Feeling good about work a guide to helping you to be emotionally secure when starting or returning to work

How we feel about going to work makes a big difference to what we achieve at work and how we balance our work with our home life There are lots of factors which can make going to work difficult Feeling negative is not uncommon. But this can be reversed and going to work can be a positive experience

How you can feel when working is a positive useful independent important proud capable appreciated needed

How can you feel when working is a negative? guilty stressed anxious worried unmotivated isolated

You need to recognise the factors which can make going to work difficult and impact how you feel Feeling nervous about meeting and working with new people Worried managing home life and existing commitments Having limited confidence in your skills and abilities Balancing looking after children or caring for an adult Coping with the demands of a health condition Having a learning or physical disability Managing addiction Managing problems at home Managing financial concerns and worries Coping after a bereavement Managing depression Getting to work Many people manage these factors every day. You are not alone. You can manage too.

You need to develop a strategy to overcome or learn to manage what it is that makes you feel negative. What is causing you to feel how you do? What can you do? What do you need help with? Who can help you? Is this something can be fixed? Is this something that you can learn to manage? Sometimes it can be difficult to identify who can help. It may be you can simply get advice from family, friends or even work colleagues. You may need help from a professional. You need to identify who this person/people/org anisation might be and then have the confidence to ask. How will you put solutions in place? There are some things that you can simply sort to take the pressure off yourself. Its just a case of finding the time to sit down and work out what you can do and figuring out how you are going to do it. Putting things in place, can be difficult. Sometimes there are cost implications, sometimes you may struggle to find the time, or some of you solutions may be dependant on someone else being prepared to help. Not everything can be fixed overnight or solved with the first solution you identify. You may need to persevere. How will you keep those solutions in place? You will probably need to review the solutions that you have identified to check that they are still required and are still relevant. Sometimes you may need to go back to the drawing board to identify new solutions. Or you may need to sort further advice and support.

Sarah’s story Sarah was told that she needed to return to work now that her child had turned 5 years of age. She hadn’t been to work since Max was born and was very nervous and anxious about going back to work. She managed to identify some after school childcare for her son and started work. Within a week, she felt under pressure, and guilty, as well as completely out of her depth and isolated at work. Within two weeks she just didn’t know how to cope. The stress was making it difficult for her to sleep, impacting how she was at work and home. Within a month, Sarah felt so stressed and overwhelmed she had lost sight of the reasons as to why she was finding it so difficult and felt that she had to leave her job. Sarah spoke to one of her friends, Jane, who helped her to identify why she felt so overwhelmed and the reasons behind those initial emotions she had felt during her first week at work. They worked together to identify solutions. Sarah identified a different afterschool club that was attended by some of Max’s friends which made Max feel more settled and eased some of her guilt. Jane helped Sarah to identify that she was putting herself under unnecessary amounts of pressure with the housework due to an obsessive-compulsive disorder and recommended that she spoke to her doctor, who put her in touch with a helpline. Sarah was then able to access the support of a professional. Jane told Sarah that with time she would feel less lonely at work as she starts to build friendships with other staff. She encouraged Sarah to join her work colleagues on a fun run that they were doing later in the year which helped Sarah make some good friends. Sarah also spoke to her employer about undertaking some training to help her build on her existing computer skills – this helped Sarah to feel more confident and allowed her to demonstrate her willingness to professionally develop and move up within the company.

Things you might need professional support with: Coping with bereavement Ill-health Physical and/or learning difficulty Victim of abuse Addiction Things you might need some support (i.e. friend, family or employer) with: Confidence and motivation Skills development and Training Budgeting Housing Managing your emotions You need to identify where you need help Things you might be able to fix: Childcare Transport solutions Caring solutions Your presentation and conduct at work

It is important to identify and learn to manage the issues which may make you feel negative about work. This not only allows you to feel confident and happy about your new job, but this also allows your employer to feel confident and happy in you as an employee. You need to learn how to manage your issues and emotions without it negatively impacting your work place and your work colleagues.

When at work, you need to manage your feelings and emotions. Regular outbursts of anger, sadness, excessive worry, as well as being over-enthusiastic or over excited, can make it difficult to focus on your job, impact your co-workers, and, in some cases, can compromise safety. In some cases the negative or inappropriate emotions can be down to a range of disabilities, conditions or mental illness. This can be more difficult to manage but you can get the help and support you need to develop effective strategies. It is important to display the appropriate emotions so you stay focused and have good relationships with customers, staff and management.

John’s story John started work at a local fruit and vegetable store in the town where he lived. Initially, he was employed to help with deliveries. However, after another member of staff became ill, John was asked to serve customers and operate the till. The till was computer based and John received no formal training from his employer, just 20 minutes at the beginning. The till was difficult to operate and John’s struggles frustrated customers. John felt annoyed that the company did not invest in a more user-friendly till and that he had received limited training. Occasionally he received remarks from customers which upset him further. Then one day, John could not get the till to refund a payment and as a result the customer became angry. Fuelled by his frustration of the last few weeks, John shouted at the customer and his line manager, kicked some of the fresh produce nearby and walked out of the shop. Fortunately, John was able to access support from an Employment Support Worker. Together they identified the reasons that led to his loosing his temper in the shop. The Employment Support Worker explained how he needed to control his emotions while he was at work, but also that there were things that he could have done to have prevented to the incident. John was able to apologise to his manager and explained why he had become so angry. The manager apologised for putting him in a position, without giving him adequate training and support. He also recognised that the till was difficult to operate and arranged for John to be trained by a professional. John also went on a course about anger management and has since learned and uses various strategies that help him both at work and at home.

Think positively. Think and dwell on the best bits of your job. Try to avoid people who are negative about their job and try to spend time with your co-workers who are happy and positive. Communicate. Talk to your colleagues, ask your boss for feedback, share your concerns. Make friends with your colleagues. Share a little about yourself and ask them a little about themselves. Make sure you thank them when they’ve helped them out. Be aware of your rights as an employee, and be aware of any staff benefits. Try to take control of your professional development. Think about what you want to achieve at work and ask your employer for help. Also the job you are doing might not be the right job for you, recognise this and treat you current role as step to getting where you want to be. Remember, being a good employee will enable you to move on and get a good reference. Keep up to date with what is happening at work and what the ‘bigger picture’ is. Plan and organise your workload, and stick to your commitments and personal targets. Don’t set yourself targets which you can not achieve. Make sure you have put the necessary steps in place to allow you to manage your personal life. This can range from setting yourself a budget, arranging childcare through to knowing what you’re cooking for tea when you get in. Top Tips for coping emotionally when starting out at work