Actions and Reactions: Proving That You Are Right or Acting with Kindness?

It happens to everybody to regret having said certain things and/or to have made certain gestures in times of stress or conflict.

As a psychologist and coach, clients regularly ask me for advice as to how to better manage their interpersonal relationships, both personal and professional. Many feel overwhelmed and admit they react badly when stressed or confronted with arguments or conflict. I’ve noticed that more often than not, my clients admit their reactions in such interpersonal situations are emotional and / or impulsive and do not necessarily help solve the problem. Unfortunately for some, even for many, showing that they are right (and that the other party is wrong) becomes their objective (consciously or unconsciously) in such interpersonal exchanges. This leads to losing sight of the fact that the ultimate goal is rather to establish interpersonal relationships that allow us to live a more fulfilling, positive and productive personal and professional life. Adopting an interpersonal style that is too rigid or even unpredictable or avoidant in such situations leads rather to increasing the level of tension, frustration, distrust, and interpersonal dissatisfaction and this directly affects our capacity to function well and be productive.

I often meet with clients who tell me that they are stressed, disappointed, sad, and frustrated by their inability to resolve their disagreements in their life with their partner. This inability adversely affects their couple life and can contribute to a breakup in the long run. Similarly, some of my clients experience interpersonal difficulties at work (with colleagues and /or superiors) which undermine their professional success and ability to hold a job.

Actions et réactions : essayer d'avoir raison ou agir avec bonté ?

Ça arrive à tout le monde de regretter d'avoir dit certaines choses et / ou d'avoir poser certains gestes en moments de stress ou de conflits.

En tant que psychologue et coach, des clients me consultent régulièrement pour avoir des conseils sur comment mieux gérer leurs relations interpersonnelles et cela autant sur les plans personnel que professionnel. Plusieurs se sentent dépassés et disent mal réagir lorsque stressés ou confrontés à des arguments ou conflits. Je remarque que plus souvent qu'autrement mes clients avouent que leurs réactions lors de telles situations interpersonnelles sont émotives et / ou impulsives et ne facilitent pas nécessairement la résolution du problème. Malheureusement pour certains, même pour plusieurs, démontrer qu'ils ont raison (et que l'autre partie a tort) devient leur objectif (consciemment ou inconsciemment) lors de tels échanges interpersonnels. Ceci amène à perdre de vue que l'objectif ultime est plutôt d'établir des relations interpersonnelles qui nous permettent de vivre une vie personnelle et professionnelle plus satisfaisante, positive et productive. Adopter un style interpersonnel trop rigide ou encore trop imprévisible ou évitant lors de telles situations mène plutôt à augmenter le niveau de tension, frustration, méfiance et insatisfaction sur le plan interpersonnel et cela affecte directement notre capacité de bien fonctionner et d'être productif.

Je rencontre souvent des clients qui me confient êtres stressés, déçus, tristes et frustrés par leur incapacité de régler leurs désaccords dans leur vie de couple. Cette incapacité affecte négativement leur vie de couple et peut contribuer à une rupture relationnelle à la longue. De même, certain de mes clients éprouvent des difficultés interpersonnelles au travail (avec leurs collègues et / ou leur supérieur) qui nuisent énormément à leur succès professionnel et à leur habilité à maintenir un emploi.

L'importance de favoriser des communications franches et claires dans votre organisation

L'on ne saurait suffisamment insister sur l'importance des communications franches et claires.  Il s'agit de l'une des caractéristiques les plus importantes des organisations de haut rendement.   La plupart des problèmes de toute sorte peuvent découler d'une mauvaise communication ou d'un manque de compétences en communication telles que l'écoute attentive ou la  prestation de rétroaction constructive.

Il est important de communiquer de façon continue afin de tenir l'équipe à jour, concentrée et allant de l'avant.  Les employés doivent se sentir libres de faire part de leurs idées et de leurs opinions à leurs collègues et à leurs superviseurs en tout temps.  Lorsqu'ils s'expriment, ils doivent s'assurer de la faire de façon claire et concise.

