209

News

New book tackles mental health in the workplace 

Christian Wenande
August 19th, 2021


This article is more than 3 years old.

Now for sale in English on Amazon, Birgitte Wärn’s ‘The Little Guide to An Almost Stress-Free Life’ is already being lauded 

Mental health in the workplace is certainly not something open for discussion everywhere.

In many countries, such as the US and the UK, mental health is taboo and employers are quick to sweep the issue under the table rather than provide their employees with the help they require.

But in Denmark, that is not the case and author Birgitte Wärn has produced a number of books and articles to help employers and employees alike tackle the issue, the latest one being ‘The Little Guide An Almost Stress-Free Life’.

Now for sale in English on Amazon, Wärn’s ‘The Little Guide to An Almost Stress-Free Life’ provides its readers with practical tools and useful exercises to handle stress and promote a life in equilibrium.

“In order to effectively prevent and manage stress within an organisation, you have to take action on four different levels: top management, management, group and individual level – preferably in that order,” Wärn told CPH Post.

“In some of my other guides and articles I have addressed the issue from a management and group level perspective. In ‘The Little Guide to An Almost Stress-Free Life’, I concentrate on what you can do as an individual and on helping people to cope with their stressors, whether they are work-related or stem from one’s personal life. In my experience stress is often caused by a mixture of work and personal issues and when that is the case, we need to address both areas in order to conquer stress.”

READ ALSO: Converse city: Low burnout, high stress

Engineering a result
Among those to praise the book is
the Danish Society of Engineers (IDA), which wants to provide its around 130,000 members with the ability to embrace a sustainable working life. 

In fact, IDA have been so pleased with the book that it has been given a special edition.

“It can be difficult to talk about stress, so we gave our members a special edition of the book. The book has been immensely popular and we are getting a second edition printed, so we are very pleased,” said Morten Thiessen, the head of IDA’s staff council.

“We’ve chosen the book because it is very action-orientated and easy to approach.”

READ ALSO: Childhood stress can lead to premature death – report

A five-star guidebook
And it’s precisely the book’s simple and unpretentious approach that makes it so accessible.

A renowned author and stress expert, Thomas Milsted, says the book provides readers with an overview of what they are able to work on themselves to get things moving.

“I would call this a five-star guidebook which enables those suffering from stress to find specific help without the long psychological explanations,” said Thomas Milsted, renowned author and stress expert.

The English version of the book is available on Amazon, both as paperback and e-book. You can read more about the book and buy it here.


Share

Most popular

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive The Daily Post

















Latest Podcast

A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”