I was super excited when I was offered the Lifeskills Institute scholarship for the Stress Management Certification course. I have always wanted to attend the course so that I am able to assist others in managing the stress.
As a trainer, I hope to be able to provide some insights to promote self-awareness and resilience. I wish to do more for people. Thus, I try to empower myself to be more relevant by taking various courses to enhance my knowledge and skills.
With recent new policies and changes taking place almost once every 2 months, people are trying to keep up with the changes, especially those in the Food & Beverages industry. Employees are under tremendous stress due to the uncertainties. First, they feared that their schedule will be cut due to limitation of diners at each time. If the business is not making enough, they will go out of job. Even with the support from the government, some smaller companies are still struggling to keep themselves afloat. Through conversations with many frontline staff, they had flagged out that they are experiencing tremendous stress since the start of pandemic, but they coped by “grumbling”.
We are all in this pandemic together. I hope with my new knowledge on stress management, I can be of an assistance by lending a listening ear, helping them to identify the stressors and simply becoming a friend to them, having meaningful conversations effectively.
Once they are willing to allow me to suggest some changes to their current situation, we will be able to work on crafting out simple action plans together to achieve their desired goal in stress management. Getting there is never easy, but with their trust and faith, I believe we will get there eventually.
While I am not yet an experienced practitioner, I am sure with the new knowledge which I have gained through this Certification course, I am now more equipped to guide them through this stressful season. At the end of the day, everyone has our own stress to deal with-the difference is different people deal with stress differently. They will have an avenue to release their inner feeling without worries. It would be great to see people having their smiles on their faces again. The more I learn, the more I can give so that we can all grow together.
Knowledge and learning can be contagious. When people start to believe that what they have applied to help themselves is beneficial, they will share and try to teach those who may not be informed. I am convinced it would even reach a stage where they will want to find out more about the different tools and strategies , and they will likely also sign up for classes. And through these strategies and tools I am able to share with them to better manage their stress, they would also guide people around them to better manage theirs.
Chew Chee Siong
Learning & Development Professional at RE&S Enterprises Pte Ltd