Malheureusement, la plupart d'entre nous ne savent pas très bien écouter.  Nous pourrions, pour la plupart, améliorer nos communications si seulement nous écoutions mieux - écouter avec un esprit ouvert pour entendre le message de façon intégrale avant de tirer une conclusion et travailler en vue d'une compréhension mutuelle.  Trop souvent, nous laissons des distractions nous empêcher de consacrer toute notre attention à l'interlocuteur et nous laissons nos biais et nos préjugés servir de base à notre compréhension. Travailler à l'amélioration de nos communications organisationnelles nous permettra d'augmenter la confiance, réduire les problèmes et bâtir des relations interpersonnelles saines.

Itching for a conflict?

On the surface, a conflict-free life may seem ideal. Many individuals seem to be on the lookout for a stress-free life — things are simple, challenges are few and interpersonal conflicts are non-existent.

Most experts agree, however, that conflict can not always be avoided — it is a part of life. But it can also be a positive experience since it often presents an opportunity to better understand those around us and improve our interactions with them.

In a conflict, the positions and concerns of two individuals may first appear to be miles apart. During a conflict, individuals can be assertive (even aggressive) in trying to satisfy their wants and needs. Alternatively, they can cooperate and try to placate the other person, or attempt to reach a compromise — or respond to the needs and wants of both parties.

Conventional wisdom recognizes, for example, that often "Two heads are better than one" and as such we should collaborate in a conflict situation. On the other hand, some would argue that "Might makes right" and we should try to win at any cost.

As psychologists, we have seen that individual manage conflict in a variety of ways. Conflict management strategies suggest using a set of social skills (e.g. listening, assertiveness, cooperation, problem-solving, persuasion, negotiation). While each conflict situation will often determine the best conflict-handling strategy to be used, we all have our preferred ways of managing interpersonal conflicts and often resort to one strategy type over others.

To better manage conflict, we first need to listen — actively — and try to understand the other individual's points of view, concerns and motives. Only once this is done thoroughly can we, more appropriate and more equitably, find the solution to the conflict. In difficult or litigious conflicts, involving third-party experts (e.g. psychologists, therapists, HRM consultants, lawyers) to mitigate the conflict may be required.

I believe that it is mostly during challenging or conflict situations that we are put to the test and can show how best to surpass ourselves. As such, we should see conflict as an opportunity — one that we can deal with efficiently and effectively with the right strategy — and not as a threat.

It's important to remember that conflict — more often than not — allows individuals to further explore the needs and wants of others and, most importantly, to resolve differences, find solutions to problems, and lead healthier interpersonal relationships.

With all this in mind — why not look forward to your next conflict?

Dr. Yaniv M. Benzimra, Ph.D.
Psychologist
Y2 Consulting Psychologists

If you have any questions and/or comments, don't hesitate. Thank you!

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Conseils sur la rédaction des examens du gouvernement (surtout les examens électroniques)

Bien que tous les examens du gouvernement associés aux processus de sélection ne soient identiques, plusieurs se ressemblent. C'est pourquoi nous avons rassemblé certains conseils pour ceux et celles qui seront peut-être appelés à les écrire. Nombre de ces conseils peuvent vous paraître évidents, mais selon notre expérience chez les PCY2...

1. Lisez en premier les instructions de l'examen — du début à la fin.
2. Suivez les instructions. S'il y a une limite du nombre de pages, ne la dépassez pas. Il y a des chances que si vous produisez un texte de deux pages, et que la longueur maximale stipulée dans les instructions est d'« une page », votre deuxième page ne soit pas comptée.
3. Soyez aussi complet que possible (à l'intérieur du temps et de l'espace alloués).
4. Ne faites que ce qui est demandé dans les instructions. Si la question demande de donner cinq exemples, il n'est pas nécessaire d'en offrir un sixième.
5. Gérez votre temps. Si vous devez faire trois tâches, essayez d'allouer un certain temps pour chacune en fonction du degré de difficulté / complexité. Souvent, les candidats manquent de temps lorsqu'ils répondent à la dernière question.
6. Sauvegardez vos documents à intervalles réguliers.
7. Utilisez un langage simple. Rédigez de façon claire. Vérifiez votre orthographe, votre grammaire, votre ponctuation et votre syntaxe.
8. Servez-vous des sources de l'Internet pour rechercher rapidement les renseignements de base pertinents pour vos réponses — si l'examen est transmis de façon électronique. Mais surveillez votre temps.
9. Rédigez dans vos propres mots ou citez vos sources. Simplement copier et coller du texte des documents provenant du Web (dans le cas d'« examens électroniques ») n'est habituellement pas permis.
10. Rappelez-vous que le contenu est plus important que le format.

