Africa-Press – Kenya. Sports journalists have been advised to avoid overburdening themselves with exceeding expectations in the workplace as part of stress management.
Gathoni Mbugua, Clinical Physiologist and Head of Digital Relations at Chiromo Hospital Group, said sports scribes should not beat themselves up when things don’t work out according to plan but instead accept that they cannot always succeed.
“Research has it that people spend a third of their life in their workspace. So it’s important to control emotions at work. We also have to develop the uncanny ability to perceive reality, think rationally and solve problems,” Mbugua said.
She was speaking on Friday at the start of a two-day Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) Mental Wellness and Empowerment Seminar at Hylise Hotel in Naivasha.
Mbugua referred journalists in attendance to the serenity prayer as a coping mechanism for stress.
The Serenity Prayer is a prayer written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), commonly quoted as: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
“Coping with stress at work involves adjusting to or tolerating negative events or realities while you try to keep your positive self-image and emotional equilibrium,” Mbugua said.
Speaking in the same session, SJAK president Chris Mbaisi described the seminar as apt considering many sports scribes are still suffering from the economic and psychological effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Few economic sectors have fared well during the Covid-19 crisis. The media sector is one of them. Several job cuts and pay cuts have since adversely affected the mental health of journalists across the world. It’s with such workshops that we strive to impart valuable experience on how our members can cope with stress and remain relevant in the trade,” he said.
Mbaisi encouraged his peers to pick positives from the current crisis and reinvent themselves in line with the changing times.
“The frequent changes we have experienced during the COVID-19 crisis are enormous. We have learnt that we can actually work from home and still be productive. We have also learnt that acceptance is key to stress management,” he said.
The Mental Wellness tutorial is being presented by Chiromo Hospital Group which is a leading Level 5 private mental healthcare provider in Africa.
The Seminar is sponsored by Safaricom and the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) and Safaricom and is geared towards empowering the media with the requisite mental facet of coping with stress hence improving productivity at work.
It also coincides with the association’s Annual General Meeting.
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