Stress in the workplace is a common experience for people. No matter what you do, there’s always going to be some stress in your life. But when you feel stress has become chronic, it can really affect your physical and emotional health. It can be overwhelming and come with deadlines or challenging obligations. The best way to reduce this chronic stress is to try exercise, meditation, yoga, or even spending time with friends. Long-term stress is common and can be difficult to avoid. But you can easily manage the tension that occurs on the job.
Stress impacts on health
No matter where you are heading, work-related stress can continue to affect you. When it persists, it can also affect your health and well-being. For example, it might cause problems like pain in your stomach or headache, sleep disturbances, short temper, or difficulty concentrating. Chronic high stress can also lead to a weakened immune system, anxiety, insomnia, and depression.
Steps to manage stress
Keep a journal and track your stressors
For a few days, document the stressors in your life and how you react to them. Include your thoughts, feelings, and what the environment around you looked like. Write down when you raised your voice or when you went for a walk to take a break from it all.
Indulge yourself into healthier habits
No matter the situation, when the tension is rising, it’s important to stretch, breathe, and do yoga. This can help reduce stress and boost your mental health. It’s also important to make time for your favourite hobby or activity. Even if you’re feeling stressed out, they can be a healthy distraction that will help you combat the problem.
It may be something simple as catching up with a good book, going to concerts, or playing games with the family. Make sure to get some great-quality sleep! Stress can be effectively managed with enough good-quality sleep.
Building healthy sleep habits at night is essential. Limit your caffeine intake to morning hours, and stay away from stimulating activities at night, such as computer use or watching television.
Create some boundaries
It’s appropriate to feel pressure in today’s digital world. However, it’s important to set boundaries in order to stay healthy and happy. A helpful boundary might be to never check email after 8 p.m. when you’re at home or when you’re with your family during dinner, don’t answer phone calls.
In a perfect world, work and home life would blend seamlessly. But in reality, many people have an opinion on how much they want to mix the two. Creating clear boundaries between the work and home life can reduce stress and conflict that can arise from these mixed areas.
Time off to revitalize
Work-related stress is a real problem in today’s society. To avoid the negative effects of chronic stress and burnout, we need to take time to revitalize. This process requires periods of time when we are not engaged in any work-related activities or thoughts about work.
Sometimes, people need to disconnect from the world. When you disconnect in ways that fit your needs and preferences, you’ll be able to come back to work feeling recharged. If you have vacation days, don’t let them go to waste! You need time to relax and unwind so you can return to work ready for challenges ahead. If you don’t have vacation days, try turning your smartphone off every now and then.
Take a breather
Meditation is one of the most effective stress-reduction techniques out there. But it’s not easy. Start with something like walking, or just hanging out at the kitchen table for a minute. Next, try to focus on your deep breathing, inhale and exhale exercise for five minutes per day. Once you’re comfortable with that, increase your time to 10 minutes per day.
Focusing on single activities without distraction is a skill that needs to be learned. By practicing it over and over again, you can apply it to many aspects of your life including when you are at work.
Speak up
Your boss wants your best work and you want a healthy, happy life. It’s a mutual agreement. So, the next time you’re talking with your boss, talk about your health. Talk about what it needs to look like for you to be the best version of yourself at work.
With all the stressors in your life, it can be hard to stay on top of things. But with a plan to manage them, you’ll be able to perform your best.
In order to be a more effective employee, it’s important to have a plan. This includes improving your skills in areas such as time management or getting support from colleagues. In other words, it’s important to clarify what’s expected of you and tap into employer-sponsored wellness resources. And if you want to grow in your job, enrich it by trying more challenging or meaningful tasks.
Seek support if and when required
You and your boss can be friends, too! If you’re feeling stressed, talk to those who care about you. It’s now possible to reduce work-related stress thanks to the help of family and friends as well as trusted sources such as your employer’s employee assistance programs. These people may offer online information, counselling options, and referrals for mental health professionals, whatever you need to feel at ease.
Stress management tips shared by – thebarbelljack.com