Et finalement (ou peut-être en premier lieu) préparez-vous. Consultez le site Web du ministère / de l'agence qui parraine le processus de sélection puisqu'il renferme normalement le Rapport sur les plans et les priorités (RPP), le Rapport ministériel sur le rendement (RMR) ainsi que d'autres documents pertinents sur le mandat, les priorités, etc.

Leaman Long, B.A., B.Ed.
Consultant en GRH
Psychologues Consultants Y2

Si jamais vous avez des questions et/ou commentaires, n'hésitez surtout pas à nous en faire part. Merci !

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Government Recruitment: Thinking about hiring an HR Consultant? Why not?

In today's world, many managers have to cope with fewer resources and increasing workloads. Increasingly employee onboarding and retention are important but so too is the initial staffing process.

Hiring new staff through selection processes can be labour-intensive, complicated, and time-consuming for managers. Staffing a position or several positions can take many months.

Employees change jobs and/or are promoted often in government circles and in private sector organizations.

A structure staffing approach helps to ensure that managers can fill any vacant positions and get the right individuals.

Hiring consultants in the private sector to look after recruitment processes is common, less so in government. However, some government organizations have started (or have been) using them.

The main reason to use HR consulting is simply to save time.

But there are a number of other advantages:

• Professional consultants can be chosen based on their qualifications, experience and competence as it relates to a particular assignment.
• HR consultants work closely with managers advising them throughout the recruitment process and with public or private sector HR advisors to produce the most efficient and effective results.

Becoming the Leader You Want to Be

I recently had a client tell me, after a few sessions, that she was so relieved that I had not told her how she needed to change, or what she should be doing differently. There is nothing wrong with focusing on behavioural changes. However, in my opinion, it may not provide the complete answer and often does not address the root cause of symptoms.

If we assume that you are always in some sort of relationship (with yourself or others), then this would mean that what you call a "problem" is simply a reaction that you are having when faced with a situation that does not give you the outcomes you are looking for.

Often, in the face of such "problems", we tend to ask ourselves the following two questions: What is wrong with me or what is wrong with the situation or the other people involved? This leads to a judgment call and often to strategies that are aimed at controlling our own or someone else's behaviour. If you recognize yourself here, then I should ask: how's this working for you?

As women, our fallback position is often: What is wrong with me? or "What can I DO to fix myself?" What if there is nothing to fix? What if instead of focusing on your behaviour or the behaviours of others, you looked into what created an underlying relationship in a particular situation. Certain behaviour patterns need to be fully examined and experienced so they can generate a transformation from within us. Emotions are simply energy in motion, unless we stop that movement.

Leading authentically: a new paradigm for leadership

Leadership has become quite the buzzword these days and with good reason: increasingly, it is being recognized that who we are and how we lead has a direct impact on the quality of our lives and the organizations that we collectively participate in.

Traditional notions of leadership have been mostly based on a command and control approach — keep emotions in check, mistakes/failure are not options, don't show your vulnerability, be strong and in control at all times, be directive, etc. For women, the pressure has been intense on them to fit that model, often at the expense of their true nature.

Lately, however, we are seeing a shift in what is required of leaders in these rapidly changing times. The shift, in my opinion, is happening not only at the physical level, but also at the level of our collective consciousness. It is no longer sustainable, nor as valued or recognized, to lead in a purely one-dimensional manner.

Let's explore notions of leadership from different perspectives. If we consider the "doing leader", there are a myriad of books that offer options on different leadership styles, such as servant leader, strategic leader, primal leader, thought leader, etc. This implies that we must "learn" to become leaders from the outside in, based on someone else's external definition of what is appropriate and required. It can become very stereotypical.

