How to Handle Stress at Work

Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. In the short-term, you may experience pressure to meet a deadline or to fulfil a challenging obligation. But when work stress becomes chronic, it can be overwhelming—and harmful to both physical and emotional health. Unfortunately, such long-term stress is all too common. You can’t always avoid the tensions that occur on the job. Yet you can take steps to manage work-related stress.

Certain factors tend to go hand-in-hand with work-related stress. Some common workplace stressors are –

• Excessive Workloads
• 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

Here are a Few Steps to Manage Stress –

1. Track Your Stressors: Keep a journal for a week or two to identify which situations create the most stress and how you respond to them. Record your thoughts, feelings, and information about the environment, including the people and circumstances involved, the physical setting, and how you reacted. Taking notes can help you find patterns among your stressors and your reactions to them.
2. Establish Boundaries: In today’s digital world, it’s easy to feel pressure to be available 24 hours a day. Establish some work-life boundaries for yourself. That might mean making a rule not to check emails in the evening, for example. Creating some clear boundaries can reduce the potential for work-life conflict and the stress that goes with it.
3. Develop Healthy Responses: Instead of attempting to fight stress with fast food or alcohol, do your best to make healthy choices when you feel the tension rise. Exercise is a great stress buster. Also make time for hobbies and favourite activities – whether it’s reading a novel, going to concerts, or playing games with your family, make sure to set aside time for the things that bring you pleasure. Getting enough good-quality sleep is also important for effective stress management.
4. Talk to Your Supervisor: Employee health has been linked to productivity at work, so your boss has an incentive to create a work environment that promotes employee well-being. Start by having an open conversation with your supervisor. The purpose of this isn’t to lay out a list of complaints, but rather to come up with an effective plan for managing the stressors you’ve identified, so you can perform at your best on the job.
5. Take Time to Recharge: It’s critical that you disconnect from time to time, in a way that fits your needs and preferences. Don’t let your vacation days go to waste. When possible, take time off to relax and unwind, so you come back to work feeling refreshed and ready to perform at your best. When you’re not able to take time off, get a quick boost by turning off your smartphone and focusing your attention on nonwork activities for a while.
6. Learn How to Relax: Techniques such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, and mindfulness can help melt away stress. Start by taking a few minutes each day to focus on a simple activity like breathing, walking, or enjoying a meal. The skill of being able to focus purposefully on a single activity without distraction will get stronger with practice and you’ll find that you can apply it to many different aspects of your life.
7. Get Some Support: Accepting help from trusted friends and family members can improve your ability to manage stress. Your employer may also have stress management resources available through an employee assistance program, including online information, available counselling, and referral to mental health professionals, if needed. If you continue to feel overwhelmed by work stress, you may want to talk to a professional, who can help you better manage stress and change unhealthy behaviour.