Pete Gowers is an IT supervisor and amateur positive psychologist who gives presentations on stress management. The document outlines Pete's background and experience in stress counseling. It then discusses the HSE standards around stress management in the workplace. Pete's approach focuses on helping individuals manage what they can control and providing support resources. Various techniques are presented for dealing with frustration, overwhelming workloads, difficult interpersonal relationships, and feelings of pressure including task lists, time management, compliments, accepting problems cannot be solved, and reframing stress responses.

1. Stress
London Health and Safety Group
15th February 2016
Peter Gowers
Ford IT supervisor and Amateur positive psychologist

2. Pete Gowers
• Relatively new to Ford, 20yrs 3 months
• Engineering degree and Ford sponsored MBA
• Typical IT career, 8 roles spanning product development,
finance, Ford Credit, service and marketing and sales
• 6 years on stress groups, counselling courses, 9 years
presenting positive psychology, charity listening volunteer and
mentor
• 1*wife, 3*cats, 1*3 year old (Josh)
• 6.15 AM gym classes punching to dance music
• Desire to help people enjoy work more and get a bit more
done
• Materials are from books/talks from professionals and experts
and reviewed
• Presentations at: http://www.slideshare.net/pgowers

3. Agenda
• Intro to Stress
• HSE, Stress and management standards
• My approach – “How to work in difficult times”
• Making Friends with Stress – Another approach
• Optional Sections (time dependent)
– Resilience
– Post Traumatic Growth
– Mindfulness

4. WHAT IS STRESS ?
• Stress is caused by two things. Primarily it is
down to whether you think situations around
you are worthy of anxiety. And then it's down
to how your body reacts to your thought
processes. This instinctive stress response to
unexpected events is known as 'fight or flight‘
– The Stress Response
1930’s
Dr. Hans Selye Dr. Walter Cannon
‘ Flight or Fight Response’

5. BBC – Fight or Flight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnpQrMqDoqE
Whole video

6. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“So the problem is, nowadays, with modern man, when we feel
in danger, we still fill up with our own chemical but because we
can't kill traffic wardens or eat our boss, the fuel just stays in
our body over and over, so we're in a constant state of alarm”

7. 3. PSYCHOLOGY
Ruby Wax
“So the problem is, nowadays, with modern man, when we feel
in danger, we still fill up with our own chemical but because we
can't kill traffic wardens or eat our boss, the fuel just stays in
our body over and over, so we're in a constant state of alarm”

8. What does the HSE say?
• Quite a lot - http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/
• Links work related stress, depression and anxiety
• “In 2014/15 stress accounted for 35% of all work
related ill health cases and 43% of all working days lost
due to ill health”
• “The main work factors cited by respondents as
causing work related stress, depression or anxiety were
workload pressures, including tight deadlines and too
much responsibility and a lack of managerial support.”
• Stress occurs when pressure which is normally good
becomes excessive
• Have management standards
Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/index.htm

9. HSE Management Standards
• The Management Standards are guidance,
however, employers already have duties:
– Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations 1999: To assess the risk of stress-related ill
health arising from work activities.
– Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974: To
take measures to control that risk.
• Positives expected: performance, attendance,
happiness, reputation, recruitment, retention and
reduce risk of litigation
Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/index.htm

10. The six areas are:
• Demands: workload, work patterns, and the work environment
• Control: How much say the person has in the way they do their
work
• Support: encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by
the organisation, line management and colleagues
• Relationships: promoting positive working to avoid conflict and
dealing with unacceptable behaviour
• Role: Whether people understand their role within the organisation
and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have
conflicting roles
• Change: How organisational change (large or small) is managed and
communicated in the organisation.
The Management Standards
Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/index.htm

11. Pete’s approach
• Work within cross functional stress group
• Presentations, focused on helping people realise
what they can control and what they can’t
– Help individuals as I cannot control what every
manager will do
– How to control the things you can
– How to deal with the things you can’t
• Inform people about available support
• The beginnings of resilience training
• Encouraging the debate

12. How to work in difficult times?
1. Frustrated/Annoyed at things happening to you
2. Overwhelmed - Too much work to do
3. Other people
4. Feeling pressure, stress, anxiety?
Th

13. 1. Frustrated/Annoyed at things
happening to you
Th

14. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide
your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your
mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you
control your own destiny.”
T

15. 3. PSYCHOLOGY
“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide
your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your
mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you
control your own destiny.”
Albert Ellis
T

16. Things that have an impact on you…
/ your day
• Other people
• Your boss
• The past
• Your immediate reactions
• What you do / Your actions
• Company strategies
• Your workload
• How you feel
Th

17. Locus of Control
Th
Things you cannot influence
Things you can influence
But not control
Things you
can control
Other people
Your immediate reactions
The past
What happens when your well-being depends on
controlling something you can only Influence at best?
Company Strategies
Your boss
Your Workload?
What you do?
How you feel

18. 2. Overwhelmed - Too much work to do
Th

19. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“When you die, your inbox
won’t be empty”
T

20. 1. BUSINESS
“When you die, your inbox
won’t be empty”
T

21. Techniques that can help
(with too much work)
• Task Lists
• Manage your boss
• Simple Time management
Th

22. Task Lists
• If you have too much to do, then pretending
you’ll do it doesn’t help anyone, especially you.
• If you don’t know how much you have to do or
what your priorities are then you are stuffed.
• A task list can be anything, outlook tasks, paper,
excel, word or even an email
– What it can’t be is your inbox, that’s impossible to
prioritise.
• Remember workload is infinite. In the end all you
can do is your hours, work hard and prioritise.
Th

23. Managing upwards: Help your Boss to
Help you
• You may want your boss to fix workload for you, but only
one person really knows what you have to do.
• Then you need to have 1x1’s to agree what you’re doing
and what you’re not doing.
• If you produce a task list and discuss with your boss the
priorities and agree what you can’t do.
• If you are in conflict with your boss, then that’s trouble. if
you ever don’t agree with your boss, there are 2 options.
Th
― You
― If things are high pressure then they can be shorter and
more frequent, even daily stand ups if needed.
― Then they can own the things you can’t do.
― Convince them of your way.
― Do it their way.

24. How I make that work
• 1x1’s with my boss - 1 hour every 2 weeks
• Make sure I plan
• Agenda:
– Top 5 things to discuss
– What I did in last 2 weeks
– What I plan to do next 2 weeks
• If needed – what I won’t get to
– Objectives review

25. Simple Time management
YOUR DAY
Meeting 1
Meeting 2
Meeting 3
Meeting 4
Meeting
5
Meeting
6
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Th

26. 3. Other People
Th

27. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“Insanity, doing the same thing again
and expecting a different result.”
T

28. 2. TECH/SCIENCE
“Insanity, doing the same thing again
and expecting a different result.”
Albert Einstein
T

29. Working with others
• Do you want people to like and value you?
• Does what you’re doing now get you all the
recognition and appreciation you want?
• Remember Einstein
“Insanity, doing the same thing again and expecting
a different result.”
Th

30. Remember - Locus of Control
Th
Things you cannot influence
Things you can influence
But not control
Things you
can control
Other people
Your boss
What you do?

31. Compliments
• People like genuine compliments, think of the
impact it has on you.
• If you want more: Look for ways to genuinely
compliment others.
– Did you do that with co-workers/subordinates
today?
– How about with your boss?
Th

32. Focus on what’s been achieved
• Task lists are essential, but they are list of
thing you haven’t yet done.
– Do you celebrate success?
– Recognise yourself as well as others or it’ll be a
long year until you look back.
– Have a what’s better list or do 3 blessings, what
went well and why.
Th

