[attach id=284983 size="medium"]Ivan Vassallo learnt how to cope with the stress that was weighing him down. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli[/attach]

Life was great for businessman Ivan Vassallo, so long as his diary was full of back-to-back meetings crammed into a busy day.

He was proud to be labelled a workaholic because, to him, this meant he was dedicated to the job he excelled in.

One day, his human resources manager made him realise he was clearly overworking himself. He was stressed, making all those around him nervous and creating a tense atmosphere at the office.

“I knew I was stressed but I didn’t think it was a problem. But it was for everybody around me. People were actually scared to seek my advice,” said Mr Vassallo, who does business development for a company and heads a team of 20 people.

He sought help through the Richmond Foundation, which works with people with mental health problems. The foundation offers an organisation support programme to help people deal with stress.

I was trying to cope with an overflowing diary to the exclusion of everything else

“As a workaholic, you have only one goal: to meet the deadline. Your goal is not your children, or your family or friends. I ended up without any real friends and with no real interests,” he said.

Richmond Foundation chief executive Antoinette Shah said employees were often told to keep their personal lives at home and their work life at the office.

“But we are one person and we are asking the impossible from people,” she said, adding that Richmond’s programme addressed all aspects of people’s lives.

Dragan Donkov, employment services coordinator at the foundation, explained the programme was offered to companies and provided to all levels of employees, starting from top management.

Managers are taught how to recognise stress and how to take measures to minimise it.

All participants are trained how to manage their stress. They are then given access to the services of the foundation if they detect stress in any part of their lives.

“Stress is a reaction. It’s not about being busy but about how to handle the situation. Some people don’t realise they are stressed. They only realise they are stressed when they break down. This can lead to depression,” Mr Donkov said.

In Mr Vassallo’s case, the foundation’s programme helped him realise that his diary was getting too full. “I was trying to cope with an overflowing diary to the exclusion of everything else,” he said.

His first exercise was to make sure his diary was manageable. He started taking his lunch break. Then, he had to fix his social ties and adjust his work-life balance.

“It’s important to recognise that you are stressed. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.

“You should admit that you are finding problems with handling things. You need to adjust your environment then,” he said.

Share your story

The Richmond Foundation is calling on former clients, who are willing to share their stories with the public, to come forward.

By sharing their experience, they can raise awareness about different forms of mental health problems and encourage people to seek help.

For information about the foundation and its services call 2122 4580/ 2148 2336/2148 0045 or send an e-mail to info@richmond.org.mt.

Making a difference

Healthy Minds for Healthy Business is the name of a new, EU-funded project launched yesterday by the Richmond Foundation.

The €129,000 project, which runs until December 2014, will aim to introduce mental health policies at the workplace and protect employees with mental health problems.

The objectives are to raise awareness on the effects of mental health problems on people and at the place of work and to provide tools to help employers and workers in leading positions develop policy and take action.

A survey will also be carried out to better understand the way mental health is perceived at the work place.

The project is being carried out with the collaboration of the Malta Employers’ Association, the Malta Chamber Foundation, the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, the Gozo Business Chamber and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority.