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RELATIONSHIP TIPS FROM WARRENSHEPELL
TURN YOUR CELL PHONE OFF AT HOME!
WORK-LIFE BALANCE, OPEN COMMUNICATION, KEY TO A HAPPY VALENTINE’S
DAY
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TORONTO – February 10/04... Valentine’s
Day is quickly approaching, and as Canadians continue to work longer
hours, their personal relationships are suffering. WarrenShepell, Canada’s
leading provider of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and related organizational
health and wellness services, wants employers to be aware that work-life
conflict and stress is having a negative impact on their employees.
Forty per cent of Canadians are working more than 50 hours a week*,
and levels of personal and workplace stress are rising dramatically
according to recent data from the WarrenShepell Research Group, subsidiary
of WarrenShepell. Recent statistics reveal that fifty-nine per cent
of employees check their voicemail after hours, 30 per cent accept work-related
faxes at home, and 29 per cent keep their cell phones on. Forty-six
per cent consider this work-related contact to be an intrusion on their
lives**.
WarrenShepell has some helpful tips to help you improve your work-life
balance, maintain intimate relationships, and reconnect with your partner
each and every day.
-
Make a Special Effort to Demonstrate Thoughtfulness. A
phone call to your partner to say 'Hi. I'm thinking of you'; a whole
day devoted to your partner’s favourite activities; or a special
dinner for no particular reason can go a long way.
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Develop Interests and Activities That Can Be Done Together,
as well as on your own. Sharing an enjoyable hobby, joining a health
club, or visiting extended family members and friends can go a long
way in building connections, while pursuing our own interests provides
for personal growth and interesting conversations with our partner.
-
Rekindle the Romance. Romance can be difficult to maintain
in the midst of family and work demands, but it's important to give
attention to that part of your life. Spend some time considering
what you most like to do with your spouse or partner - then build
it into your life. If we wait until we've got the energy, have the
time or sense the opportunity, we just might wait forever, so set
a deliberate schedule. Evening walks, frequent weekend getaways
or scheduled date nights are a few good ways to start.
-
Check Your Communication Styles. Are you listening and
communicating as much as you should? Have you fallen into any bad
habits, such as letting important issues go, harbouring anger or
resentment, feeling isolated but not sharing your feelings? Sometimes,
just paying extra attention to our patterns of communication can
motivate us to improve them.
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Clarify Responsibilities Together. Do you connect regularly
to air issues and establish solutions? Are you both contributing
to the running of the household? Are there areas of daily stress
that can be remedied with more flexible ground rules?
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Make Plans for the Future. A couple can strengthen their
sense of togetherness by discussing their vision of the future and
working together towards those goals. What skills do you want to
develop? Is there a favourite place in the world that you can build
travel plans around? Looking ahead and building plans for both of
you helps create a sense of optimism and relationship strength.
The WarrenShepell Research Group has completed its second annual Marital/Relationship
Issues Report, based on a review of three years of data from 40,000
cases assessed by WarrenShepell’s EAP.
According to the Report:
Relationship issues account for nearly 30 per cent of all
EAP presenting issues. This includes marital and relationship discord,
separation and divorce, and domestic violence. Marital and relationship discord, alone, accounts for 23 per
cent of all EAP presenting issues. This is the single most frequent
presenting issue. Other primary presenting issues, such as personal or workplace
stress, often 'mask' marital and relationship discord, even if the latter
is not reported as a primary issue. Marital and relationship discord is highest in the entertainment,
automotive, agriculture, food and beverage, and manufacturing sectors
and lowest in healthcare and hospital settings, and the communications
sector.
-30-
Rod Phillips (President and CEO) and/or Gerry Smith (VP, Organizational
Health) at WarrenShepell are available for interviews.
ABOUT WARRENSHEPELL and the WARRENSHEPELL RESEARCH GROUP
WarrenShepell is a leading provider of Employee Assistance Programs
(EAP) and related organizational health and wellness services, to over
3,000,000 employees and their families in over 2,000 organizations in
Canada, the United States and internationally. The company was founded
in 1979 by Dr. Warren Shepell. The WarrenShepell Research Group is a
subsidiary of WarrenShepell. Its mandate is to educate employers and
business leaders on mental health issues as they impact the workplace.
The WarrenShepell Research Group offers a precise understanding of health
and wellness trends by conducting sector and issue-based analysis. Visit
www.warrenshepell.com.
* Duxbury, L., & Higgins, C. (2001). Work-life balance in the
new millenium: Where are we? Where do we need to go. CPRN Discussion
Paper. Ottawa, ON.: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
** Ipsos-Reid (2002). Canadians and stress: A special report.
Toronto, ON
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