‘Meditation’ and ‘Mindfulness’ are definitely buzzwords at the moment. But what exactly do they mean? How do you meditate? Are we suggesting that a busy practice manager sits in the corner, cross-legged, eyes closed, chanting ‘Om’ while staff, patients, sales reps, inspectors and whoever-else swirls around her?
Summary
Our actions can influence our own wellbeing positively.
Wellbeing is subjective; everyone will have their own gauge of how well they are feeling.
Summary
There is a strong link between appropriate management style and good mental health.
Having unrealistic and unreasonable demands placed upon us increases anxiety and stress levels and impacts our mental wellbeing.
The feeling of not having control over our day-to-day work can have a huge negative impact on our stress levels.
Employees feel supported when they feel they have the knowledge and skills to do what is being of asked of them, they feel they are trusted to make day-to-day decisions and know that they can ask for support if they need it.
Summary
This article sets out the practical steps dental practices can take to ensure their patients are safe, and explains patients’ potential emotional responses during their visits.
Dental practices can help to mitigate patients’ anxiety by risk-assessing every step of the patients’ journey and putting safety measures in place.
People respond to stress in different ways. They can be fighters, fly-ers, freezers or fawners, and it helps to have a different strategy for dealing with each type.
Summary
The more our mental well-being suffers as a result of pressure, the less resilient we become and the more likely we are to suffer from mental ill health.
Employers have a legal duty to provide a safe place of work for their staff.
Employers also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments if an employee is suffering from an illness or condition that amounts to a disability, including mental impairment.
Managing the factors that result in pressure at work, including making reasonable adjustments, contributes to positive mental well-being and helps to minimise the risk of mental ill health.
Summary
There are symptoms of anxiety that we can look out for in our colleagues and ourselves.
Practice managers can take action to support colleagues and reduce anxiety in their teams.
Effective ways of reducing anxiety in colleagues include: setting a good example, communicating clearly, and engendering an open and blame-free culture.
Summary
Stress can be defined as an excess of demand on the mind and body, seen in the form of a physical demand, a mental demand or both.
People are not all the same and hence we cannot assume they can all cope with the same level of pressure.
Employers are required to deal with any risks to the health, safety and welfare of employees under the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974.
Risk assessments to protect employee’s health should be carried out under regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.