Taking control
Featured in the Stress Management at Work training manual
By Mary Richards
Category: Personal Development
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
The boss wants everything done yesterday. The telephone rings incessantly and you can’t get anything done because there’s one interruption after another. ‘Have you got a minute?’, ‘I just thought as I was passing I’d …’ Your job nowadays would best be described as ‘fire-fighting’. You don’t seem to do anything any more except react to whoever shouts the loudest. It has become stressful. This training activity aims to show that becoming proactive even in the smallest way can bring with it a sense of control and reduce the level of pressure.
You begin this training activity with the participants working in groups of four or five, using a case study to learn how to recognise a reactive style of working. In plenary discussion, they then explore the consequences of this style and conclude that we can choose to work reactively of proactively. Referring back to the case study, participants consider ways to be proactive. In groups, they apply their knowledge to workplace situations and after plenary feedback, discuss the benefits of working proactively.
Who is it for: This training activity is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to understand the relationship between control and stress and which shows that an essential element of stress management is to be proactive rather than reactive.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 20 |
| Typical Duration: | 04:00:00 |
| No of Pages: | 14 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training activity is intended for use by trainers with participants who understand the principles defined in ‘Which perspective will you choose?’ It is particularly useful for those dealing with situations where stress is related to the frustrations of feeling powerless and helpless.
Download the training activity, Taking control as featured in the Fenman training manual; Stress Management at Work