Pourquoi on ne peut plus négliger la problématique de la santé mentale au travail ?

Saviez-vous que plus de 20 % des Canadiens souffrent d'une maladie mentale au courant de leur vie ? Cette statistique est en effet reconfirmée par les derniers statistiques de Santé mentale et de dépendance (CAMH, 2012). De plus, seulement 30 % de ceux qui souffrent de maladies mentales reçoivent les soins dont ils ont besoin. Enfin, moins de 50 % des Canadiens se disent prêts à en parler à des amis ou à chercher de l'aide d'un professionnel; cela en dépit de l'efficacité démontrée des différents traitements psychologiques et pharmacologiques qui existent.

De nos jours, maintenir un bon équilibre vie-travail devient de plus en plus problématique pour la majorité d'entre nous. Selon plusieurs sondages, environ 50 % des Canadiens ont des difficultés à rencontrer leurs différentes obligations professionnelles, personnelles et familiales (Santé Canada, 2008). Ces difficultés semblent s'aggraver avec une économie fragilisée où la plupart des organisations essaient d'en faire plus avec moins de ressources humaines et financières.

Étant donné le nombre significatif de personnes affectés par la maladie mentale, il n'est donc certainement pas surprenant d'apprendre que les coûts financiers de la santé mentale sur la société soient énormes, et représentent l'une des premières causes d'invalidité au travail (soient 70% des coûts totaux d'invalidité) ainsi que des cas prématurés de mortalité. Le stress à lui seul, représente une menace majeure pour le travail et la productivité, et totalise des coûts de 14 milliards par année en Santé mentale au Canada. Tout ceci amène conjointement à une somme de 51 milliards de $ / année en coût reliés aux soins de santé et perte de productivité au travail (Statistiques de Santé Canada, 2008).

C'est donc dire que la détresse psychologique et leurs impacts deviennent de plus en plus préoccupantes dans le monde du travail d'aujourd'hui, et incontournables dans d'analyse de la situation du travail en termes de résultats attendus et de productivité.

Mental Health at Work: We Can't Afford to Overlook the Problem

Were you aware that over 20 per cent of Canadians suffer from a mental illness during their lifetime? Well, the latest statistics on mental health and addiction (CAMH, 2012) reconfirm this result.

In addition, only 30 per cent of those who suffer from mental illness get the care they need. And less than 50 per cent of Canadians say they are ready to talk to family/friends or to seek professional help, despite the demonstrated success of various existing psychological and pharmacological treatments.

Today, maintaining a good work-life balance is becoming increasingly difficult for most of us. According to several surveys, about 50 per cent of Canadians are struggling to meet their work, personal and family obligations (Health Canada, 2008). And these problems seem to get worse within a fragile economy in which most organizations try to do more with fewer human and financial resources.

Given the significant number of people affected by mental illness, it's not surprising that the financial costs of mental health on society are enormous, and that mental illness is one of the leading causes of work-related disability (70 per cent are "total disability" costs) and of premature death. Stress alone is a major threat at work, and on productivity, and results in $14 billion per year in mental health costs in Canada. All together the costs related to health care and lost productivity at work add up to $51 billion/year (Health Statistics Canada, 2008).

Increasingly, psychological distress and its impacts are becoming concerns in today's work world, in addition to being key elements in any analyses of employment outcomes and productivity.

Maîtriser le stress au travail

On le sait, la vie professionnelle est génératrice de plusieurs stress. Le Dr Yaniv M. Benzimra, psychologue clinicien et organisationnel, nous propose des stratégies gagnantes pour ne pas se laisser envahir par eux.

Vous pouvez agir.

Le stress est un déséquilibre entre les demandes qui nous sont faites et notre habileté à y répondre à l'intérieur d'un laps de temps déterminé. Le stress est normal à court terme, mais ses effets à long terme sont négatifs. On peut agir sur trois plans : l'intervention primaire, l'intervention secondaire et l'intervention tertiaire.

Lire la suite :

Maîtriser le stress au travail by Y2CP

Wondering if you are ready to retire? Eight questions to ask yourself...

