Minimizing Workplace Stress and Facilitating Work Restoration

Monday, July 19, 2004

Four Points by Sheraton Hyannis Resort, Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Executive Summary

Work is an integral part of a person's life.  When one's job takes place in a high stress environment, it becomes particularly challenging to maintain a productive and satisfying work life.  When someone experiences an illness, injury or disability that challenges the ability to meet required performance expectations, a high stress environment complicates the situation even more and threatens work success.

This workshop is designed for occupational health professionals, employers, insurance industry professionals, mental health professionals and vocational specialists who wish to improve their understanding of the high stress work environment and how effective planning can lead to successful work restoration for people experiencing illness, injury or disability. What personal and organizational strategies can be put into place to minimize the effects of a high stress work environment?  What essential information should you have about the job, the work environment and the psychological capacities of the worker to guide the work restoration process?  What is the best way to create accommodation pathways to maintain or restore a person's ability to perform work successfully during the recovery process?  How can you reduce the risk of delayed recovery?  Specific attention will be paid to persons with psychological disorders and those who experience significant psychological complications associated with physical disorders.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this seminar, you will be able to:

• Describe the high stress work environment and how it influences productivity and job satisfaction.
• Describe how to assess a high stress work environment.
• Identify strategies that can be used by the individual or the organization to minimize the effects of the high stress environment.
• Explain the interaction between high stress work environments, impairment and functional capacity.
• Explain how to approach an effective psychosocial assessment of a job, a workplace and a worker.
• Describe how employer attitudes and practices exacerbate stress and influence work restoration for employees with mental illness. 
• Design accommodation pathways and strengthen work restoration potential for persons experiencing psychological disorders or psychosocial complications in a high stress work environment.

Distinguished Faculty

Norma J. Leclair RN, Ph.D., LCPC, is the Consulting Director of Community Partners Education and Research Alliance.  She has been engaged in organizational consultations, education, counseling and psychotherapy for more than 25 years.  Norma has worked as a consultant to business and industry, health care systems, public schools, and government agencies and is a leading expert on the relationship between psychiatric impairment and work restoration for persons with metal disorders.  She has spoken and published on a variety of health care topics including psychiatric impairment, delayed recovery, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, HIV, and Hepatitis C.  Norma was the consulting editor for psychiatric disorders for the 2001 edition of the Medical Disability Advisor  by Presley Reed.

Steven W. Leclair, Ph.D., CRC, is the Executive Director of Community Partners, Inc.; a large community-based organization in Maine that supports persons with developmental disabilities.  He is a licensed psychologist and certified rehabilitation counselor with more than 25 years of professional experience as a consultant, clinician, educator, researcher and administrator.  He has worked closely with many industrial firms, health care providers, and public employers both nationally and internationally to develop strategies that support persons with disabilities in their efforts to maintain or restore the ability to work.  Selected clients have included:  Mars, Inc., Honda of America, Merck, the Cleveland Clinic, the Canadian Institute, The US Army Health Services Command, UNUM/Provident and CNA.  He is the author of more than 40 publications including books, articles and monographs related to counseling, disability and work restoration.

Tuition

The $295 tuition includes continental breakfast, breaks, lunch with faculty, a seminar manual with Reference Material, and a unique, interactive learning experience..

Continuing Education Information

Click here for Continuing Education Information.

Schedule

Monday, July 19, 2004