Stress at Work

Tips to Reduce and Manage Job and Workplace Stress

While some workplace stress is normal, excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and impact your physical and emotional health. Finding ways to manage workplace stress is not about making huge changes or rethinking career ambitions, but rather about focusing on the one thing that’s always within your control: you. 

Coping with work stress in today’s uncertain climate

For workers everywhere, the troubled economy may feel like an emotional roller coaster. "Layoffs" and "budget cuts" have become bywords in the workplace, and the result is increased fear, uncertainty, and higher levels of stress. Since job and workplace stress increase in times of economic crisis, it’s important to learn new and better ways of coping with the pressure.

The ability to manage stress in the workplace can not only improve your physical and emotional health, it can also make the difference between success or failure on the job. Your emotions are contagious, and stress has an impact on the quality of your interactions with others. The better you are at managing your own stress, the more you'll positively affect those around you, and the less other people's stress will negatively affect you.

You can learn how to manage job stress

There are a variety of steps you can take to reduce both your overall stress levels and the stress you find on the job and in the workplace. These include:

• Taking responsibility for improving your physical and emotional well-being.
• Avoiding pitfalls by identifying knee jerk habits and negative attitudes that add to the stress you experience at work.
• Learning better communication skills to ease and improve your relationships with management and coworkers.

Tip 1: Recognize warning signs of excessive stress at work

When you feel overwhelmed at work, you lose confidence and may become irritable or withdrawn. This can make you less productive and less effective in your job, and make the work seem less rewarding. If you ignore the warning signs of work stress, they can lead to bigger problems. Beyond interfering with job performance and satisfaction, chronic or intense stress can also lead to physical and emotional health problems.

Signs and symptoms of excessive job and workplace stress

Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed Apathy, loss of interest in work Problems sleeping Fatigue Trouble concentrating

Muscle tension or headaches Stomach problems Social withdrawal Loss of sex drive Using alcohol or drugs to cope

Common causes of excessive workplace stress

• Fear of being laid off
• More overtime due to staff cutbacks
• Pressure to perform to meet rising expectations but with no increase in job satisfaction
• Pressure to work at optimum levels – all the time!

Tip 2: Reduce job stress by taking care of yourself 

When stress at work interferes with your ability to perform in your job, manage your personal life, or adversely impacts your health, it’s time to take action. Start by paying attention to your physical and emotional health. When your own needs are taken care of, you’re stronger and more resilient to stress. The better you feel, the better equipped you’ll be to manage work stress without becoming overwhelmed.
Taking care of yourself doesn’t require a total lifestyle overhaul. Even small things can lift your mood, increase your energy, and make you feel like you’re back in the driver’s seat. Take things one step at a time, and as you make more positive lifestyle choices, you’ll soon notice a reduction in your stress levels, both at home and at work.

Get moving

Aerobic exercise—activity that raises your heart rate and makes you sweat—is a hugely effective way to lift your mood, increase energy, sharpen focus, and relax both the mind and body. For maximum stress relief, try to get at least 30 minutes of heart-pounding activity on most days. If it’s easier to fit into your schedule, break up the activity into two or three shorter segments.

Make food choices that keep you going

Low blood sugar can make you feel anxious and irritable, while eating too much can make you lethargic. By eating small but frequent meals throughout the day, you can help your body maintain an even level of blood sugar and avoid these swings in mood. Read: Healthy Eating.

Drink alcohol in moderation and avoid nicotine

Alcohol temporarily reduces anxiety and worry, but too much can cause anxiety as it wears off. Drinking to relieve job stress may also eventually lead to alcohol abuse and dependence. Similarly, smoking when you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed may seem calming, but nicotine is a powerful stimulant – leading to higher, not lower, levels of anxiety.

Get enough sleep

Not only can stress and worry can cause insomnia, but a lack of sleep can leave you vulnerable to even more stress. When you're well-rested, it's much easier to keep your emotional balance, a key factor in coping with job and workplace stress. Read: How to Sleep Better.

Tip 3: Reduce job stress by prioritizing and organizing

When job and workplace stress threatens to overwhelm you, there are simple steps you can take to regain control over yourself and the situation. Your new found ability to maintain a sense of self-control in stressful situations will often be well-received by coworkers, managers, and subordinates alike, which can lead to better relationships at work. Here are some suggestions for reducing job stress by prioritizing and organizing your responsibilities.