The way we imagine and go through retirement will be different for each one of us, depending on our experiences, our interests, and our lifestyle. This period could be an opportunity to reflect upon and to make a new start in our lives. Dr. Yaniv Benzimra outlines eight questions we should ask ourselves to know if we are ready — psychologically — to undertake this important transition.

1. Am I considering full or partial retirement?

   We are not required to go from an active professional life to full retirement; we can also choose to retire in stages. For example, over a period of five years we could go from five to three days, then to one day of work per week. This would allow us to spend some time away from work, to discover other activities, and to have some time to adapt to this new situation. We could also take time off from work for six months or a year to see how we would feel when we are not working. In certain cases, after retirement, we could work part time, for example as a consultant.

2. How do I feel about my work?

   We should ask certain questions based on our past work year, for example: Do I like my work? Am I looking forward to not working? To what extent am I defined by my profession? Do I still have things to achieve professionally or have I already been around the block? We can also think about the social aspects of work and the structure that work gives us. We can ask: Am I ready to live without my social network and outside of a structured work environment?

3. How do I feel about retirement?

   What are the advantages and disadvantages of a life without work? At the beginning of any new situation, there is a honeymoon period. But then routine sets in. After spending three to six months playing golf and travelling, think about what you are going to do during the next 15 or 20 years? In addition, am I feeling anxious about retiring or am I looking forward to it? If we have several projects lined up, it is obvious that this period will be more attractive. However, we should avoid feeling pressured by others.

4. Have I looked at the state of my health and my energy level?

   Does my work create too much stress and health problems? Am I able to produce at the required level? Am I always tired, burned out by the time I arrive home? Do I have health problems? Can I pursue my career given my current state of health and energy level? We shouldn't wait until we are sick to stop working. We should do it as a preventative measure, so we can enjoy our retirement. We can also ask ourselves how we feel on weekends and when we are on vacation. If we are anxious to return to work, it's because our interest in it is still strong.

Êtes-vous prête à prendre votre retraite ?

8 questions à se poser...

La manière d'envisager et de vivre la retraite sera différente pour chacun d'entre nous, selon nos expériences, nos acquis et notre manière de vivre. Cette période de vie peut être l'occasion de se redéfinir et de prendre un nouveau départ. Le Dr Yaniv M. Benzimra propose ici huit questions à se poser pour savoir si on est psychologiquement prêt à effectuer cette transition importante.

La retraite ouvre un nouveau chapitre de vie et donne l'occasion de faire ce qu'on avait mis de côté. Les retraités ont en moyenne 33 % plus de temps libre. Qu'allez-vous faire de votre temps ?

Êtes-vous prête à prendre votre retraite ? - Article Le Lundi

Comment faire face à une perte d'emploi

Secrets of Assessment Centre Design

An Assessment Centre is an excellent tool for identifying leadership potential, executive development or succession planning.

Assessment Centres can be made up of job simulations alone or combined with other tools such as psychometrics, 360-degree feedback and a competency-based interview.

Where the aim is development only, self-report questionnaires and periodic feedback during the program are also useful.

To be effective, an Assessment Centre needs to mirror a target job or level in the organization. It needs to present participants with stretching challenges similar to those they would face in that job or at that level. Assessment Centre exercises are simulations of the most critical challenges that must be dealt with effectively at the target level.

Assessment Centres can simulate any job, including sales or customer service roles and all levels of management. For the latter, maximum benefit is obtained when the first level of management is the target. This is where we get the classic problem: "When I promoted Jim, I lost my best sales person and gained a poor manager."

The challenging transition from individual contributor to manager

To decide how best to assess the potential to move successfully to a first management role we need to explore why failure is so common in this context.

Usually, employees are promoted because they excel at their current jobs. Following orthodox wisdom, they like to play to their strengths. Under the pressure of a higher profile role, many revert to type and continue to do what they do best, failing to realize that they need new skills for an entirely new role. Being good at their individual contributor roles means having high standards of performance. This positive work ethic, however, can combine negatively with their need to prove themselves in their new role as manager, leading them to do too much, be too directive and over use their formal authority.