33. Three Good Things
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOGAp9dw8Ac&feature=related
Th
Whole Video

34. What’s better list
Good Morning,
You have until 2pm UK time today to send me your entries.
Happy sharing. Reply just to me please, I'll collate and send.
It can be:
- Something in a system that has changed for the better.
- Something in the team that has changed for the better.
- Something you have learned you didn't know a week ago.
- A recognition of some help that you received from someone else in or outside of the
team.
- Achievements & mini-milestones passed.
- Something non work related which is better for you, Ford, your family.
Remember, you only need to send one thing, but no limit, more the merrier,
Pete

35. Managing Conflict
• Everyone clashes with other people
• People have different priorities, ways of
working, communication styles, or just
different opinions. You will disagree.
• Find the common ground
― People are different, individual – this is a good thing
― Truth : No one comes to work to intentionally do a bad job
― Align on how you do work and your values, establish
working norms. Prioritise before clashes or if they’re
already there, prioritise now
Th

36. 4. Feeling pressure, stress, anxiety?
Th

37. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“When everything seems to be going
against you, remember that the airplane
takes off against the wind, not with it. ”
T

38. 1. BUSINESS
“When everything seems to be going
against you, remember that the airplane
takes off against the wind, not with it. ”
T

39. Feeling rubbish?
• Are you ruminating? Did it go home with you?
• What do you feel rubbish about?
– If you don’t know try brainstorming possible reasons
• In and out of work
• Then try scoring them.
– Once you have an idea you can:
• Problem solve – do something different.
• Get Help, brainstorm sources, you have the answers for you.
• Distraction
• Cognitively Reappraise
Th

40. Accepting the worst
• Do you think you’ll be fired?
• Will you be physically hurt?
• Will you be bullied?
• Is the worst case that some people with be
disappointed and upset with you.
– Realise that you can accept the worst case
scenario and the fear goes. Then you can focus on
delivery and even doing so happily.
Th

41. ABCD

42. 2 IT managers – On the surface very similar
FRED BARNEY

43. A major IT problem occurs, some
people are grumpy about it
FRED BARNEY
It’s not
good,
but I’ll
handle it
OH No, this
is a
DISASTER!
I feel Angry,
hurt, annoyed
and out of
control
I feel
motivated
to fix it

44. • So what is different between Fred
and Barney?
– They have different beliefs about the
Event
• Immediate reactions are hard to
control
• Bad reactions can ruminate
• Fred can, however change his
reaction using the ABCD model

45. •Activating Event
•A major IT Issue in Fred’s area
•Some people quite grumpy
•Beliefs
•Things should not go wrong in my area.
•People should not be grumpy with me, I am a nice person.
•Consequences
• Angry, hurt, annoyed, out of control.
•Disputation
• There is no universal law that things should not go wrong
in my area.
• Although I would like people to not be grumpy with me, it
is illogical to require it. I cannot control other people’s
thoughts and behaviours.
Source – Learned Optimsm by Martin Selignman, Originally Albert Ellis

46. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“People think focus means saying yes to the
thing you've got to focus on. But that's not
what it means at all. It means saying no to
the hundred other good ideas that there are”
T

47. 2. TECH/SCIENCE
Steve Jobs
“People think focus means saying yes to the
thing you've got to focus on. But that's not
what it means at all. It means saying no to
the hundred other good ideas that there are”
T

48. Making Friends with Stress

49. History of Stress
• Hans Selye 1936 – defined stress
• Experiments on rats
– Really terrible things, imminent death
– “Unavoidable, uncontrollable and utterly devoid of
meaning”…”this isn’t stress, it’s the hunger games for
rodents” K. Mcgonigal
• Equated to what he’d seen in people as a doctor,
unexplained problems
– Suggested stress was anything, hassles up to
imprisonment, cumulative effect on health.
• ‘Stress is bad, to be avoided’
“The Most common effects of Stress on our lives are strength, growth
and resillience” – K. McGonigal

50. Traditional View of Stress
• Fight, Flight or Freeze
• This is like school physics, assume everything
is in a vacuum
– It’s not wrong, but it is a simplification
• The body’s stress response is much more
complex, more interesting and handily it’s
malleable

51. Kelly McGonical – How To Make Stress Your Friend
http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?language=en
Video approx 1.20 to 3:30 minutes.

52. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it”

53. Hans Selye
2. TECH/SCIENCE
“Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it”

54. 3 Possible Stress Responses
Stress
Responses
Fight or Flight
(or Freeze)
Threat
response
Challenge
Response
Tend and
Befriend

55. The art of Stress Management
• Causes of stress are often unavoidable:
– Work, caregiving, health, financial, hassles, chores
• Recognise; we have this response because we care
about something, it’s trying to help
– People predict they’ll be happier with less stress, but
opposite shown in studies
– Classic advice “stress is contagious” prevents social side
• Predisposed to a personal response, but it’s not fixed
• Can move from one stress response to another
– Naturally. E.g. new fathers or facing really bad stuff
– With “mindset” interventions.

56. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“Pressure, challenges - is all an
opportunity for me to rise”
T

57. 1. BUSINESS
“Pressure, challenges - is all an
opportunity for me to rise ”
T
Kobe Bryant

58. Mindset Interventions
• Connect with Meaning
• Align with your values
• Understand the Upside of Stress, turn anxiety
into excitement
• Altruism
• All work, tested in many studies, even on
people with very strong anxiety disorders

59. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“ Go after what it is that creates meaning
in your life and then trust yourself to
handle the stress that follows.”
T

60. 3. PSYCHOLOGY
Kelly McGonigal
T
“ Go after what it is that creates meaning
in your life and then trust yourself to
handle the stress that follows.”

61. Turn Anxiety into excitement
• Jeremy Jamieson – compared sports
with exams
– Told half of students stress was helpful
– Those higher hormones in their saliva did
better, but only with the intervention.
– Response is an asset
• Believed to work if you have fear, but not fear
of fear
• Heart pounding – pumping blood to your
organs
• Feel tense – That’s strength to your muscles
• Butterflies in your stomach – connecting to
meaning
• Palms sweaty, like a first date, it matters to you

62. The Final Word…
http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?language=en
Video approx: 6:45 to 7:30

63. Backup Slides
• Depending on time and energy
– Resilience
– Post Traumatic Growth
– Mindfulness

64. Resilience
• Generally I find most people have heard of
PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• But many have not even heard of:
Post Traumatic Growth

65. “What does not kill
me, makes me
stronger”
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1888

66. "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)“
Kelly Clarkson

67. Response to Trauma
• How do we respond to Trauma?
PTSD
SUICIDE
RESILIENCE
MOST PEOPLE
POST
TRAUMATIC
GROWTH

68. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes
us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this.
For the world was built to develop character, and we must
learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help
us in our marching onward.”
T

69. 1. BUSINESS
T
“Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes
us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this.
For the world was built to develop character, and we must
learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help
us in our marching onward.”

70. Forms of Post Traumatic Growth
PTG
Spiritual
Changes
Personal
Strength
Relating to
Others
Appreciation
of Life
New
Possibilities

71. Stories
• Of all the easiest things to think of stories for,
post traumatic growth seems to work
• Michael – football
• Can have vicarious PTG – gain from other
people’s changes

72. The Mindfulness Revolution
• Google – Search inside yourself
• Ebay provides meditation rooms
• Many executives now “coming out” as meditators
• On the curriculum of Harvard business school
• Steve Jobs, Adriana Huffington
• Why?
– Reaction to information overload
– Because it works
– Because people like it
– Cuts healthcare costs

73. Eckart Tolle
“ "I cannot live with myself any
longer." This was the thought that
kept repeating in my mind. Then
suddenly I became aware of what a
peculiar thought it was. "Am I one
or two? If I cannot live with myself,
there must be two of me: the 'I'
and the 'self' that 'I' cannot live
with." "Maybe," I thought, "only
one of them is real.".
I was so stunned by this strange
realisation that my mind stopped. I
was fully conscious, but there were
no more thoughts."