Time management tips for reducing job stress

• Create a balanced schedule. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. All work and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social activities and solitary pursuits, daily responsibilities and downtime.
• Don’t over-commit yourself. Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day. All too often, we underestimate how long things will take. If you've got too much on your plate, distinguish between the "should" and the "musts." Drop tasks that aren't truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.
• Try to leave earlier in the morning. Even 10-15 minutes can make the difference between frantically rushing to your desk and having time to ease into your day. Don’t add to your stress levels by running late.
• Plan regular breaks. Make sure to take short breaks throughout the day to take a walk or sit back and clear your mind. Also try to get away from your desk or work station for lunch. Stepping away from work to briefly relax and recharge will help you be more, not less, productive.

Task management tips for reducing job stress

• Prioritize tasks. Make a list of tasks you have to do, and tackle them in order of importance. Do the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.
• Break projects into small steps. If a large project seems overwhelming, make a step-by-step plan. Focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.
• Delegate responsibility. You don’t have to do it all yourself. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or oversee every little step. You’ll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.
• Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to contribute differently to a task, revise a deadline, or change their behavior at work, be willing to do the same. Sometimes, if you can both bend a little, you’ll be able to find a happy middle ground that reduces the stress levels for everyone concerned. 

Tip 4: Reduce job stress by improving emotional intelligence 

Even if you’re in a job where the environment has grown increasingly stressful, you can retain a large measure of self-control and self-confidence by understanding and practicing emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage and use your emotions in positive and constructive ways. When it comes to satisfaction and success at work, emotional intelligence matters just as much as intellectual ability. Emotional intelligence is about communicating with others in ways that draw people to you, overcome differences, repair wounded feelings, and defuse tension and stress.

Emotional intelligence in the workplace:

Emotional intelligence in the workplace has four major components:

• Self-awareness – The ability to recognize your emotions and their impact while using gut feelings to guide your decisions.
• Self-management – The ability to control your emotions and behavior and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Social awareness – The ability to sense, understand, and react to other's emotions and feel comfortable socially.
• Relationship management – The ability to inspire, influence, and connect to others and manage conflict.

The five key skills of emotional intelligence

There are five key skills that you need to master in order to raise your emotional intelligence and manage stress at work.

• Realize when you’re stressed, recognize your particular stress response, and become familiar with sensual cues that can rapidly calm and energize you. The best way to reduce stress quickly is through the senses: through sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. But each person responds differently to sensory input, so you need to find things that are soothing to you.
• Stay connected to your internal emotional experience so you can appropriately manage your own emotions. Your moment-to-moment emotions influence your thoughts and actions, so pay attention to your feelings and factor them into your decision making at work. If you ignore your emotions you won’t be able to fully understand your own motivations and needs, or to communicate effectively with others.
• Recognize and effectively use the nonverbal cues that make up 95-98% of our communication process. In many cases, what we say is less important than how we say it or the other nonverbal signals we send out, such as eye contact, facial expression, tone of voice, posture, gesture and touch. Your nonverbal messages can either produce a sense of interest, trust, and desire for connection–or they can generate confusion, distrust, and stress. You also need to be able to accurately read and respond to the nonverbal cues that other people send you at work.
• Develop the capacity to meet challenges with humor. There is no better stress buster than a hearty laugh and nothing reduces stress quicker in the workplace than mutually shared humor. But, if the laugh is at someone else’s expense, you may end up with more rather than less stress.
• Resolve conflict positively. Resolving conflict in healthy, constructive ways can strengthen trust between people and diffuse workplace stress and tension. When handling emotionally-charged situations, stay focused in the present by disregarding old hurts and resentments, connect with your emotions, and hear both the words and the nonverbal cues being used. If a conflict can’t be resolved, choose to end the argument, even if you still disagree.

Tip 5: Reduce job stress by breaking bad habits 

As you learn to manage your job stress and improve your work relationships, you’ll have more control over your ability to think clearly and act appropriately. You will be able to break habits that add to your stress at work – and you’ll even be able to change negative ways of thinking about things that only add to your stress.

Eliminate self-defeating behaviors

Many of us make job stress worse with negative thoughts and behavior. If you can turn around these self-defeating habits, you’ll find employer-imposed stress easier to handle.

• Resist perfectionism. No project, situation, or decision is ever perfect, so trying to attain perfection on everything will simply add unnecessary stress to your day. When you set unrealistic goals for yourself or try to do too much, you’re setting yourself up to fall short. Aim to do your best, no one can ask for more than that.
• Clean up your act. If you’re always running late, set your clocks and watches fast and give yourself extra time. If your desk is a mess, file and throw away the clutter; just knowing where everything is saves time and cuts stress. Make to-do lists and cross off items as you accomplish them. Plan your day and stick to the schedule — you’ll feel less overwhelmed.
• Flip your negative thinking. If you see the downside of every situation and interaction, you’ll find yourself drained of energy and motivation. Try to think positively about your work, avoid negative-thinking co-workers, and pat yourself on the back about small accomplishments, even if no one else does.
• Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things at work are beyond our control— particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.
  

