Stress Management At The Workplace

Majority of the working class experience stress more often than not. Statistics according to Sharon Melnick, a business psychologist, shows that modern workers are interrupted seven times an hour and distracted up to 2.1 hours a day. And four out of 10 people working in large companies are experiencing a major corporate restructuring, and therefore facing uncertainty about their futures. This may be why more than 40% of adults say they lie awake at night plagued by the stressful events of the day.

Causes of stress in offices are derived from financial breakdown, workload, incomplete assignments, scandals and crises among others.  What to do when stress arises

Track your stressors

Sit back and try and analyze what makes you get stressed up. Keep a journal for a week or two to identify which situations create the most stress and how you respond to them. Your response to them should be positive to avoid building up more stress.

Take Action

In most cases, we experience stress when we feel that situations are out of our control. When this happens, other factors like concentration and confidence are interfered with. If your organization for instance gets a scandal maybe for selling illegal goods, it’s advisable to take action instead of reacting to it. An immediate press conference could be held to give the side of the company’s story, instead of getting anxious or angry.

Get some support

Normally, it’s better to share an issue with someone other than keeping it to oneself. If you happen to feel stressed up, identify the best person to approach first. A fellow colleague here would be appropriate or an immediate supervisor.

Take A Deep Breath

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or tensed because of an issue, you need to clear your head. A few minutes of deep breathing will restore balance. “Simply inhale for five seconds, hold and exhale in equal counts through the nose,” says Melnick.  You can even go ahead and get some fresh air to cool down. This helps you calm down and be in a position to reason out with a sober mind.

Learn how to relax

Too much work without play makes Jack a dull boy. During lunch breaks join a friend out for lunch, stretch at your desks, engage in informal conversations or listen to music. Music is known to be a great stress reliever, one can plug in headphones to the computer and listen to soothing music. Most workaholics are very antisocial and get stressed up easily, which then makes them become arrogant and rude.

Eliminate Interruptions

Most people usually have much to do during the day; responding to emails, phone calls, pop-ins, instant messages, urgent deadlines and receiving visitors. You may not have control to neglect all these duties but you can control your response.  For instance, you can schedule different hours when to handle visitors. Eliminate those tasks that are not urgent or are irrelevant.

If you are a director or a manager, you can advise your personal assistant when you need to focus and therefore at that time he/she will put other things on hold for you.

Eat Right And Sleep Well

Eating badly will stress your system and you will not sleep enough as well.  Do not sleep so late and get up very early at the same time. Deficit of sleep deteriorates your energy level during the day, thus making you less productive.  Ensure that you don’t miss meals like lunch, the brain functions slower on empty stomachs, but again don’t eat too much for it calls in for laziness or even sleep.

Winding Up

Managers need to motivate their employees in their work places. There are professions such as medical practitioners whose duties are very demanding and always present. It is likely for such people to get stressed up because of too much work; attending to many patients and running numerous tests.

Once in a while, managers should hold end of year parties, organize for trips to celebrate their work. This gives doctors and nurses an opportunity to feel relaxed and rejuvenated. You notice that even when they return to work, they have so much energy and work to the best of their ability without having to be pushed.