Telegraaf, Trouw, Parool, AD, Volkskrant and EW: Stress cannot simply be relaxed away
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Telegraaf, Trouw, Parool, AD, Volkskrant and EW: Stress cannot simply be relaxed away
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Telegraaf, Trouw, Parool, AD, Volkskrant and EW: Stress cannot simply be relaxed away
Stress is not an individual issue, but a systemic problem. ‘If people in an organization repeatedly drop out due to illness, it is not down to all those individuals. And putting the burden of the solution on the employee does not work,’ states owner and director Diana de Koning of the Centrum voor Stressmanagement.
We live in a society of constant stimuli, performance pressure, and always being ‘on’, while recovery, rest, and meaning are given increasingly less room. Nearly one in six employees (16%) has a stressful job, with high demands and little autonomy, according to figures from the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey (NEA) by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and TNO. Stress is expected to be the most common occupational illness by 2030. The Council for Public Health and Society notes that we are living in a ‘hyper-nervous society’. Performance pressure, acceleration, and individualism have gone too far and are threatening our well-being, the advisory body warns.
This includes:
team level (dynamics, communication, psychological safety), and organizational level (absenteeism patterns, leadership style, decision-making).
We always work in stages:
‘For organizations that sense stress is accumulating, but do not yet know exactly where bottlenecks exist, we offer an independent stress scan. No “quick fixes”, no judgment, but clear insight into patterns, leadership, and workload. So that absenteeism does not have to be the first warning sign.’ Would you like to know more?
Visit www.centrumvoorstressmanagement.nl or scan the QR code.
Exceeding limits
Organizations primarily seek quick fixes: a training course, a vitality week, or a mindfulness app, De Koning observes. ‘Putting the burden of the solution on the individual simply does not work. Stress cannot be relaxed away. It is not an individual problem, but a collective signal that we are fundamentally mismanaging something: work, expectations, pace, and psychological safety.’ Without systemic change, stress-related absenteeism will remain structurally high, De Koning believes. ‘We continue fighting symptoms instead of addressing the root causes. We teach people how to cope better with stress, only to return them to the exact same system that causes that stress. That is like teaching someone how to swim, while making the water colder and colder.‘STRESS IS A SIGNAL THAT WE ARE FUNDAMENTALLY MISMANAGING SOMETHING: WORK, EXPECTATIONS, PACE, AND SAFETY’
Measuring stress
The Centrum voor Stressmanagement helps organizations reduce stress, curb absenteeism, and enable employees to flourish again. ‘We help organizations make stress visible before it turns into absenteeism. This not only results in healthier people, but also in reduced dropouts and greater stability. Stress is measurable – provided you are willing to examine it seriously,’ says De Koning. ‘At the Centrum voor Stressmanagement, we work with proven methodologies and innovative tools to tackle stress and burnout at the source. We provide organizations with insight, structure, and control.This includes:
- Early detection and assessments to map stress levels quickly and concretely.
- Training & coaching, featuring practical programs for employees and managers to enhance resilience and manage stress.
- Consultancy and guidance on building a healthy, stress-aware workplace culture. And perhaps most importantly: we always measure whether interventions are effective and adjust them where necessary. This ensures continuous improvement.’
Focus and resilience
De Koning: ‘I always say: “Chronic fatigue is not a personal weakness, but an alarm signal from our society”. If employees in an organization repeatedly drop out, that is not the fault of all those individuals. It is a systemic issue: within leadership, work structures, communication, and expectations.’ Sustainable change begins with measuring stress, she emphasizes. ‘At the Centrum voor Stressmanagement, we operate from one clear conviction: if you don’t measure stress, you don’t understand it — and if you don’t understand it, you cannot solve it sustainably,’ she summarizes their mission and vision concisely. ‘Our approach is pragmatic, concrete, and measurable. No labels, no judgment, no quick gimmicks. Just insight, a shared language, and actionable perspectives. Enabling individuals to regain control over their energy and helping organizations learn how to structurally reduce stress, rather than repairing the damage after the fact.’ ‘We assess stress in individuals and organizations not merely through questionnaires, but by combining experience, behavior, and patterns. We examine signals at an individual level (energy, recovery, concentration),team level (dynamics, communication, psychological safety), and organizational level (absenteeism patterns, leadership style, decision-making).
We always work in stages:
- we bring stress patterns to light (insight);
- we explain the effects of stress on the brain and body (understanding);
- we guide behavior, leadership, and work structures (transformation);
- and we ensure sustainable anchoring so that the effect lasts.
‘For organizations that sense stress is accumulating, but do not yet know exactly where bottlenecks exist, we offer an independent stress scan. No “quick fixes”, no judgment, but clear insight into patterns, leadership, and workload. So that absenteeism does not have to be the first warning sign.’ Would you like to know more?
Visit www.centrumvoorstressmanagement.nl or scan the QR code.
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