This was found in a meeting ‘24/7- education’ that the representative body of the WUR-Council held on the 15th of October during lunch. In Orion, several dozens of employees and students brainstormed about what they can do against work stress. A small workshop was held, under the supervision of Lenneke Vaandrager, teacher of Health and Society.
Work stress is not by definition bad, explained Vaandrager to her audience. Stress causes adrenalin and you need that to perform. But a lot of stress cripples the job satisfaction, the productivity and eventually your health. What can you do against stress and for more job satisfaction, what can you do for your colleagues and what can the organization change?
These questions provided a variety of suggestions. More autonomy on the workplace proves to be popular. Make sure that the work is varied and take lead. Free yourself from social pressure: you do not have to have lunch with your colleagues every day. Flexible working days and realistic expectations also scored high. Show appreciation of each other’s work and do something fun together.
The discussion concentrated on the possible implementation of early evening classes. The attending students are against the idea. But also the supportive staff are following the developments with suspicion. Later classes also affect them. The WUR-Council channels all the suggestions to the Board of Directors.