10 Tips for stress management prevention at work
1. Allow sufficient time between meetings to reflect on what has just happened, write your notes and take actions. Take a short break to re-energise and then prepare thoroughly for your next meeting. Only hold meetings with people who need to be there and find other ways of communicating with others who may want to know. Always insist that you and others are outcome focussed, prepared and stick to deadlines and finish times2. Celebrate success and create a positive atmosphere. Whether it is the achievement of a tight deadline, a critical project stage reached, or a high quality piece of work exceeded. Create and encourage "lighter time" when people can joke, laugh, let their hair down a bit, relax, unwind....?
3. Discuss and agree specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely goals & targets. Encourage others to self review and create regular opportunities with them for updating, briefing, generating ideas and giving feedback
4. Look for opportunities to delegate appropriately and build in coaching support and appropriate training, so that others can learn to do things for themselves and reduce their demands on you.
5. Communicate what you need, want and expect from others. Encourage others to reciprocate with what they think or want. This creates short, clear and simple interactions and allows issues to be surfaced more easily.
6. Set the tone by taking regular breaks and lunches. Leave the office or workplace at a reasonable time and insist others do the same. Ensure that you take all of your holidays to recharge your batteries & allow others to manage without you, they will!
7. Deal with people according to what is needed in the situation to provide the best outcomes for you and others. This means being flexible, responding to their needs and ensuring fairness. Creating rapport will encourage openness when dealing with difficult situations.
8. Look out for the signs of stress in others and offer early support. This is critical during tough times or key pressure points in a cycle or project. Set an example by asking others for their support and help when you are under pressure. Ensure others know what professional support is available.
9. Tell others as soon as possible what is happening, why you are making decisions and what their role is in any change. Ensure that they understand the context and how they will benefit.
10. Use the most appropriate form of communication. It is often easier to talk face-to-face than send an email. Hold a teleconference rather than requiring numbers of people to travel to a meeting. Do not use emails to deal with difficult situations.