{"id":8983,"date":"2026-05-15T09:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=8983"},"modified":"2026-05-15T09:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:16:00","slug":"leaders-take-advantage-of-pef-health-and-safety-resources-on-occupational-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-5\/leaders-take-advantage-of-pef-health-and-safety-resources-on-occupational-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaders take advantage of PEF Health and Safety resources on occupational stress\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8984 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Paige-leads-training-at-HQ.jpg\" alt=\"Leaders take advantage of PEF Health and Safety resources on occupational stress\u00a0\" width=\"450\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Paige-leads-training-at-HQ.jpg 450w, https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Paige-leads-training-at-HQ-300x190.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/>May 21, 2026 &#8212;<\/em> As a union, PEF takes on every level of workplace health and safety \u2013 from violence at facilities, to ergonomics, to occupational stress. Member leaders can request training for their constituents, such as the \u201cOverview of Occupational Stress Impacts and Interventions\u201d that took place at PEF headquarters on April 21.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Organized by Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) Health and Safety Chair Prakash Lal and Division 357 (Statewide ITS) Council Leader Christopher Ford, the training outlined the basics of occupational stress (defining stressors, stress, and strain); examples of job strain (high job demands, low job control, low support); and the difference between chronic and acute stress.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cOccupational stress and its impact on daily life is very common, and it is especially pronounced for employees working for New York State,\u201d said Lal. \u201cOur members are routinely expected to do more with less, operate under constant pressure, and meet deadlines that often feel like they were due yesterday.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ongoing organizational changes, staffing shortages, and inconsistent or inefficient workflows only make matters worse.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cITS provides services to more than 50 state entities,\u201d Ford said. \u201cWhile we have a few ITS home locations, much of our staff is spread across the state and embedded in the agencies we serve. Our members experience not only the traditional stress conditions that you would expect in the IT industry but also stress from the agencies hosting us.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cWe are alongside staff from the Department of Health, Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the Office of Children and Family Services, and many more,\u201d he said. \u201cOn any day some of us will be at our desks all day while others are traveling two hours for a service call to keep a program operational.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With multiple reporting lines, different rules, and the required fast pace of the IT world, members may not always recognize they need help or know what options are available to them, Ford said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Working through the PEF\/ITS Health &amp; Safety Committee, Lal said the goal has been to ensure members are aware of these realities and empowered to deal with them before they escalate. The committee offers training on ergonomics, stress, and safe driving, aimed at supporting healthier and safer workplaces.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cOur Health &amp; Safety Committee offers this course and works with other contract- supported programs, like the Employee Assistance Program, to aid our members and move toward a healthier work environment,\u201d he said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Lal summed it up well: \u201cOver time, unmanaged stress can negatively affect both personal wellbeing and job performance.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Editor\u2019s note: PEF members who work for any agency and are experiencing occupational stress are encouraged to reach out to their union steward, who may direct them to a local health and safety committee, if one exists. If it doesn\u2019t, members should contact PEF Health &amp; Safety at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"mailto:healthandsafety@pef.org\"><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">healthandsafety@pef.org<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and consult this <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pef.org\/pef_files\/docs\/pdf\/STRESS-PEF-factsheet.pdf\"><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Factsheet<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> for helpful information and resources.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 21, 2026 &#8212; As a union, PEF takes on every level of workplace health and safety \u2013 from violence at facilities, to ergonomics, to occupational stress. Member leaders can&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-8983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-44-no-5"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Leaders take advantage of PEF Health and Safety resources on occupational stress\u00a0 - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-5\/leaders-take-advantage-of-pef-health-and-safety-resources-on-occupational-stress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaders take advantage of PEF Health and Safety resources on occupational stress\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"May 21, 2026 &#8212; As a union, PEF takes on every level of workplace health and safety \u2013 from violence at facilities, to ergonomics, to occupational stress. 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