How is stress affecting public sector managers in the UK?
Are organisations doing enough to promote their managers' wellbeing at work? These questions were at the crux of discussions during the Mindful Managers focus group, held in Sheffield, UK.

Commencing on 9th March 2018, nine participants (Professionals with public sector management experience) discussed their experiences in relation to a number of topics such as; general wellbeing at work, stress factors public sector managers commonly face and training needs from organisations. This was part of the Mindful Managers project that aims to improve the handling of stress in the workplace, and to enhance the capabilities of managers in responding to stress constructively.

Participants all provided a variety of insights and were enthusiastic in contributing to the discussion at large. From these discussions it became evident that stress factors were contributing to burnout and overall mental stress in most participants’ experiences.

The results gathered from this focus group have contributed to a larger set of results from all partner countries and will influence the development of the Mindful Managers training programme to help managers towards better stress management and increased awareness of mental wellbeing.