5 Practical Ways You Can Reduce Work Stress

Stress at work is inevitable but manageable. Job-related stress can not only affect your workflow but can have severe repercussions on your health and well-being. Stress can make you feel burned out, leading to mental, emotional, and even physical exhaustion. It can upset your digestive and reproductive system while increasing your risk of a heart attack and stroke. It’s a primary reason for depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. So the question is, “how to manage stress at work?” Let’s dive in.

What you need to know:

Understanding stress: Causes and symptoms
Strategies for managing stress at work
Creating a supportive work environment

Understanding stress: Causes and symptoms

Stress is often described as our physical and emotional response to new situations and external factors affecting our daily lives. You can feel stressed out because of work, financial problems and other situations. Anything that can pose a threat to your well-being can cause stress, including

Family problems
Bereavement
Changing homes
Digestive problems
Unhealthy immune levels
Relationship problems or divorce

These symptoms can help you identify when you are stressed:

Sudden body aches and pain
Racing heart
Exhaustion
Difficulty while sleeping
Bad Immune system
High Blood Pressure
Digestive issues
Headaches
Dizziness and shaking
Sudden muscle tension

Strategies for managing stress at work

So, how to manage stress at work? Here are some of the strategies that you can incorporate to manage work pressure:

Keep a practical task list

Every morning, as soon as you get to work, try to plan your work day before you dive right in. It’s much easier to keep a diary or use an app to help you manage your assignments, appointments, meetings, and tasks. Assign time for each task and prioritize the task in the order of importance, deadline, etc. Add a check box beside each task to check off when it’s done. Make sure that your task list is practical. Don’t overestimate your capacity to complete a certain number of daily tasks unless you know that the output also has quality. If you plan to do too much quickly, you’ll only end up stressed, frustrated, and disappointed, but you may not be able to deliver quality work.

Organize your space

Whether it’s your home office space or your office workspace, keeping the area around you as neat and organized as possible can greatly help. You can easily find the files or documents you search for without digging up a pile. Avoid clutter at all costs. You will save a lot of time and energy, which could have been utilized elsewhere. This will also save you from panicky situations where you are short on time and you have lost a vital document.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help

When you have a lot to do, asking for help is perfectly okay. Delegating some of the work is a smart way to go about the situation, as it will help you focus on the more pressing tasks you know require your full attention. So, instead of feeling overwhelmed or overburdened, ask and accept help.

Don’t procrastinate

There is a strong possibility that you may be required to do a few things you don’t want to do during your regular work week. It may not be something you can hand over to anyone else, which makes it even more stressful. Putting these tasks on the shelf makes it harder to get them done as their deadline draws nearer, which only aggravates the stress you’ll feel. Dedicate time in your day only for these tasks and work on them during those periods. Even if it can’t all be done in one go, working on it each day before the deadline comes up will help you focus and feel a lot less stressed out.

Don’t forget to relax and exercise

Make it a point to take a break every hour or so just to gather your thoughts; five minutes with your mind off work can help free you from pent-up stress. Listening to calming music, walking around the office, and a little camaraderie with colleagues are always good. It also helps if you take a break to perform stretching exercises like shoulder and neck stretches at work.

Creating a supportive work environment

Colleagues should appreciate each other at work. This can create a friendly work environment. An email complimenting them for their work or appreciating them can significantly boost team morale. It helps individuals feel good about their work, which decreases stress and promotes productivity.

While work stress can be quite challenging to process, it can be managed easily using these work stress management techniques. You now know how to manage stress at work effectively.

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