Five Ways to Dispel Stress

• Take time away. When stress is mounting at work, try to take a quick break and move away from the stressful situation. Take a stroll outside the workplace if possible, or spend a few minutes meditating in the break room. Physical movement or finding a quiet place to regain your balance can quickly reduce stress.
• Talk it over with someone. In some situations, simply sharing your thoughts and feelings with someone you trust can help reduce stress. Talking over a problem with someone who is both supportive and empathetic can be a great way to let off steam and relieve stress.
• Connect with others at work. Developing friendships with some of your co-workers can help buffer you from the negative effects of stress. Remember to listen to them and offer support when they are in need as well.
• Look for humor in the situation. When used appropriately, humor is a great way to diffuse stress in the workplace. When you or those around you start taking things too seriously, find a way to lighten the mood by sharing a joke or funny story.

Tip 6: Learn how managers or employers can reduce job stress

It's in a manager's best interest to keep stress levels in the workplace to a minimum. Managers can act as positive role models, especially in times of high stress, by following the tips outlined in this article. If a respected manager can remain calm in stressful work situations, it is much easier for his or her employees to also remain calm.
Additionally, there are a number of organizational changes that managers and employers can make to reduce workplace stress. These include:

Improve communication

• Share information with employees to reduce uncertainty about their jobs and futures.
• Clearly define employees’ roles and responsibilities.
• Make communication friendly and efficient, not mean-spirited or petty.

Consult your employees

• Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their jobs.
• Consult employees about scheduling and work rules.
• Be sure the workload is suitable to employees’ abilities and resources; avoid unrealistic deadlines.
• Show that individual workers are valued.
• Offer rewards and incentives.
• Praise good work performance, both verbally and officially, through schemes such as Employee of the Month.
• Provide opportunities for career development.
• Promote an “entrepreneurial” work climate that gives employees more control over their work.

Cultivate a friendly social climate

• Provide opportunities for social interaction among employees.
• Establish a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.
• Make management actions consistent with organizational values.

 

Stress. We all deal with it. Whether it be our jobs, family life, drama with friends, a relationship problem, or finances, stress is there. While a little stress is probably good for you, it's the excess that does the harm. But there are ways of relieving it or distressing.

Steps

Quick Relief

1. 
   
   • Breathe
   • Smile :)
   • Visualize
   • Exercise
   • Organize

Stress Relief Methods

1. Stop swallow breathing. Take a deep breath, as an immediate defense against stress. If you can get in the habit of realizing your stress level rising -- and then always taking a nice, deep breath every time you feel stress beginning to take hold, you'll have won half the battle just by preventing it from taking over. Don't just sigh; that is too often a sign of quitting or shirking a task.
   
   
   
2. Create the habit of deep breaths: Why -- if you can get in the automatic reaction/habit of pausing and taking nice, deep breaths every time you feel stress beginning to take hold, you'll have won half the battle just by preventing stress from taking over.
   
   
   
3. Visualize and communicate your vision. Whether you talk to a friend or talk to yourself, getting concerns off your mind will help a lot. If you don't feel like talking about it, write it down. Keep a journal and write down whatever it is that's bothering you. Writing is a therapy of its own.
   
   
   
4. Laugh. Rediscover your sense of humor by making fun of your situation and allowing others to laugh without anger or disputing. View it from your future self's perspective, telling this story to a bunch of your friends over pizza and soda. Laughter, whether it's yours or someone else's, is the best medicine--and it's contagious!
   
   
   
   • Crack some jokes.
   • Do your goofiest impression.
   • Tickle a child that you love.
5. Get fit. Perhaps your health and appearance are stressing you out, but even if they're not an issue, being physically fit can directly help relieve stress, which exists on both a mental and a physical level. Sometimes there's nothing like a long run, an intense yoga session, or a fresh swim after a stressful day to help you feel relaxed and stress-free again. Also, exercise releases endorphins; a feel good hormone. Chocolate releases endorphins as well (just only in moderation)!
   
   
   
6. Be organized. For the most part, stress arises from feeling overwhelmed. Use a planner to keep track of your "TO DO'S".There's just too much to do, and not enough time to do it. Being organized and getting your priorities straight can help you break responsibilities down into manageable pieces and focus on the things that really matter to you, rather than getting caught up in details and creating extra work for yourself--all of which leads to more stress.
   
