Site Visit Preparation

A goal is something that you want to do, be, or have. It’s something you must work to get in the future, and you can apply that to any challenge in life.

Four guidelines for setting a reachable goal

The goal is positive: You want to pass this course or pass your driving licence.

The goal is important to you: The goal needs to be important to you, not to someone else. You should be able to explain why you want to achieve it and why it will make a difference for you.

The goal is specific: You want to know exactly what you are working towards.

The goal is under your control: Your efforts will allow you to achieve this goal vs. something that is out of your control like becoming famous.

SMART goals

Goals can be challenging, but by setting SMART goals they are more likely to be attained. The following slides explain the SMART goals. Use the Turn button to display each slide's information and use the arrow keys to move between slides.

Professional development means growing your professional skills. It is a way that you can improve your knowledge, competence, skills and effectiveness as a support worker.

Planning professional goals is a good way to look to the future and decide what you would like achieve in your career. The planning process can be broken into 3 steps:

1. Decide where you are and where you want to go

What is it you want to achieve? What is the goal (the end result) you are aiming for?

2. Work out how to get there

Think of all the ways you can get to where you want to be. Ask yourself ‘what if’ questions and try to think beyond the most obvious option (unless, of course, it is the best one!). Decide which option best suits your needs and what might be needed to make it work. Are there any problems you have overlooked? For example, how will your plan affect other people?

3. Put your plan into action and follow it up

Once you put your plan into action, it is not quite the end of the process. You still need to ensure that your plan works as you had expected. You may have to alter your plan to deal with unexpected events.

Identify career goals

To help you identify your professional career goals, you need to determine the professional skills that are needed to get where you want to go.

Te Pou has a framework that identifies the skills and knowledge required to work in mental health and addiction support, which is also applicable to other support roles. Click on this link: Te Whareo Tiki and then click on the Download button to view the framework document. Scroll through to get an overview of the knowledge and skills identified. This might help you to identify potential career goals in this sector.

Stress is a state of worry or tension caused by a stressor. Stressors can include a wide range of things such as work problems, exams, financial issues and arguments with a friend or colleague. Stress is not in itself a bad thing; stress before an exam may make you study harder. However, too much stress can have negative consequences.

Burnout can be the ultimate result of too much stress manifesting as a state of mental and physical exhaustion. 

People who work in healthcare are at risk of stress and burnout. You will often be required to work with people who are stressed, distressed or frustrated, and this can rub off on you. Managing stress and preventing burnout consists of finding the optimal level of stress which will individually motivate but not overwhelm you.

You should know how to recognise stress. Once you can recognise it, you may be able to deal with it and reduce the risk of burnout. Some of the signs could include:

• finding it hard to concentrate
• feeling disillusioned or unmotivated about your job
• having problems sleeping
• using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better
• being troubled by headaches, gut problems or other unexplained symptoms
• suffering emotional, mental and physical exhaustion
• feeling irritable, impatient or wound up, over-burdened
• feeling worried, anxious or nervous
• racing heartrate or palpitations

Watch: COVID-19: Work stress and burnout (1:00 Minutes)

Watch this short video for some tips to avoid stress and burnout. After watching the video, consider which tip(s) you could implement next time you feel stressed.

Stress management

There are steps you can take to minimise potential risks from stress.  

• Minimise your exposure to stressors where possible. This is not practical in all cases.
• Support your physical health: eat well and exercise regularly.
• Get enough quality sleep.
• Use relaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing and mindfulness.
• Use journaling to document your stressors; this may help you reframe them or think of solutions.
• Use positive self-talk and affirmations.
• Treat yourself with dignity, respect and love.
• Set yourself goals.

Stress at work

Stress in the workplace can occur for a range of reasons.

• high workload
• long hours, with the blurring of work and non-work hours
• trying to balance work and home life
• threats of job losses
• bullying or harassment
• conflict with other staff members

Work-related stress can lead to mental and physical health problems. A New Zealand study found that young people exposed to what they saw as high job demands, including excessive workload and extreme time pressures, had twice the risk of depression or anxiety compared to those who felt they had low job demands.

Ref: adapted from Healthify.nz - Stress at work | Healthify

Reducing workplace stress

What can employers do to reduce workplace stress?

Worksafe NZ suggests that employers should do the following.

• Set achievable demands for your workers in relation to agreed hours of work.
• Match workers’ skills and abilities to job demands.
• Support workers to have a level of control over their pace of work.
• Develop multi-disciplinary teams to share ideas and perspectives on ways to address situations.
• Involve workers in decisions that may impact their health and safety, and have processes to enable workers to raise issues and concerns they might have.
• Ensure managers and supervisors have the capability and knowledge to identify, understand and support workers who may be feeling stressed.
• Provide workers with access to independent counselling services.
• Have agreed on policies and procedures to prevent or resolve unacceptable behaviour.
• Engage and consult with workers before implementing change processes, and ensure they genuinely have the ability to influence the decisions you make.

Ref: Worksafe.nz - Work-related stress

Relaxation

Relaxation is good for your health. Being able to relax is vital for good health. Life can get busy and we don’t notice how tense or stressed we have become. 

Some people relax by going for a walk or doing some gardening. Others relax by reading a book, listening to music, watching a movie or talking to friends. 

For more help on relaxation visit: https://www.calm.auckland.ac.nz/

Activity

 Aiming for wellbeing

What are we aiming for? In general it is to feel good most of the time, be able to function well and to have strong social connections. When we have high levels of wellbeing, sometimes called flourishing, we also:

• have better physical health and a longer life expectancy
• are more engaged and productive at work
• have stronger relationships
• have more sense of purpose in life

Our wellbeing is influenced by a range of things including our genetics, what we’ve experienced, and the environments we live and work in. It’s also influenced by the choices we make, the actions we take and the way we think. (Ref: Mentalhealth.org.nz)

Five Ways to Wellbeing

While wellbeing is different for everyone, there are some common threads. The Five Ways to Wellbeing were developed by the New Economics Foundation in the UK, based on a review of the international evidence on what boosts our wellbeing and helps us feel good and function well. You will already be doing many of these. They are good science, but not rocket science.

Watch: 5 ways to wellbeing video (5:15 Minutes)

Watch the following video for an overview of 5 ways to wellbeing. 

The Mental Health Foundation promotes the Five Ways to Wellbeing in New Zealand. 

Watch: 5 Ways to Wellbeing | Power for Good: Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand (2:12 Minutes)

Activity

The following activity is adapted from Five Ways to Wellbeing | Mental Health Foundation. Use the Turn button to display each slide's information and use the arrow keys to move between slides.

Using the Five Ways at work

Ups and downs are a natural part of our work life. Some days or weeks will be great, others not so good. Some things are in our control, and some are completely out of our control.

But if you think about using the Five Ways to Wellbeing process at work, there are things we can choose to do that will:

• improve our experience of work
• help us experience more wellbeing, function well and have good relationships
• help us get through the difficult times

Activity

In preparation for your site visit, come up with 2 questions that you could ask about their processes or procedures related to personal or professional development, self-care and workplace wellbeing. Examples could include:

• What opportunities do you provide for professional development? 
• What workplace procedures are in place if a person feels stressed?
• Does your workplace have a proactive approach to controlling workplace stress?
• Does your workplace have proactive wellbeing practices in place?