Managing personal stressors

HLTWHS006 Manage personal stressors in the work environment

This unit is about preventing and managing personal stress to maintain health and wellbeing. It applies to a range of health and community services that have very stressful situations. The main sources of stress in health and/or community services work include:

• client behaviour that is emotional, aggressive, cognitive deficit, non-compliant
• grief and loss
• exposure to stressful working conditions and incidents
• poor relationships with other team members (e.g. horizontal bullying).

Some ways to reduce stress are managing time, getting enough exercise, having a good diet, balancing work/life, and debriefing.

 

How you will be assessed

You will be assessed through:

• Assessor observation on the job
• Supervisor reference (if the assessor is not the supervisor)
• Review of your workplace documents (e.g. procedures)
• Interview/assignment based on the requirements below.

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Practical

RE CA

You will be assessed in the workplace where you must show that you have:

1. Developed, implemented and reviewed your personal stress management plan that includes identified sources triggers and responses to stress.
2. Used strategies from your personal stress management plan to manage two stressful workplace situations involving colleagues and/or clients.

Show your assessor your workplace and the forms and procedures for doing assessment. Explain how it works as you go. Your assessor may ask you any questions on how it works. Most organizations have clear procedures.

Systematic reflection

Regularly reflect on incidents related to personal stress. For each incident, say what happened, why, and what can you learn from it. Your assessor will choose one of the following approaches:

• Keep a diary and hand in to your assessor each week during the assessment period.
• Participate in a weekly session (e.g. training session or staff meeting) during the assessment period, and make notes.

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Interview/assignment questions

RK

1. In your role, what are the main sources of stress? How do they show up in health and/or community services work environment?
2. Explain your techniques for planning work and prioritizing tasks (e.g. time management strategies).
3. Relating to stress management, what are your legal rights relating to the Fair Work Act?
4. What services are available for referral within the your organization?
5. What services are available for referral outside in the community?
6. Explain your self-care techniques.

Note: Your assessor may also ask you a variety of what if questions.

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Detailed requirements

1. Develop strategies to manage personal stress. El 1/PC, RS, Id L

1. Recognize sources of stress in your job, your triggers, and your response(s) to stress.
2. Identify strategies to effectively prevent, reduce and manage stress.
3. Identify options and resources for extra support from both inside and outside your organization.
4. Develop a personal stress management plan that responds to identified stressors and triggers.

 

2. Implement stress management strategies. El 1/PC, RS, Id L

1. Use strategies from your personal stress management plan to address personal triggers and stressors.
2. Organize your workload to minimize stress and inform relevant personnel of any variations and difficulties affecting your work.
3. Identify and adopt strategies to balance your work/life priorities.

 

3. Evaluate your strategies to reduce stress. El 1/PC, RS, Id L

1. Monitor and review the effectiveness of your stress management strategies.
2. Adjust any strategies that don’t get the desired outcome, and recognize when you need more resources and/or support.
3. Identify options and resources for extra support. They can be either internal or external to your organization.
4. Use extra support to meet the desired reslsts of the stress management plan.

 

4. Other.

1. Manage tasks and contingencies on the job
2. This process compleis with the WHS Act.

 

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Code for unit reqts: CA: Conditions of assessment El/PC: Element & criteria RE: Required evidence RK: Required knowledge RS: Required skills

Code for Foundation skills: L: Learning Id: Identify beliefs & thinking R: Reading W: Writing

N: Numeracy O: Oral communication N: Navigate world of work In: Interact with others G: Get work done