Employee Services > Benefits and HR Managers > Training > Achieving Healthy Balance Wellness Seminars

1. DESCRIPTION:

The healthy balance wellness seminars (1 hour each) are designed to be used independently or as a series, half day program for employees who are undergoing pressures in their work and home life. Each deals with different aspects of managing the personal issues surrounding change, relationships, expectations, work issues and balancing priorities (often associated with current stress and conflict).

The seminars are upbeat, practical, and informative with most of the materials gathered from experts around the nation, recent studies, or materials currently published in the areas of managing stress and conflict.

There is also a series for supervisors (1 - 2 hours each) designed to assist them in managing the stress and conflict associated with work interactions and transitions.

2. OBJECTIVES:

The overall objective of the course is to provide participants with an accurate expansive view of some of the divergent realities associated with each of the four aspects of direct and indirect pressure. The goal is to provide them with a clearer perspective of their own particular situation as it relates to the situations that all people find themselves facing during life's ups and downs. By providing a sense of normality within the context of some very abnormal situations, the participants can begin to manage their expectations, emotions, reactions and consequences.

3. DESIGNS:

STRESS MANAGEMENT:
The course is designed to move the participants past the traditional stress coping skills seminar. It brings them to a higher understanding of the causes of stress, the ways in which individuals are more prone to being effected by stress, and the tools of coping which can be adapted and tailored to enable a complete management of stress. The seminar addresses: levels of stress, types of stress (personal and professional), reactions to stress, and analysis of the steps needed to resolve stress.

The participants use questionnaires, surveys, charts, and graphs to assess how they are being effected by stress and how well they manage it. The final part of the seminar gives them practical strategies to overcome the stress dynamic and begin to plan each day for a less stressful life.

RELAXING WAYS IN A STRESSFUL WORLD:
The course is designed to enable individuals to recognize that relaxation is an attainable goal that requires a small amount of concentration or effort. Individuals are taken through a series of relaxation techniques to build their resistance to stress, calm their physical demeanor, and enhance their awareness of their own emotional and mental wellbeing. Participants are guided through the understanding of their own physical signs and emotional feelings that accompany relaxation so they can reproduce these behaviors on their own when they relax.

Practical application of these coping skills and stress reducers are encouraged in appropriate settings with recommendations for relaxing while at the office, in a car, on the train, in a quite room, or before sleeping at night.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND PROBLEM SOLVING:
The seminar is designed to provide insight into the causes of conflict, the five major styles of interaction that resolve or create conflict, and the multiple forms which conflicts may take once they have begun. Discussed are: the role of personal perceptions, biases, and misdirected tactics that may escalate conflict. The seminar also highlights some problem solving techniques that can be employed to move past the conflict, form a cooperative atmosphere and provide a future framework of interaction to gain constructive resolutions early.

This seminar contains several role playing opportunities, tactics for better control of emotions, and communication skills. The participants will find the experience extremely practical and logical while they discover their own perceptions and feelings about conflict and how it functions in their lives. Included are some forms and diagrams which can help each person begin to resolve the conflict situations in their own lives while actively engaging the participation of others in the process.

PROBLEM SOLVING:
This seminar is based on the themes of conflict resolution from an operational perspective. How do we solve the issues that cause long term conflict and disharmony? How do we trace back the historical basis for dissention and anger between individuals or groups and come up with constructive, effective ways to eliminate the causes of the problems rather than try to deal with the ongoing day-to -day symptoms of a bigger issue? The seminar is designed to teach participants the difference between what appears to be the problem on the surface and root issues.

Problem solving skills are emphasized and techniques for "dumping" the peripheral issues are provide # Role play is used to enable the participants to see the personal responsibility of both parties in resolving the problem and stating the next steps towards achieving compromise and emotional closure. Rewards and consequences are reviewed following the problem resolving choices.

4. MATERIALS:

For each seminar, the following materials will be required:

  1. An overhead projector (or LCD) and screen
  2. A newsprint flip chart with markers
  3. Packets of materials (handout materials) for each participant
  4. Pencils (for each participant)

5. CURRICULUM OUTLINES:

1) STRESS MANAGEMENT:

  1. INTRODUCTION
    1. Purpose of the Seminar
    2. Overview of the Agenda and Materials
  2. THE CURRENT SITUATION
    1. National Studies
    2. Defining Stress (Productive and Non-productive)
  3. THE THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF STRESS
    1. Specific Events (Stressors)
    2. Personal Vulnerability (Filters)
    3. Consequences (Symptoms)
  4. THE SYMPTOMS FOLLOWING STRESS
    1. Physical
    2. Emotional
    3. Social
  5. THE EVENTS CAUSING STRESS
    1. Internal and External Sources
    2. Personal Stressors
    3. Professional Stressors
  6. THE FILTERS EFFECTING STRESS
    1. Personality
    2. Beliefs, Attitudes, and Thoughts
  7. MANAGING STRESS
    1. Physical Tactics
    2. Emotional Strategies
    3. Social Supports
  8. COMBATING STRESS
    1. Recognizing
    2. Characterizing
    3. Personalizing
    4. Resolving
  9. LIFE CHANGING STRATEGIES
    1. Personal Action Plan
    2. Daily Log
    3. Resources

2) RELAXING WAYS FOR A STRESSFUL WORLD:

  1. INTRODUCTION
    1. Purpose of the Wellness Seminar
    2. Overview of the Agenda and Materials
  2. HOW DO I KNOW WHEN I AM RELAXED
    1. The Relaxation Response
    2. The Physical Signs of Relaxation
    3. The Mental Signs of Relaxation
  3. SIX RELAXATION EXERCISES
    1. Diaphragmatic Breathing - step 1
    2. Diaphragmatic Breathing - step 2
    3. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
    4. Muscle Scanning
    5. Autogenic Training
    6. Differential Relaxation
  4. THREE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES
    1. The Benson Technique
    2. Deep Muscle Relaxation Technique
    3. Mind Imagery Technique
  5. CONCLUSION
    1. Other Methods to Promote Relaxation
    2. Relaxation in Various Settings
    3. Resources

3) CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND PROBLEM SOLVING:

  1. INTRODUCTION
    1. Purpose of the Seminar
    2. Overview of the Agenda and Materials
  2. WHAT IS CONFLICT
    1. Primary Reasons
    2. Position vs. Interest
  3. CHARACTERISTICS OF CONFLICT
    1. When Conflict is Productive
    2. When Conflict is Unproductive
  4. RESPONSES TO CONFLICT
    1. Impose
    2. Avoid
    3. Accommodate
    4. Collaborate
    5. Compromise
  5. PERSONAL ATTITUDES TOWARD CONFLICT
    1. Conflict is Uncomfortable
    2. Conflict is About Matching Wits
    3. Conflict can be healthy or Destructive
  6. DIMENSIONS OF CONFLICT
    1. Maintain Mutual Respect
    2. Identify the Real Issue
    3. Change the Agreement
    4. Invite Participation
  7. EFFECTIVE WAYS OF HANDLING CONFLICT
    1. Conflict Resolution Process
  8. PROBLEM SOLVING
    1. Preconditions
    2. Steps
  9. ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
    1. Communication Rules
    2. Personal Action Plan
    3. Resources

4) PROBLEM SOLVING:

  1. INTRODUCTION
    1. Purpose of the Seminar
    2. Overview of the Agenda and Materials
  2. WHAT IS A PROBLEM
    1. Define Problems
    2. Describe Problems
  3. CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
    1. Behaviors Initiating Problems
    2. Behaviors Resolving Problems
  4. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
    1. Recognition
    2. Investigation
    3. Characteristics
  5. DIFFERENTIATING BETEEN SYMPTONS, PROBLEMS, AND ROOT CAUSES
    1. Symptoms
    2. Problems
    3. Root Causes
  6. PROBLEM SOLVING
    1. Compromise
    2. Risks
    3. Advantages
  7. EFFECTIVE WAYS OF RESOLVING PROBLEMS
    1. Problem Solving Process
      1. Clarify the Problem
      2. Recognize the Symptoms
      3. Understand the Root Cause
      4. Strategize a Solution
      5. Handle the Results
    2. Resources