Managing stress at work
A recent survey claimed that between 53 – 66% of workers felt stress occurred in their workplace (it varied according to the size of the workplace). This
suggests that managing stress at work is an important skill.
suggests that managing stress at work is an important skill.- Identify what causes you to feel stressed at work. Is it the work itself, your boss, particular colleagues?
- How much are you contributing to your own feeling through having unrealistic expectations of yourself or others?
- Avoid accepting unrealistic deadlines and demands.
- Even if you are under a lot of pressure at work ? ask yourself, "Is this the most important thing in my life?"
- Learn to take breaks, whether to just chat with a colleague, go to the canteen or have a walk.
- Go home at a sensible time – "There is no record of anyone, on their deathbed, saying "I wish I'd spent more time at the office"".
- Spend time with colleagues or friends who can help you feel more relaxed!
- If all else fails – leave before it makes you ill!!
Mangaging Stress At Work
For many people, their workplace is the primary source of pressure and leads to them feeling stressed. Fundamentally, there are two choices, do something about managing stress at work and things can improve; or ignore it, hope it will go away and find the stress related problems get worse. Too many act as though they have no choice about what happens to them at work. Even if you feel as though you cannot leave your job, or challenge your boss you can still do something about managing stress at work.
A reality is that many jobs, especially in this day and age, are subject to pressure – and often high pressure levels. If you are in an environment where this is the case, learning to develop a number of options for managing stress will help you. Whether you want more strategies for coping with stress in the short–term or support with building your personal resilience you can take action. You have the choice to do something – or not!
Managing stress at work can start with some small steps. Can you make your workspace more personal? (Not all organisations encourage or allow this.) Whether pictures, posters, plants or small mementoes, it can be good to have a few items which you can look at to help you keep grounded on other things which might be important or pleasurable. It will not take away the pressures, it will provide a balance!
Some people, not only bosses, appear to be natural stress carriers! Take care to not let them infect you! You may have to have some contact with them and respond to their instructions. However, you can minimise your time with them. If their behaviour is inappropriate, probably because they are feeling stressed, you can choose to let it impact your mood of the day. Why do so? Learn to interact with them in a more detached or disassociated way. Observe their behaviour and make some choices – do you want to feel sorry for them, laugh at them, be annoyed? Take your pick! You can develop this skill and have more control over your own response, which is a great start to managing stress at work!One very unhealthy by–product of stress at work is the increase in workplace bullying. We believe that many managers demonstrate this behaviour when they start to feel out of their depth because of increases in pressure or other demands (often, because they have been over-promoted.) When this does happen, it raises stress levels across the organisation. Take care to not allow yourself to be on the receiving end of this, or of unreasonable demands. Develop your assertiveness skills, and feel comfortable about standing your ground and saying "no" when appropriate! In many respects, this is the most fundamental skill you can have when it comes to managing stress at work.