Meeting the stress challenge : a training resource for managers, practitioners and training staff in social welfare organisations

Stress is a serious and costly problem in social welfare organizations and affects the service they provide significantly.

This guide provides an overview of key issues in pressure and stress, and practical guidelines on how the problems can be tackled.

Particular emphasis is placed on: the "emotional labour" involved in social work and social care; problems in teams and problems of isolation where teams are diffuse - or non-existent; the implications for stress management of the politics of social welfare; aggression and the risk of violence; and the effects of organizational change.The text also provides a set of training exercises designed for use as part of a training course or for staff development within teams or staff groups.

It outlines tools for gauging the pressures staff face, with the aim of helping managers to get stress into perspective and to plan strategies for meeting its challenges.