Case Study

You have been moved from your usual role to cover for a colleague who has gone on long term sick leave but due to the sudden nature of the problem you were given no time to get to know the clients or the role properly. You have tried to keep up with your workload by missing your breaks but you are finding hard to complete all your duties. Today one of your colleagues said that she didn’t think you were capable of doing the job and that clients had been complaining about you. You are worried that you will be disciplined and will lose your job. You have been getting migraines which have caused you to be absent from work on a number of occasions in the last few weeks and today you have been told that you must have a meeting with your manager.

• How can you explain the stress you have been under to your manager?
• What solutions could you suggest for dealing with the stress?
• What, if anything, should you tell your colleagues?
• What might you be able to do to help yourself deal with the stress you are feeling?

It is rare that there is just one way to respond to a scenario or situation, so do not consider that the responses you have to the above scenario will be judged as right or wrong. Share your scenario with a work colleague or friend and ask them to tell you whether they think you have responded appropriately. Ask them to challenge your response if necessary. You do not need to submit this task for assessment unless asked to do so by your assessor.