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Are you getting the balance right between work and life?

'Working Conditions' and 'Personal Issues' are top for callers to the CUSN Support Line this fortnight.

We've taken over 60 calls in the last two weeks with calls on 'Working Conditions' accounting for over 27 per cent. This includes work life balance and organisational management.

The balance between work and life can be difficult to achieve. Even when you've planned ahead and scheduled your time out, even prioritised your 'to do' list, there's always something that crops up to push that balance off course.

The elements of addressing stress

While some people respond positively to pressure, problems arise when you start to have concerns about how you will cope.

So there are two elements to addressing stress: reducing the pressures on you and learning to manage them better.

There is no simple way to beat stress, but here are some tips to help you regain control of your life:

Recognise the problem

Dealing with tighter budgets

This week the newspapers have been dominated by stories on the 2010/11 budget, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, on Wednesday.

It seems likely that the budget will affect adult, further and higher education institutions across the United Kingdom, with a £449 million cut to universities already having being announced at the beginning of February.

Try the Wheel of Wellbeing tool

Try out our interactive Wheel of Wellbeing tool on our website here.

This is an opportunity for you to reflect on your wellbeing and identify any areas you would like to change.

Since we launched the tool in 2009 it's been extremely popular, with over 3,000 new wheels started across the charity group.

How can our Support Line help you?

We are here to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you'd like to speak to someone for support or advice, call us on 08000 32 99 52.

This fortnight we've answered over 60 calls to our Support Lines. Here's a breakdown of some of the ways we've helped this week:

Stressed out and overworked staff

The UCU website recently reported that a StaffordshireUniversity has paid out compensation to a stressed staff member.

The report described the extent of the stress that this staff member was under, regularly putting in 65 hour weeks, an excessive workload and four members of staff taking on the work of six.

Break free with National No Smoking Day

Wednesday was National No Smoking Day, a campaign that runs across the UK to encourage smokers to stop.

We all know that smoking has a big impact on our health but did you know how quickly giving up can improve your health?

Put out your last cigarette and here's your timeline to recovery: