Unless you happen to be one of the lucky few that can consider themselves independently wealthy, you probably have to work for a living. And if you work for a living, you inevitably have to deal with some work-related stress. Some level of occasional stress on the job is unavoidable, and many people actually report that infrequent and short-term bouts of stress actually help them at work – spurring last minute creativity and innovation at the 11th hour.
Unfortunately for many workers, these “infrequent” bouts of stress turn into a constant state of worry. Half of working professionals worldwide are more stressed than they were 18 months ago according to a survey from Regus (September 2012). According to the Staying at Work survey (June 2014), Asian employees rank stress as the leading workforce risk across most countries in the region. This kind of constant anxiety has been linked to all manner of health problems: insomnia, headaches and migraines, elevated blood pressure, and heart disease. What’s worse is that many employees simply don’t know how to cope with stress at work.
Fortunately, there are ways to learn how to cope with stress on the job. A few small changes in the way you approach and handle common situations can make all the difference. Here are seven strategies to cope with stress at work in a positive way.
1. Be Mindful of Your Stressors: What makes you stressed at work? It might seem like a silly question, but the truth is that stress (and how you respond to it) can come from unexpected places. Try to identify what types of events are causing stress and how you deal with those situations. That way, when it comes time to make a coping plan, you have an idea of what works and what doesn’t. Even more importantly, identifying the thoughts that lead to stress can often interrupt those negative thoughts and let you resume concentrating on the task at hand.
2. Learn How To Manage Your Emotions: Dealing with negative emotions can cause unnecessary stress. However, learning how to manage your emotions more effectively and understanding where your emotions are coming from can help significantly decrease stress. Ensuring that your emotions work for you, and not against you, is part of improving EQ (or your emotional quotient) and can have very positive results for stress management.
3. Remove Interruptions: Being interrupted is always an annoyance. Being interrupted while working on an important assignment can be a lot more. In fact, much of the stress many feel in the workplace can be directly linked to interruptions. To cope with workplace stress, consider setting aside blocks of uninterrupted time. Create a schedule that has you checking email, news, phone messages and all of the little things that break up a day at regular and scheduled intervals, instead of haphazardly while you’re trying to focus. When interruptions DO come, whether from outside (phone calls, colleagues, email, alerts) or inside (negative thoughts, distractions, rumination), let them flow through you without engaging. Imagine them as water flowing under the bridge of your focus, and keep to the task at hand. With enough practice, this becomes a habit – one that can seriously cut down on stress.
4. Get Fit: It might be the last thing on your mind when you start falling behind on deadlines, but doing 30 minutes of aerobic activity can be the best way to get you through the day. Exercise is well proven to lift both mood and energy levels, and taking a quick workout break can be the key to decreasing stress levels. Even something as simple as taking a quick walk around the office can help reduce stress.
5. Delegate Responsibility: A great source of stress often comes from the feeling that everything is riding on your shoulders. This “superman complex” – the feeling that you and only you can get everything done – leads not only to a more anxious life, but also sets you up for future problems. Learning to trust your colleagues and employees, and delegating responsibility evenly, can help tremendously.
6. Eat Well: Stress is as much a physical reaction as it is a mental one. Work stress puts your body under a heavy load, and eating junk food or skipping meals exacerbates these problems and can lead to a vicious cycle of feeling miserable. Instead of binging and fasting, eat multiple small meals throughout the day to balance out blood sugar and keep your metabolism running smoothly. The physical improvements will then, in turn, translate to more peace of mind.
7. Get Plenty Of Sleep: It may seem difficult to get a good night’s sleep when trying to cope with work stress. However, getting plenty of rest is one of the most important things you can do to take a mental load off and stay healthy and happy. To get better sleep, consider setting an evening cutoff time for electronics, preferably half an hour to an hour before you plan on going to sleep. Instead of staring at your phone or a TV, read a book or just let your mind wander.