74. Observing Thoughts
Activity Thoughts Feelings
• Where are you?
• With mindfulness you come off autopilot and
become an observer of your thoughts and
reality

75. Why Mindfulness?
• It works, empirical data from many studies
• Helps people manage stress
• Helps people with pain
• Helps people with severe illnesses like depression
• Helps people be more creative
• Helps people take control in an out of control
world
• Helps people focus under pressure
• I find it helpful

76. The Gazelle
Dr Mark Williams, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Wellcome Principal
Research Fellow at the University of Oxford.

77. Getting Started – the Mindful minute
• Exercise – The simplest intervention
• Try it if you like with me
• I will time a minute, you job is just to observe
your breathing and count your breaths
• Try to think about all aspects of the breath and if
your mind wanders, gently don’t give that
thought weight and come back to your breath
• Now, remember that number. When you want a
mindful minute, pause and do that many breaths

78. 1. BUSINESS 2. TECH/SCIENCE
3. PSYCHOLOGY 4. PHILOSOPHY
Quote Quiz
“"You will know (the good from the
bad) when you are calm, at peace.”
T

79. “You will know (the good from the
bad) when you are calm, at peace. ”
Yoda
4. PHILOSOPHY
T

80. Any Questions
Th

81. References 1/More reading
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control
• How To Win Friends And Influence People, Dale Carnegie. Vermilion; New
edition (6 April 2006) ISBN-13: 978-0091906818
• Ten Steps to Positive Living By Windy Dryden (Jun , 2003), SHELDON
PRESS
• Three Blessings - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT2vKMyIQwc
• Humorous ABCD ref – Windy Dryden
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_frDwckrys
• Overcoming Procrastination, A. Ellis , W. Knaus, Penguin; Reissue edition
(Oct 1983), ISBN-13: 978-0451159311
• Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Martin E. P
Seligman, Vintage Books USA; Reprint edition (14 Mar 2006) , ISBN-13:
978-1400078394
• Summary of ‘Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and it’s all small stuff’ by
Richard Carlson, Ph.D. http://x.ford.com/sweat
• Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway: How to Turn Your Fear and Indecision
into Confidence and Action, Susan Jeffers, Vermilion (4 Jan 2007) ISBN-13:
978-0091907075
Th

82. References/More reading
• http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_
make_stress_your_friend?language=en
• http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the
_key_to_success_grit/transcript?language=en
• http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation?l
anguage=en
• http://www.ted.com/talks/ruby_wax_what_s_so_funn
y_about_mental_illness?language=en
• Sane New World: Taming the Mind Paperback – 27 Feb
2014, by Ruby Wax
• How to work in difficult times: 1. the art of control
http://x.ford.com/htwidt

83. References
• Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world – 5 May 2011,
Williams, Prof Mark ISBN-13: 978-0749953089
• Mindfulness For Dummies – 5 Dec 2014, Alidina, Shamash ISBN-13: 978-
1118868188
• The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, 7 Jan 2001, Tolle, Eckhart
ISBN-13: 978-0340733509
• A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, 16 Jun 2010, Stahl, Bob ISBN-13:
978-1572247086
• The Upside of Stress: Why stress is good for you (and how to get good at it)7 May
2015 by Kelly McGonigal ISBN-13: 978-0091955267
• http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?lan
guage=en
• Sane New World: Taming the Mind Paperback – 27 Feb 2014, by Ruby Wax
• How to work in difficult times: 1. the art of control http://x.ford.com/htwidt
• How to work in difficult times: 2. Making friends with stress
http://x.ford.com/htwidt
• http://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-meditates-2013-6?IR=T
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhansen/2012/10/31/a-guide-to-mindfulness-
at-work/
• https://hbr.org/2014/03/developing-mindful-leaders-for-the-c-suite/
• -Prof Mark Williams – Mindfulness -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY08aXxor20