Everyone will feel pressure and stress at work, no matter what work you do, and whether you love what you do or not. Certain seasons of work and life will come with more stress and pressure than others.
However, it is important to remember that working hard should not be confused with overworking at the expense of your mental or physical health, or your relationships.
Unfortunately, all too often work stress becomes chronic and—if untreated—can be harmful to both your physical and emotional health.
The good news is that there are habits you can build and techniques you can use to help manage work stress.
UNDERSTANDING COMMON SOURCES OF WORK STRESS
The first step in managing work stress is understanding common workplace stressors. Some common sources of workplace stress are:
- Excessive workloads
- Low salaries
- Few opportunities for growth or advancement
- Work that isn’t engaging or challenging
- Lack of social support
- Not having enough control over job-related decisions
- Conflicting demands or unclear performance expectations
SYMPTOMS OF UNMANAGED WORK STRESS
A stressful work environment can manifest in physical symptoms, including:
- Headaches
- Stomachaches
- Sleep challenges or insomnia
- Short temper
- Difficulty concentrating
- Anxiety
- Depression
- High blood pressure
- A weakened immune system
Without the proper coping skills and tools, many turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as overeating, smoking, or abusing drugs and alcohol.
HEALTHY WAYS TO MANAGE STRESS
Stress at work is unavoidable, but there are things you can do to manage workplace stress in a healthy way. Since we can’t just quit, how can we manage work stress? We’ve got some tips.
Here are some ideas:
- Set boundaries: By setting clear and firm boundaries of when you are available and unavailable and how much you can take on, you are giving your coworkers and superiors clear guidelines as to your expectations and theirs.
- Pay attention to stressors: When stress sets in, document it. Write down where you were, what caused the stress, who was involved, how you reacted. Do you see any trends? Are there things you can do to avoid certain scenarios or people? Or are there things you can do to respond in a healthier way?
- Build healthy habits: Moving your body, drinking enough water and eating healthy foods can better prepare you to handle stress when it comes up.
- Rest and recharge: It is important to take time away from work to rest and recharge. Not only will that reduce work stress, it will help you come back ready to tackle work.
- Focus on one task at a time: Multitasking can lead to increased stress. When you are juggling several tasks at once, you can feel overwhelmed and anxious. Instead of bouncing from task to task, try focusing on one task at a time all the way to completion.
- Learn relaxation techniques: Finding a relaxation technique that works for you can be helpful to reduce stress and help you better cope with stressful situations. Meditation, deep breathing and muscle relaxation are some of our favorites.
- Avoid too much caffeine: Caffeine stimulates the release of stress hormones which can amplify your response to stress, making it worse. Instead of an extra cup of coffee, try stepping away and going for a walk to regroup and clear your head.
- Talk to someone: If you are struggling with how to deal with a person or situation at work that continues to cause you stress and anxiety, it may help to talk to someone. A counselor or therapist can help with specific strategies for communicating with coworkers or stressful situations.
- Step away from social media. When you feel overwhelmed, take some time to step away and disconnect from the external messages and triggers of social media and see what happens.
- Spend time outside. Fresh air, sun, Vitamin D all work wonders for getting out of the spin cycle, resetting and reminding yourself about the simple things we often take for granted.
If you are looking for help, let’s do this, together. Don’t hesitate to reach out:
• Visit mytherapyworks.com/schedule
• Call us at 408-508-6789 or 831-525-5000
• Email hello@mytherapyworks.com