Support stress down day campaign - Pringle

3.30.00pm GMT Thu 5th Feb 2009

Samaritans the leading emotional health charity held a reception in the Scottish Parliament yesterday (Wednesday 4th February) to raise awareness of the issues surrounding stress in the workplace.

The reception, attended by 30 MSPs, was a prelude to Stress Down Day itself on Friday 6th February 2009.Mike Pringle MSP: Edinburgh South

Organisations throughout the UK will be participating in Stress Down Day; where they will be fundraising for Samaritans on the day as well as running “de-stressing” activities such as allowing employees to wear their slippers to work.

Stress in the workplace costs UK business billions of pounds every year in lost productivity as well as the catastrophic emotional toll to those suffering stress.

Stress in the workplace is not a new problem however with the current economic climate workplaces are likely to be under more pressure with staff concerned about job security and other financial worries.

Samaritans have been leading the way in offering a free and confidential 24 hour emotional support service to people suffering from emotional distress over the last 55 years. They are particularly keen to extend their reach and promote awareness of their service into workplaces.

Mike Pringle MSP for Edinburgh South who attended yesterday’s reception said:

“This is an excellent initiative. Stress at work is a serious problem in Scotland which not only costs the economy millions of pounds but has serious health implications.

“I can only commend the Samaritans for raising awareness about this important issue.

“The recent economic downturn may well have exacerbated the problems even further. I know for a fact that the Samaritans have been receiving a far greater number of calls and credit must go to their volunteers for all their hard work.

“Their campaign has my full support and I look forward to the Parliament being a calmer place on Friday.”

Frances Simpson, Scottish Development Manager with Samaritans added: “People spend a large proportion of their lives at work and it is not surprising that stress caused in the workplace can have an adverse effect on people’s lives both inside and outside of work. Samaritans understands the pressures that organisations are under at the moment with the economy in difficulty. However a healthy workforce both physically and mentally will have a positive long term effect for Scotland’s businesses and we would urge as many workplaces as possible to get involved in Stress Down Day.”

It is the aim of Samaritans to make emotional health a mainstream issue. Samaritans' vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged. Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings.

Notes:

· To arrange an interview with Frances Simpson, Scottish Development Manager for Samaritans, please contact Ryan Smith at Sigma Communications or email ryan@sigmacommunications.co.uk

· Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in 1953, that offers 24-hour confidential emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. Samaritans’ vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged.

· Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings. It is the aim of Samaritans to make emotional health a mainstream issue. The service is offered by 17,500 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support.

· In Scotland there are 20 branches with 933 volunteers who handled in excess of 148,000 contacts in 2007.

· Across the UK, you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90.