance, conduct, and safety issues, abusing these substances could also introduce long and short-term health issues for the user. Drugs and alcohol can affect the brain and the body in numerous negative ways, including damaging the liver, kidneys, and heart, exacerbating ill mental health, effecting long-term, irreversible brain damage, and increasing the risk of several types of cancer.

Members of staff who misuse drugs and alcohol are far more likely to take time off, display poor performance (missing targets and deadlines, making more mistakes, arriving late, etc.), exhibit violent and aggressive behaviour with other staff members/clients, and could also cause accidents leading to injury, even death, depending on the nature of their role.

Discover more about how to spot the signs of alcohol and/or drug misuse at work here.

Your responsibilities

All employers have a legal duty of care under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect employees’ health, safety and welfare. And whilst it’s understandable why some organisations may struggle with questions about why they should – or how they can – help employees with drug/alcohol problems, it’s worth bearing this duty of care in mind should you encounter the issue.

Alcohol and/or drug abuse is often a mental health issue for the user, and it can be beneficial for organisations to understand this and to treat the behaviour as such. Whilst this does not mean employers should accept any practices that directly contravene their code of conduct, it might mean something like offering reasonable time away for the employee to seek help or rehabilitation, or having mental health care included in the company’s benefits.

As well as demonstrating that you are a supportive employer dedicated to the health and wellbeing of your staff, it’s often the case that retaining valued, experienced workers is more beneficial to the business than sourcing new staff and incurring costs for recruitment and training.

Additionally, many experts recommend treating drug and alcohol misuse as a medical – rather than disciplinary – matter. Talking to your employee non-confrontationally and offering guidance and support on the matter (even if it’s a referral to a third-party expert) can help break the cycle of addiction much more effectively than acting in a manner which increases feelings of guilt or shame.

This is because many people who abuse substances also battle with a chronic sense of unworthiness, and inferiority – feelings that can be a barrier to getting help or even admitting a problem exists. It’s worth remembering that handling drug or alcohol misuse at work in a way that exacerbates these feelings can result in increased feelings of depression, hopelessness and numbness for your colleague.

In some cases, drug and alcohol abuse could be used to help your employee cope with work-related stress. In this instance, it may also be useful to assess the workplace at large to see if this may be part of a wider stress problem amongst staff members.

Supporting your employee

If you suspect that drugs or alcohol are influencing your employee’s conduct or performance, it’s important to document this behaviour and to talk to them about it non-confrontationally.

It may help you to have information prepared about drug/alcohol support groups or other local services that can provide counselling or treatment.

Apart from this, there are several things you can do that will help rather than hinder your employee during this time, including:

  • Not confronting or accusing your employee in front of other coworkers, supervisors, or management.
  • Avoiding being accusatory or judgemental, which can lead to deeper feelings of shame and guilt.
  • Presenting your concern for their wellbeing, their career success, and their future – all things that will inevitably be negatively influenced by misusing drugs or alcohol anywhere, including at work.
  • Giving examples of behaviour you have noticed that have led you to believe your coworker might be struggling with drug/alcohol misuse or has misused drugs/alcohol in the workplace.
  • Presenting informed, non-judgemental information about the consequences of addiction and the consequences of abusing substances, including whilst at work.

Policies on drugs and alcohol in the workplace

You don’t have to wait for a suspected case of drugs and/or alcohol misuse at work to create a policy on substance use or abuse (in fact many organisations include information about drugs/alcohol use in their code of conduct, or health and safety policy, for example).

Wherever you choose to keep this information, ensure that it’s easily accessible for all employees (members of staff shouldn’t have to ask for a copy if/when they need to refer to it, e.g.) and that the policy is robust and comprehensive (answering questions, rather than asking them).

Having an agreed-upon plan of action in the form of a drug/alcohol policy will help ensure that issues relating to substance-use at work are dealt with as legitimate workplace matters, and in a non-judgemental way, outside of the personal opinions of others.

It is important that managers and members of staff know and understand why and how the organisation will deal with drug and alcohol related issues; this will help staff gain the confidence to come forward and seek help either for themselves or others, without fear of disciplinary or retaliatory action.

