We all have to face stressful situations in our everyday lives. But most of the stress we have to encounter is at work. A little stress at workplace is healthy as it keeps you motivated and alert. But excessive stress can make you mentally sick. It disturbs your physical and emotional health. According to a survey, more than 40% of the adults have claimed that they stay awake at night due to work stress. By my experience in the working world I can understand the pressure of pending projects. You can’t eat, spend time with family, enjoy a movie without the ghost of stress flying over you.
Causes of Work Stress
- Increase workload
- Low salary
- Work that isn’t challenging
- No growth opportunities
- Micro managing boss constantly over your head
- Conflicting demands
- Lack of social support
Harmful effects of Stress
There is a thing about stress that it becomes chronic with time. You can’t expect to be energetic again while heading home. It will lie in the bed along with you. Acute stress at work due to some mega project can lead to:
- Headache
- Sleep disturbances Stomachache
- Short temper
- Loss of concentration
When you keep on stressing over and over again then it becomes a habit. You will feel pressure over minor things as well. Chronic stress leads to:
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- High blood pressure
- Weak immunity
- Depression
- Obesity
- Heart diseases
Steps to Handle Stress
Work environment, relationship with employer and coworkers all can lead to stress at work. If you want to regain your sanity then you have to take it seriously. First this anxiety will disturb your professional life and then gradually your personal life will be destroyed as well. But it’s a very common thing and you can easily eradicate it by some following ways:
Find your Stressors
To solve any problem you have to find its cause first. Find out the stressor that has been bothering you like low salary, your boss dislikes you; it’s a new project or some pending work. Focus on your feelings while doing that work and record how your body reacted to that stressful situation. Knowing your stressors will help you fight it better by quickly doing something about it at the moment.
Relax Yourself
If you have recently completed a difficult project then try to relax yourself. The easiest method is to take deep breath for 5 minutes. You can also do meditation that is extremely helpful. Take a walk or enjoy your favorite meal. All such activities will melt your stress away and help you to take a fresh start again.
Initiate Positive Relationships
Social contact is the best way to eradicate stress. Sharing your issues with colleagues or friends can quickly calm your nerves and remove stress. So start developing friendships with your co workers and support them in their problems too. Build a supportive social network that keeps you interested in your life and to whom you can share your troubles in free time.
Improve Your Eating Habits
It is a reality that when you are in a stressful situation you start hating food or likes to eat junk food. Gradually it becomes a habit and your health will be compromised. Avoid the increased consumption of beverages, minimize the sugar intake, add omega 3 fatty acids to your food and avoid nicotine intake.
Get Proper Sleep
Insomnia is a very common complication of stress at work. So whatever the situation is just don’t disturb your sleep cycle. Have a regular sleep schedule and stay focused on it. Try to improve the quality of your sleep otherwise slowly you will be suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental disorders.
Organize Your Work
Mere relaxing will never help you unless your task is finished. So focus on how you can organize your work. Deal with high priority task first and do the remaining work later. If there is a big project pending, just divide it into small parts. There is nothing wrong in having a little help as well. If you properly organize your work you can easily tackle it without stress.
Resist Perfectionism
Sometimes we set our goal too high that it is practically impossible to achieve on time and hence it leads to depression. So prioritize your goals according to your feasibility. Don’t aim for unrealistic things as it will lower down your value in front of your superiors. Also remember that you can’t control everything. Most of the things are out of our control no matter how much perfect you are. So never stress over the things you can’t change.
Don’t Pile up Your Work
Don’t make mountains out of mole-hills. So avoid piling up your work for later. Make your life simpler by finishing work at its time. Most of us have this bad habit of delaying work and it leads to anxiety, anger and stress later when you have to work all day to meet the dead line.
Talk to Your Employer
If you are facing stress at work and it is affecting your work ability then you can share it with your supervisor. Consult him about how you can cope with this situation or if a project is getting out of your control. Have an open conversation with your boss on how to tackle the stressors. This method will definitely help you out if you have a healthy work environment.
Disconnect Over the Weekend
Avoid the gray zone and completely disappear on your weekends instead for one email and phone check. Go to some place fun and entertaining and enjoy to your fullest. Spend time with your friends and family. Do what makes you happy at weekends and don’t take your work with you at home. Just completely relax yourself.
No doubt office stress is a very serious issue and only employees can understand it. But you can easily get over it by some simple methods. Just stay energetic and determined to cope with stress issue.
