How to Manage Stress at Work
You may have spent weeks or even months searching for a job you believe fits your skills and capabilities - and a job that pays you well - not only to survive but to enjoy your wants, too. After going through the recruitment and hiring process, when you finally land this job, you can’t contain your excitement as you consider how you want to be a valuable asset to the company.
And so everyday you work hard, giving your job your all. Sometimes even surprising yourself with your level of commitment. This goes on for a while until suddenly, you start to feel this heaviness knowing you have to get out of bed to go to work again. All of sudden your love for your work has waned and you are burdened with the thought that you have to do this every single day to survive. The drive and passion aren’t there anymore. Now all you are left with is the knowing that you will have to go through tons of tasks again, beat deadlines, deal with co-workers and your boss, and so much more. You are stressed from work and don’t have a clue of what to do about it! And so you begin to make yourself believe that the only reasonable thing to do is walk out.
And one day you finally make a major decision to leave the job you were once so excited about, and you begin to search for another one - but eventually the cycle just repeats. The truth is that to you may not need another job, you might just need to learn how to manage stress of work more efficiently.
Work Related Stress
Work-related stress has become a pressing issue globally. It has caused a high employee turn-over rate over the years, not to mention the physical, mental and social impact to employees and employers alike.
When there is tension between the expectations of the job and the level of control you have over satisfying those demands, it can lead to negative physical and emotional reactions at work known as job stress or stress at work.
Learning how to manage stress at work might seem impossible for some which could lead to physical and mental issues.
Is Job Stress Positive or Negative?
Stress at work could be perceived in two different ways: positive or negative. The perception entirely depends on the person handling and dealing with the situation as each one of us has his own unique ways on how to manage stress.
Positive stress (eustress). When your response to life situations gives you the drive and the motivation to handle challenges and rise above them ultimately achieving what you want, then you take stress positively.
Negative stress (distress). When you feel that your ability to handle situations is not enough to give into the demands of various situations, then stress hits you negatively resulting in a lack of productivity.
Work Related Stressors
There are numerous stressors at work that could tire you down, eventually, burning you out if left unaddressed. Here are a few, but the list could go on and on as you may have a longer list of stressors compared with others. Let us take a look at them:
low salary
high employer expectations
less opportunities for employee’s career growth, development and advancement
too much of a workload
poor working environment or conditions
no work-life balance
no control over work-related decisions
unmatched skills
lack of work appreciation or recognition
work schedule
under promotion or over promotion
discrimination
conflicts with employers and/or co-workers
What Happens if You Get Stressed at Work?
You may not be fully aware, but you may be showing signs of being stressed at work already. You might just shake the signs off thinking you just “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” or it’s just another “I am just not myself” kind of day. But stress cannot be feigned, and it shows changes in you - your mood, emotions, face, and the way you respond and handle things.
Let us dig deeper into what happens to you when you are stressed at work:
trouble sleeping
feeling of fatigue (even if you did less work than you previously do)
loss of focus and concentration
lose interest at your work
lack motivation to go to work
feel depressed, irritable and anxious over little matters (which you previously could handle easily)
stomach aches, headaches and other body pains (pains that weren’t there before)
health issues such as increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, weak immune system
withdrawal from co-workers
coping with overeating, smoking, drugs or alcohol
How Should You Manage Stress at Work?
How to manage stress at work varies from person to person. One tip may be applicable to you but may not hold true to someone else. What is important is you are taking steps to help yourself manage stress, and not succumb to it.
If you feel lost on how to take the first steps towards dealing with stress, consider the tips below to reduce and control your stress levels:
Know if the stress you have is good or bad. The basic tip on how to manage stress is knowing if the stress is good or bad. If it is positive stress, turn it into a motivation for you to conquer and triumph over the challenge. If it is negative stress, you may want to apply any of the tips given here.
Become aware of how the stress is affecting your body and address it. You may want to take a short break from your workload by putting down whatever you are doing and move around. Stretch your muscles and breathe.
Prioritize and organize. Know what are your important tasks for the day and focus on them. Do not overwhelm yourself with the thought that you have to finish everything in one day. Do not commit if you think you cannot handle additional tasks. Most often than not, what really wears us out are not the tasks we routinely do but the tasks that come out of nowhere that we are expected to handle.
Learn to accept that you cannot control everything. Sometimes wanting to take and be in control over things stresses us more. But there are just things you cannot control, so you need to adjust to the situation and make yourself adapt to it. You cannot control traffic. But waking up and leaving home earlier for work can definitely take the stress away.
Know where your stress is coming from. Understanding the source of your stress, aka the stressors, can help you look for ways on how to manage stress at work before it becomes problematic. It’s helps you to prepare for what may come your way.
Deal with stress with healthy choices. Instead of choosing to consume alcohol or take drugs, or overindulge with chocolate, choose to divert your attention to healthy choices like physical exercise, yoga or breathwork. These activities help to relax your thoughts and body, giving you clarity of mind and the drive you need to carry on with your daily life at work.
Know when to say NO. Taking responsibility over everything at work does not make you a good employee, nor does saying NO make you a bad one. You have to set boundaries so you don’t end up burning the night candle just to finish a task assigned to you because you didn’t enforce your boundaries and say NO.
Create life-work balance. When you are at home, avoid answering work-related phone calls, messages or emails. Instead, enjoy your home time with your family and the things you love to do like listening to music, watching a feel-good movie, playing with your kids, or going out on a date with your spouse.
Reach out to your support system. When you are feeling weighed down by work, talk it out with your co-workers (of course, those you trust), your family and your friends. Sometimes, we just need someone to talk to reduce the stress in our system and be normal again.
Talk things out with your boss or your employer. No one might know that you are on the verge of breakdown unless you voice how you feel. Your immediate supervisor or employer is probably the best person to reach out to to talk about the things that are stressing you out. Who knows? A helpful suggestion from your supervisor or employer might be just around the corner waiting for you.
Don’t forget why you started. We normally tend to forget why we applied for and wanted to get the job in the first place. Sometimes, we need to look back and remind ourselves what made us go for it and why we would have loved to get this job before we landed it. It’s helpful to think about better times because they help with what and how we feel in the moment. When we feel good, we have more will and take inspired action.
Take a vacation. Make it a point to use your paid time off for a vacation. That is your privilege and your right. Getting time off from work for a couple of days can recharge you so you come back refreshed and ready to face the world again.
Breathe. This is one of the simplest tips there is on how to manage stress. Closing your eyes and taking deep breaths for even as little as 3-5 minutes can help you relax in the midst of stressful situations. Breathing gives you a moment to pause, compose yourself and gather your thoughts.
Seek professional help. When you believe you’ve tried everything to reduce stress but nothing is helpful, you may want to consider professional help like that of a trusted therapist to guide you.
Yes, at times, stress at work may definitely be unavoidable but it can still be more effectively reduced and managed. You simply have to identify which strategies work for you so you can better handle them, and still have the same love and drive for your work as you had on your first day.
According to the American Psychological Association, employee burnout is on the rise. Move and Still offers services to Baltimore based companies, designed to help their employees recover from burnout, improve their mental health and more productive in the workplace. Learn more about our Employee Wellness in Baltimore.
