According to the US Department of Labor, around 65% of the US work force is suffering from stress caused by their employment. It is a growing problem.
Stress at work leads to low mental health and causes conditions such as depression, anxiety and burn out, negatively affecting performance and productivity. It has an adverse affect upon home life too causing domestic issues and problems such as substance abuse and excessive alcohol consumption.
So if you find that your mood is generally low, you are suffering from insomnia , changes to your appetite or just are generally feeling tired all the time, chances are that you are suffering from stress.
Luckily there are ways to reduce stress at work. Here are some tips to help you get through your working day.
1/ Know Your Enemy. Identify Your Stress Triggers
Keep a journal to identify your stress triggers. Whether it is your commute, certain individuals at work or specific situations; if you keep a journal and write down how a situation makes you feel, you will quickly identify your specific problems.
Once you know these, you can take steps to resolve the issues. If you can’t avoid your stressors you may be able to minimize the effects afterwards by allowing yourself time to recover.
2/ Get Organized.
A major cause of stress is time management. So getting organized in the morning by focusing on the day’s tasks ahead will help you plan your day.
Set priorities, schedule in appointments and try to be realistic about timings. Usually working through a list is far easier than fire fighting each event as it happens. Remember too that there is only a certain amount of time in each day and if the work load is too intense, nobody else would be able to manage it either.
3/ Take Time Out for Yourself and Use White Noise or a Relaxation App
A few minutes to recharge your batteries at work will improve your mental wellbeing. Try some deep relaxation with a white noise app or listen to natural sounds such as waterfalls or the sound of the sea. The great thing about doing this is that you don’t even have to leave the workplace. Just find a place to sit and let the natural sounds of nature or white noise remove the everyday and transport your mind to the Zen zone.
Using a white noise or natural sounds app is also a great way to unwind at the end of the day.
4/ Don’t Get Involved With Time Wasters and Gossip
Although it can be energizing to spend a few minutes chatting with colleagues if they are fun, using the little free time you have to complain about work or your colleagues does nothing for your mental health. Do you really want to hear somebody else’s gripes and complaints? Are you really interested in their new bathroom? Just say you have a deadline and move on.
5/ Use Guided Mindfulness or Meditation
You can find these on YouTube and they are fantastic at minimizing stress. Practicing mindfulness or meditation is a great way of bringing your mind back to its normal balance and it calms your breathing and pulse rate too.
Accessing a mindfulness video during your break will get your mind back to perspective. Once you have done these a few times you will be able to practice relaxation techniques as part of your usual day.
In Conclusion…
Not all stress is bad. It can keep you focused and interested and many of us thrive on an adrenaline boost as long as we get some downtime in between. However, taking active steps to care for your mental health before stress becomes an issue is the best way of staying fit ,healthy and well at home as well as at work.
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