RTU researchers in cooperation with partners in an international project offer tools for stress assessment and reduction

23rd of November, 2020
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To help employees and organizations better deal with stress in the workplace, researchers from the Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management of Riga Technical University (RTU) in cooperation with international partners have created a stress test and an e-learning platform that will allow gaining new knowledge about stress reduction and management methods.

Prolonged stress in the workplace adversely affects the mental and physical health of employees, impairs their work capability and life expectancy. This, in turn, is costing the global economy hundreds of billions of Euros. During the Covid-19 crisis, when both individuals and organizations have to adapt quickly to various changes and when there is lack of security for future, stress management plays a very important role.

Stressors can be different. According to the Erasmus+ co-funded international project «Improving management competencies on Excellence-based Stress avoidance and working towards Sustainable organizational development in Europe – IMPRESS» survey, in Latvia, employees are stressed due to insufficient work planning, excessive workload, controversial requirements and unclearly defined job responsibilities, including decision-making regarding employees without involving them in the process, inefficient communication, lack of management and peer support, etc. The project was implemented by researchers and experts from universities and organizations of Latvia, Germany, Spain and Ireland in order to offer a set of solutions to gain an understanding of how stress affects all aspects of an organization’s operations, as well as to help identify and prevent stress risk factors.

The project has developed a stress assessment test. The test not only shows the stress level of each individual, but also gives an overview of the most important stressors. It also lets you know what resources you have to deal with stress, how to use and enhance these resources.

In turn, the developed training materials on the e-platform impresstraining.eu  offer to acquire knowledge about stress and stress resilience, as well as provide useful and practical tools to find solutions to problems in the field of work or self-development.

The first participants who carried out self-assessment and completed e-learning highly valued the tools. On the learning platform, participants appreciated the opportunity to learn from the recommendations of recognized researchers and analytical information on stress management.

«According to the 2019 OECD study, boosting productivity is a prerequisite for raising living standards, which will attract foreign investment, but this requires investment in people’s skills as well as in research and innovation. What makes effectiveness and meaningful work content? Interaction of persons, involvement and preparation of human resources for work in a complex environment, analytical and critical thinking, communication, ability to connect different perspectives, interpret are important,» emphasizes Zane Rostoka, researcher at RTU Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, head of RTU Personnel Unit.

ERASMUS+ Key Activity 2 (KA2) «Cooperation for Innovation and Exchange of Good Practices» Knowledge Alliance Program Project No. 588315-EPP-1-2017-ES-EPPKA2-KA. More information.

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23rd of November, 2020 at 9:30

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