New book tackles mental health in the workplace

Now for sale in English on Amazon, Birgitte Wärn’s ‘The Little Guide to An Almost Stress-Free Life’ is already being lauded

Christian Wenande

Aug 19, 2021

Mental health in the workplace is certainly not something open for discussion everywhere.

In many countries, such as the US and the UK, mental health is taboo and employers are quick to sweep the issue under the table rather than provide their employees with the help they require.

But in Denmark, that is not the case and author Birgitte Wärn has produced a number of books and articles to help employers and employees alike tackle the issue, the latest one being ‘The Little Guide An Almost Stress-Free Life’.

Now for sale in English on Amazon, Wärn’s ‘The Little Guide to An Almost Stress-Free Life’ provides its readers with practical tools and useful exercises to handle stress and promote a life in equilibrium.

“In order to effectively prevent and manage stress within an organisation, you have to take action on four different levels: top management, management, group and individual level – preferably in that order,” Wärn told CPH Post.

“In some of my other guides and articles I have addressed the issue from a management and group level perspective. In ‘The Little Guide to An Almost Stress-Free Life’, I concentrate on what you can do as an individual and on helping people to cope with their stressors, whether they are work-related or stem from one’s personal life. In my experience stress is often caused by a mixture of work and personal issues and when that is the case, we need to address both areas in order to conquer stress.”

Engineering a result
Among those to praise the book is the Danish Society of Engineers (IDA), which wants to provide its around 130,000 members with the ability to embrace a sustainable working life.

In fact, IDA have been so pleased with the book that it has been given a special edition.

“It can be difficult to talk about stress, so we gave our members a special edition of the book. The book has been immensely popular and we are getting a second edition printed, so we are very pleased,” said Morten Thiessen, the head of IDA’s staff council.

“We’ve chosen the book because it is very action-orientated and easy to approach.”

A five-star guidebook
And it’s precisely the book’s simple and unpretentious approach that makes it so accessible.

A renowned author and stress expert, Thomas Milsted, says the book provides readers with an overview of what they are able to work on themselves to get things moving.

“I would call this a five-star guidebook which enables those suffering from stress to find specific help without the long psychological explanations,” said Thomas Milsted, renowned author and stress expert.

The English version of the book is available on Amazon, both as paperback and e-book. You can read more about the book and buy it here.