With the pressure to prove themselves, it is tempting to manage the newly inherited team too closely, thus working more as a lead hand than as a leader. When their controlling approach runs into resistance, the frequently used way out is to "sweep aside" inherited team members, hence the widely used label: "new broom". This is a huge waste of talent and money.

Some tips for our resolutions for 2013

Here we are again. I know, some of you are saying "Already?" The holidays are over and it's time for resolutions for the New Year!

A U.S. study (University of Scranton, Journal of Clinical Psychology) reports that nearly half of all Americans (45%) made a resolution this year... but more than half will break them in the coming months. Indeed, only about 8% ever reach their goals. But why is it so difficult to keep our resolutions?

Here are a few tips to help you make 2013 a year in which you succeed in making and keeping them!

• Don't try to change more than one behaviour at a time (and a maximum of 2-3 during a year);
• Take time and carefully choose a "real" resolution;
• If you really want to change a behaviour, stop and think about HOW to do it: what do you have to focus on to achieve your goals?
• Our objectives should be "SMART":
  1. Specific (loose how many pounds/kilograms; take what specific course, etc.).
  2. Measurable (eat five servings of vegetables every day, or take a 15 minute walk, three nights/week, etc.).
  3. Attainable (stop overnight or gradually?)
  4. Realistic (lose 10 lbs in a week? Really?)
  5. Timely (reachable by June 1, 2013, for example)

Change, when it occurs is usually accompanied by a process of mourning for what had been (I can no longer eat chocolate while watching a movie, for example). Denial, or resistance, is the first stage of change. The greater the resistance, the more individuals may rebel or abandon (or become demotivated or discouraged). Our challenge is a mental one: to move from “change" to "continuous adaptation" (for example, a strict diet versus adopting a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits).

According to Prochaska and Di Clemente (1999), change is a cyclical process. Thus, the cycle of Prochaska outlines six stages of change:

Quelques trucs pour nos résolutions de 2013

Bon. Nous y revoilà. Déjà, diront certains. Les Fêtes sont terminées : place aux nouvelles résolutions ! Une étude américaine (University of Scranton, Journal of Clinical Psychology) rapporte que près de la moitié des américains (45%) prendront une résolution cette année... mais que plus de la moitié de ceux-ci l'abandonneront en cours d'année. On explique qu'environ 8% des gens atteindront complètement leurs objectifs. Mais pourquoi est-ce si difficile de respecter nos résolutions ? Voici donc quelques mises en garde pour vous aider à les maintenir, et à faire de 2013, une année remplie de réussites !

• On ne doit pas « s'attaquer » à plus d'un comportement à la fois (maximum de 2-3 dans l'année);
• Il faut s'accorder du temps et (bien) choisir une « vraie » résolution;
• Si on souhaite vraiment changer un comportement, il faut s'arrêter et penser au COMMENT FAIRE pour y arriver : quels moyens allons-nous privilégier pour atteindre nos objectifs ?
• Nos objectifs se doivent d'être « SMART », c'est-à-dire :
  1. Spécifiques (combien de livres/kg; prendre un cours de quoi exactement, etc.)
  2. Mesurables (mangez 5 portions de légumes à tous les jours, ou faire 15 min de marche, 3 soirs/semaine, etc.)
  3. Atteignables (arrêter du jour au lendemain ou graduellement ?)
  4. Réalistes (perdre 10 lbs en une semaine ? Vraiment !?)
  5. Temps alloué / limite (pour les atteindre : d'ici le 1er juin 2013 par exemple)

Lorsqu'un changement s'opère, il s'accompagne pour les individus concernés d'un processus de deuil des situations antérieures (je ne me permets plus de manger du chocolat en regardant un film, par exemple). L'étape de déni, étape primaire du changement, se manifeste par des résistances au changement. Plus ces résistances sont grandes, plus les individus risquent de tomber dans des comportements tels que la rébellion ou l'abandon (démotivation, découragement). Notre défi, est de l'ordre mental : passer du concept de « changement » à celui « d'adaptation permanente » (ex : suivre une diète vs adopter de saines habitudes de vie et de saines habitudes alimentaires).