   
   
7. Soothe the senses. Light a scented candle that has a calming fragrance like lavender. Listen to your favorite, most relaxing music or, better yet, go somewhere that you can listen to wind rustle through trees or waves crash on the beach. Enjoy the scenery, whether you're outdoors or viewing an art exhibit. Drink some warm tea or taste--really taste--some dark chocolate. Treat yourself by getting a massage or, if you want to be alone, take a bath (bubbles are recommended).
   
   
   
8. Be aware of your choices; you always have a choice.
   
   
   
9. Learn to say no; you cannot do everything you are asked.
   
   
   
10. Learn how to delegate.
    
    
    
11. Be thankful. It does wonders for your state of mind.
    
    
    
12. If you need to apologize to someone, and it will not make the situation worse, find a way to do so. More importantly, learn to forgive, particularly to forgive yourself. Guilt adds pain to stress.
    
    
    
13. Do nothing. That's right, folks, do nothing at all. Close the door, open the window, have a seat, and take a little break from life. If your mind is racing, learn to meditate and just let that stress go.
    
    
    
14. Listen to music. Listening to music does wonders and is a great way to relieve stress, if it is not something that will make you feel worse. Listen to good songs that get you in a happy mood; and just forget about your problem. Music is known to be a significant mood-changer and reliever of stress. Ocean sounds tend to simulate calmness and serenity so, listening to a sound machine while lying down could help.
    
    
    
15. Get a drink of water. If you're dehydrated that can lead to headaches, which just adds to the stress. So relax and get a cup of water.
    
    
    
    
    

    
    

Tips

• Note that not all stress reducing activities will work for all people. Experiment with different techniques to see what works for you.
• Imagery meditation. Meditating, concentrating or just emptying your mind while viewing tranquil scenery, either real or in video clips can help your mind let go of anxiety filled thoughts.
• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
• Self hypnosis
• Indian head massage
• Walk in the rain
• Dance to relieve stress
• Relieving stress in the short term is a good idea, but resolving the underlying causes of stress is even better. If the same issues keep driving you up the wall time and time again, give some serious thought as to how they can be dealt with permanently. The following two examples illustrate the variety and usefulness of the self-help information which is available.
• Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) teaches that it is not what happens to you, but what you believe about what happens to you that makes you stressed and depressed. (Ellis, 1975). You can do a lot to get rid of these feelings on your own by finding the irrational ideas which produce them, and debating with yourself until you have cast them out. Here is Ellis's list of potential culprits:
  
  
  • I must be perfect in all respects in order to be worthwhile.
  • I must be loved and approved of by everyone who is important to me.
  • When people treat me unfairly, it is because they are bad people.
  • It is terrible when I am seriously frustrated, treated badly, or rejected.
  • Misery comes from outside forces which I can't do very much to change.
  • If something is dangerous or fearful, I have to worry about it.
  • It is not easier to avoid life's difficulties and responsibilities,than to face them.
  • Because things in my past controlled my life, they have to keep doing so now and in the future.
  • It is terrible when things do not work out exactly as I want them to.
  • I can be as happy as possible by just doing nothing and enjoying myself, taking life as it comes.
• In addition to getting rid of negative beliefs, it is necessary to acquire a set of positive ones, such as the following widely quoted Desiderata, written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s:
  
  
  • Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
  • As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak truths/ideals quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.
  • If you compare yourself with others,you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements and learn from your mistakes. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
  • Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
  • Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. .
  • Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
  • Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of God And whether or not it is clear to you, His plan is unfolding as it should.
  • Therefore be at peace with God . And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. .
  • Sometimes it helps to take a moment alone and have some peace and quiet, but in some cases it can make you feel worse. Talk to someone you know and trust. Voice how you feel and listen to somebody's suggestions.

Warnings

• Be wary of escapism. Do not alleviate stress by doing something that'll only make it worse in the long run (e.g. buying a new pair of expensive shoes when what's stressing you is debt or taking someones problems into your own "hands." ).
• Don't just suffer in silence.
  
  
  • Just as you would not hesitate to contact a physician for ongoing physical pain, you should not hesitate to contact a therapist for continuing mental pain.
    
  • A therapist is a professional problem solver, who can bring to bear all the insights of psychology to point out choices that you are not aware of.
  • Your physician may be able to prescribe medication to control anxiety and depression, or to help you to handle a particularly stressful situation.
  • Symptoms such as hearing voices that are not there, seeing things that are not there, or staying awake for several nights in a row, are signs of serious mental illness which require immediate psychiatric attention.
• Do not make exercising and getting thin an addiction. This may add to your stress.
• If you are feeling suicidal or feel like you might hurt yourself, get help immediately!
  
  
  • Call your local suicide prevention hotline, or the psychiatric hotline of a hospital in your area.
  • If you do not know where to call, your local police department will be able to provide you with assistance.