Lisa Jeskins Training

Coping with Change

19th July 2012

Understanding changeDealing with change Keeping positiveWorking with your managerReducing stressFinding support

Today we’re going to look at:

Understanding change

How do you feel when…

…someone sits in your chair?…your route to work is different because of roadworks?

…you change your hairstyle?

“Change is a major source of stress. Change challenges you to let go of the past, and the comfortable old way of doing things and to accept new methods of working and face new challenges”

Adapted from Learnthat: http://www.learnthat.com/courses/lifestyle/stress/stress6.html

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Change places and go and sit with someone you don’t know.

In your new group, look at the questions on your handout and discuss.

Feedback to the group

Exercise

Stages of change

Shock and denialAnger and resistanceResignation and acceptanceCommitment

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Dealing with change

Stand up and wait for instructions

Exercise

Remember you’re not alone

Change at work seems to becoming a fact of life, particularly in the current economic climate.

Your organisation is not the only organisation having to make changes.

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Expect a reaction

You will react to change and you could feel all kinds of emotions as the change is happening.

It’s normal to feel confused, angry or scared, or all three.

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What is staying the same?

Although work might be changing, there will be some aspects of your role that remain the same, look for those things and remember your strengths.

Home can be another constant, remember to keep your work-life balance and enjoy the things that you normally do with family and friends.

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Remember that you’ve faced challenges beforeIt might be something in your personal life or another workplace change.

What did you do last time?

What worked well and helped you to cope?

Remembering how you dealt successfully with other changes in your life can help you to feel more in control.

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Keeping work positive

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Try and avoid listening to the rumour mill, it’ll only make you more anxious and might not be true. If you do hear something and it worries you, ask your manager about it.

Although it can help to share frustrations with the rest of your team, try and avoid having continually negative conversations.

Make sure you take advantage of any training opportunities available to you. Learning new skills will help to keep you receptive to new ideas and keep your CV up-to-date.

Ways to keep positive

Working closely with your manager

When in doubt, ask…

When we don’t know how something is going to affect us, we become apprehensive.

Ask your manager how your job will be affected by the change.

Ask if you feel you need more training to cope with new tasks.

If you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, talk to your manager about how you feel and if there are ways you can reduce these feelings.

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Reducing stress

Look at the different stress indicators on the bingo card in front of you.

Talk in your group and if you have come across or experienced any of the stress indicators on the card, cross them off the list. The first team to shout ‘HOUSE’ gets a prize.

Exercise

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Take care of yourself, eat well, do some exercise and try to get enough sleep.

Try and stick to your normal routines at home and at work.

Try and find a way of relaxing that works for you.

Try not to overload yourself with other responsibilities.

Recognising and coping with stress

Finding support

Build a good support network at work. Find people who will listen and have good ideas on how to solve problems.

Build a good support network at home. Friends or family who care about you, will want to help and can’t if they don’t know what’s going on. Talk to them.

Informal support

Formal supportFind out where you can go to find information.

This might be your line manager, someone in Human Resources or even your union representative.

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Email:lisa@lisajeskinstraining.com

Website: http://lisajeskinstraining.com

Any questions?