Selon Prochaska et Di Clemente (1999), le changement est un processus qui fonctionne de manière cyclique. Ainsi, le cycle de Prochaska définit en 6 étapes le changement de comportement :

Retirement: Achieving Financial, Physical and Psychological Well-being

A recent Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) White Paper entitled "Achieving Well-being in Retirement: Recommendations from 20 Years' Research" by Mo Wang (University of Florida) and Beryl Hesketh (University of Western Sydney/Macquarie University) recommends the following for those contemplating retirement:

"...maintaining good health, actively engaging in financial planning for retirement, having realistic estimates of longevity, being clear on one's financial goals in retirement, and participating in paid employment after retirement are all realistic ways of achieving fiscal well being."

The authors also conclude that it is important for individuals to take the initiative to improve both their knowledge and understanding of financial matters, and of work-related skills and knowledge.

In terms of achieving physical well-being in retirement, the authors note that "having good health behaviours and habits in retirement is critical for their physical well-being." They recommend that individuals engage in certain daily levels of physical and/or cognitive activities. The latter could include leisure activities such as dancing, playing board games, reading, doing crossword puzzles and playing an instrument. All stimulate learning in the brain and may reduce the risk of dementia.

Retiring Early (or Simply Retiring)? Are You Ready For It?

Almost 15 years ago (time goes by quickly), I took early retirement from the public service when the federal government offered many of us a "golden handshake".

At the time — it sounded wonderful. I planned on returning to teaching and to paint in my spare time — a lot of spare time. Supply teaching turned out to be a lot different from what teaching had been when I was fresh out of university, and I could have starved as an artist — lots have — although it is still a great pastime.

Like me, early retirement is viewed by many (especially before the age of 60) as a career change or an opportunity to try different things, to take on part time or contract work, to learn new things, to share knowledge, and so on, instead of it being the end of your work life.

Still, perhaps the biggest complaint about retirement — either early or regularly-scheduled retirement — is boredom. Not having enough to keep you busy or enough meaningful things to do. Lunches with old friends and golf games every day may wear thin over time. That's why it's important to have outside interests — volunteer activities, hobbies and the like.

Not having any work stress may sound wonderful for someone who retires at 65 or older but for someone who retires early — say at 50 — and for someone who retires from a challenging work world — too little stress can create problems of their own. For example, stress researchers have underlined that a minimal level of stress is required to motivate people to perform tasks more efficiently. Not having this type of "minimal" stress can create a void which is hard to fill.

When I retired early my wife was still working. Having me around the house all the time created its own sorts of problems. There were also expectations that I should be doing more around the house. And often I found myself interrupting her routines. After six months of this, she asked me to find something meaningful to do outside of the house! Her exact words were — "go find another job!".

Managing Stress and Balancing Work Demands

It has been reported that disability claims related to mental illness (including claims for acute stress reaction, depression, adjustment disorders, anxiety and PTSD) in the federal public service continued to increase last year and accounted for 48 per cent of all claims filed.

Stress: Among an Employee's Worst Nightmares

Has your job ever drained you to the point of emotional and physical exhaustion? Does this feeling of weariness go on for days, weeks, or even months? If so, you could be stressing yourself beyond the breaking point.

Longer-term or chronic stress — indeed, any significant amount of work stress — can have debilitating physical and emotional outcomes, and can wreak havoc upon an unsuspecting employee. It has been shown that stress occurs not only among those who are highly motivated and committed but also among those who are not. We also know that employees, both in the private and public sectors, may experience stress in varying degrees.

Job demands can create or trigger mental health problems, including stress and anxiety. As such, it is important for employees to learn how to recognize and to guard against factors that cause these problems, or to make adjustments to working conditions and practices that may be causing them.

Is your work stressing you out? Should you tell your manager?

Is it in the interest of the manager, to whom you report, to help you, as an employee, deal with stress in the workplace? The answer is a definite "yes".

Chances are, if managers are paying attention, they already know there's something wrong. They can sense the difference in your behavior in meetings, and see it in the quality or precision of the work you're producing. A manager may ask what's wrong or try to find out informally, but some may not know what to say even when they recognize that you may need help. In that case, it may be up to you.