Stress is the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. It is a silent killer that’s slowly sucking out happiness, strength, motivation, positivity, and productivity out of you. It depletes your energy by lurking in the shadows, messing up with your concentration and sacking out your confidence. Surprisingly, you are not alone. Your co-workers feel it too but only discuss it in hushed tones if at all. The only person who’s in denial of its very existence is your boss or your workplace management.
Stress is not a joke. In fact, studies have proven how stress can be a major factor that can cause severe mental and physical symptoms like increased blood pressure, insomnia, chest pain, and headaches. Not to mention, it also plays a vital role in causing mood-related disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Therefore, it is crucial to identify workplace stressors and fix them before it starts taking a toll on your health and lifestyle.
So before we jump to the nine top ways to deal with workplace stress, let’s figure out the most common stressors at work that lead to stress in the first place.
Common Workplace Stressors
Work-related stressors are perfectly aligned with a few common factors. Some of these we are listing below:
- Lack of advancement
- Lack of opportunities for growth
- Low salaries
- No social support
- Excessive workload
- No or very little control over decision making
- Boring work
- Lack of motivation from management
- Unclear performance expectations
- Conflicting demands
You can’t just sit back and expect workplace stress to disappear. Even when you wind up your day and go home, stress persists. Eventually, it takes a toll on your well-being and health.
Workplace Stress-Management Tips
If you do things right, there is a possibility to get everything done and still have the energy and positivity to stay motivated and calm after work.
Here is everything you need to know:
1. Avoid Conflict
Workplace politics is another reason you can lose your motivation and cool. Therefore, it is important to avoid interpersonal conflicts at all times. This is also important for maintaining a productive workplace environment.
Escaping conflicts can be difficult sometimes, especially when it involves different opinions. The best way to deal with it is to participate less and keep your personal information and opinions – especially about politics and religion – to yourself. It is also safe to steer clear of the regular office humour to stay out of the gossip.
2. Organize Yourself
As simple as this sound, this single tip can be your saviour. Staying disorganized will only worsen the situation if it isn’t too positive anyway. Plan ahead and stay organize to instantly reduce stress at work. Start with organizing your time and plan your tasks during the day. This could help you avoid the negative clutter that could cause workplace stress.
3. Up Your Game
Do not stress out if there are less or no opportunities for growth and development at the workplace. You can create these opportunities on your own if you up your game.
If you have been focusing on gaining experience exclusively, now could be your time to focus on the academic part. One of the best ways to get into the limelight in front of your boss is to gain additional certifications. Learn the ongoing trends and improve your credentials. For instance, if you are in the IT industry, obtaining additional IT certifications could be your best bet.
AWS certification is another hot topic if you want to earn your space in the industry and boost your opportunities without further stress.
4. Resist Perfection with Multitasking
Gone are the days when multitasking meant doing more work in less time. In fact, failure to prioritize your tasks and trying to be perfect with everything can become stressful.
The key is to think positively without beating yourself over every little task. Take control and preplan your day for each task according to their priority level. Don’t sweat over perfection or losing control.
5. Eliminate Distractions
We are often bombarded with tasks and responsibilities throughout the day. Phone calls emails, urgent deadlines, and instant messages can cause distraction, which may interrupt your work.
While it may not be possible for you to deal with interrupters always, keep control over your response. You can either respond it by accepting the interruption and dealing with it first, by cutting it off completely or diagnosing its urgency and making a plan accordingly.
Keep a bracket during the day to deal with interruptions by taking a break from work and shut the door tight when you need to focus.
6. Sleep Well
Lack of sleep can be a major factor causing stress at work. It’s the reason behind losing focus and failure to organize your work. When you don’t sleep well, you miss out on the rejuvenating effects that can help you manage work better.
Sleep is critical for recovery – for both brain and body. Clear your mind from unwanted thoughts when you hit the bed and listen to calming music if it helps you sleep.
7. Get Rid of Self-Imposed Stress
Self-imposed stress often remains unidentified. This is what we do to ourselves unknowingly. Get rid of this torture by boosting your self-confidence. Don’t seek for other’s approval. Allowing yourself to be evaluated based on other people’s perception can be stressful.
The idea is to shift your focus and improve your work presence instead of trying hard to impress others.
8. Reset ‘Panic’
If you panic easily and feel shortness of breath in a stressful situation at work, it’s time to hit the reset button. Try some acupressure by yourself to instantly reduce anxiety. Take deep breaths as you press your thumb on the side of your middle finger and apply low pressure.
The blood pressure regulation it creates can help calm your nerves and reduce anxiety.
9. Be Your Own Critic
As discussed earlier, do not allow other people to evaluate you or your work. These factors may create internal negativity and can stress you out. It will eventually start showing in external events. If you want to be critical, do it for yourself and pump up your courage.
Self-motivation can be highly encouraging and will push you to achieve bigger and better goals and even help you influence others. Keep yourself in a healthy range by following these simple tactics to reduce your stress levels right away.