Stress Risk Profiling and Planning Workshop for Practitioners

This one-day, online workshop (9.30 to 16.30), delivered by business psychologist, Alan Bradshaw, is suitable for practitioners, including psychologists, OHPs, and wellbeing consultants. (Please note: numbers are restricted to enable higher quality interaction and group exercises.)

This is a train-the-trainer style workshop, so that practioners attending can, afterwards, use the Stress Risk Profiling and Planning tools and methodology taught during the workshop.

What is a Stress Risk Profile?

A Stress Risk Profile is a simple 1-page, picture or profile, in table form, of how an individual (or team) sees the situation(s) they are in with regards to situations or issues causing stress or leading to other negative impacts on their wellbeing.

The Stress Risk Profile answers four key questions about stress relating to:

1. What someone’s stressful situations or issues are (W)

2. Which of those is most (or more) Important (I)

3. What Sort (or category) of situation or issue each is (S)

4. The Extent to which stressful situations or issues are having a negative effect on someone’s wellbeing (E)

We call these ‘WISE’ questions. Knowing the answers is not only useful to the (potentially) stressed individual, they’re also useful for anyone helping or supporting them like a friend, manager or professional. They provide hugely valuable insights into why someone might be struggling with stress.

Someone’s Stress Risk Profile is therefore unique. No other person will have the same profile because the situations or issues causing stress or having negative impacts on wellbeing will be different from everyone else's. Everyone's work-life context is different - they have different 'stuff' going on.

A Stress Risk Profile is not, therefore, a profile of the person. Rather it’s a profile of the situation as perceived by the individual (or team); the context in which someone (or a team) might be struggling with stress.

Once a Stress Risk Profile has been completed, an individual / team or those working with them can progress to developing Stress Risk Management Plans to minimise risks identified and prevent or reduce stress. The plans can be later evaluated and reviewed to establish if implemented plans have made a positive difference. The Stress Risk Profile therefore acts as a benchmark and start of an effective process to assess and manage stress risks affecting the individual or team. Both planning and evaluation / review templates are included in the workshop.

Applications and Services

The workshop provides practioners with a toolkit and methodology that practitioners can use to deliver a range of stress risk management services, including:

• Stress management coaching
• Stress management training for individuals
• Stress risk management training for managers
• Individual Stress Risk Assessments
• Team Stress Risk Assessments

How the methodology can be applied for Organisational Stress Risk Assessments will also be discussed, as will business applications for consultants and practitioners.

On completion of the workshop, practitioners will receive a full set of tool templates and a license to use the tools and methodology.

The tools enable two key stress risk management activities:

1. The profiling of stress risks affecting struggling individuals or teams
2. The development of stress risk management plans to prevent and reduce stress, and minimise negative impacts on wellbeing and performance.

Stress Risk Assessments using the tools

By law, all organisations must carry out risk assessments, documenting their findings and recording what they are doing to manage risks to employee health and wellbeing. Work-related stress is the most important and costly risk, leading to increased absence, poor performance and problems with recruitment and retention. Providing stress risk assessment services enable you to comply with your legal obligations and minimise such costs as far as reasonably practicable.

The WISE, non-survey methodology taught in this workshop enables the delivery of stress risk assessments which are suitable and sufficient, without the need for costly, ineffective and time-consuming surveys.

This workshop has been developed and is delivered by Alan Bradshaw, and is organised by the Psychology Business Incubator.