The policy should clearly lay out the process for reporting suspected drug/alcohol misuse at work, or the medical/disciplinary actions that follow a confirmed instance of drug/alcohol misuse at work. To be most effective, the policy might also include:

  • The purpose of the policy – for example that it exists ‘to help protect workers from the dangers of drug and other substance misuse and to encourage those with a drugs problem to seek help’
  • A clear statement that the policy is applicable to everyone in the organisation.
  • The rules on the use of drugs and/or alcohol in the workplace (does the organisation take a zero tolerance approach, e.g.).
  • A statement that the business understands that substance abuse problems may be related to mental health and ought to be treated in the same way as any other illness.
  • Information about the potential dangers to the health and safety of the employee and their colleagues if their drug/alcohol problem continues or develops.
  • Information about why early identification and treatment is important.
  • Information about what help is available – for example, from managers, supervisors, occupational health or HR, or from outside counselling and medical help.
  • The organisation’s disciplinary position, for example, the company may agree to suspend disciplinary action, where drug or alcohol misuse is identified, on the condition that the worker follows a suitable course of action, such as seeking treatment.
  • The provision of paid sick leave for said agreed treatment.
  • The individual’s right to return to the same job after effective treatment or, where this is not advisable, to suitable alternative employment wherever possible.
  • An assurance of confidentiality for the employee(s) in question.
  • An acknowledgement that the policy will be regularly reviewed and that it has the support of the senior management team.

How to spot signs of stress at work

Employees suffering from stress will find it has significant detrimental impacts on their mental and physical wellbeing. According to the Health Safety Executive (HSE), 1.6 million workers in the UK suffered from work-related ill health in 2019/20 – more than half (51%) of these cases were due to stress, depression, or anxiety. 55% of all working days were also lost due to work-related ill-health. The predominant cause of work-related stress, depression or anxiety was tight deadlines, lack of managerial support, organisational changes at work and workplace harassment.

Stress can be an unbearable burden, and all too often, employees continue suffering without recognising it or treating it. If employees are feeling stressed, it can significantly impact the whole team, affecting productivity, and it can also cause conflict and tension between colleagues. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires employers to assess the risks to the health and safety of employees from the hazards of work. This act includes the risk of employees developing stress-related illnesses because of their work.

Organisations and their line managers must do all they can to promote high levels of wellbeing in their teams. Providing managers with training gives them the confidence to engage with mental health and wellbeing and the opportunity to support those employees who need some extra help. According to HSE, here are some ways to spot if your colleagues or employees feel stressed at work. Usually, it involves a change in behaviour or the way they think or feel, resulting in them:

  • Taking more time off
  • Arriving for work later or working longer hours
  • Becoming more twitchy or nervous
  • Mood swings and becoming increasingly irritable
  • Being withdrawn – shying away or socially isolating themselves
  • Loss of motivation, commitment, and confidence
  • Increased emotional reactions – becoming overly sensitive

If some employees do feel stressed, they might not be the only ones and it is worth finding out if stress is affecting the whole team. If the reason for the stress is not found and addressed, then not only does the team suffer, but so does the company. Here are some signs if the team is feeling stressed (HSE):

  • Arguments within the team
  • Higher staff turnover
  • More reports of stress
  • More sickness absence
  • Decreased performance
  • More complaints and grievances

It takes time to find the right members of staff who are a good cultural fit with the rest of the team and have the right level of knowledge to fulfil the role. Not addressing the reasons for stress and nipping them in the bud will cause employees to feel irritable or overworked, especially if it’s due to too much workload. These effects can have a detrimental impact on the organisation. Resulting in not just a loss of valuable staff, but also time and financial loss.

If do you spot these signs of stress in your employees or your team, then business leaders must make it a priority to speak to them individually and as well as a team, to find out the reason for the way they are feeling. Transparency is key to understanding your employees and your team. Having a heart-to-heart with employees allows trust to build, so employees don’t feel worried or scared to confide in their business leader.

If the cause for stress is a work issue such as dealing with short deadlines or client demands, then support your team by helping them to prioritise their work. Speak to the client directly to ask for extensions and highlight the time taken for particular projects, so employees don’t feel like they are constantly chasing the clock. If employees feel stressed because of increased workload, then it’s crucial to ramp up recruitment efforts as quickly as possible to reduce the likelihood of losing valuable members of staff.

If employees feel stressed due to a personal issue, speak to them on a one-to-one basis and offer advice on what to do, or be supportive or empathetic, if you’re unable to provide support. Alternatively, if you think the employee may benefit from professional expertise, it’s recommendable to share a list of resources the employee can access inside or outside of work. For example, this could mean employees attending a mental health discussion group, support from a mental health and wellbeing charity, using an app, or perhaps taking up an activity such as yoga to relieve mental stress.

If you are worried about your colleagues or employees feeling stressed, why not take our course on ‘Identifying stress in your team‘? Don’t forget to check out the rest of our eLearning solutions in the Stress Management collection and speak to our team to book a demo.