In today’s fast-paced professional landscape, stress at work has become an all too familiar companion for many. Tight deadlines, demanding projects, and the perpetual pursuit of productivity often create an environment ripe for stress to flourish.
However, managing work-related stress isn’t an insurmountable challenge. With the right strategies, it’s possible to navigate the tumultuous waters of work stress and emerge with a sense of balance and resilience.
What is Work-related Stress?
Stress is a reaction people have to excessive pressures or demands. For example, you may find yourself struggling to work through tasks or responsibilities that might be too much for you. This might even follow you home, where you begin to feel anxious heading into work as you don’t feel like you can meet the demands.
The reason why it’s so important to understand and talk about this is because consistent stress in a place where you spend the majority of your time can also affect your health.
What Causes Work Stress?
Knowing how to handle these types of stressors can only come if you can narrow down where they’re coming from. This can include one or several things:
- Bad relations with other work colleagues
- Long or irregular hours or poor work-life balance
- An increased workload
- Low pay
- Poor working environments
- Poor management at work
- External pressures, such as financial worries or family problems
- Seasonal stressors
- Jobs with heavy emotional or physical demand
The list can go on, and just because certain things might bother one person doesn’t mean if you have a bad relationship with a colleague or you have physical demands that it means this bothers and stresses you out.
This is all very personal, and people all respond to certain things differently.
Work-Related Stress Symptoms
Some common work-related stress symptoms include:
- Difficulty waking up in the morning.
- Constantly fatigue
- Forgetfulness
- Adoption of bad habits such as smoking, drinking, killa nicopods.
- Poor appetite
- Anxiety or depression
- Increase in migraines, headaches, and blurred vision
- Social Withdrawal
Everyone can have days where work is stressful but when it becomes a daily thing or a consistent pattern, it’s time to take action and find new ways to handle or remove this stressful situation from your life.
Here are some things you can do to aim for a more stress-free working life.
Identify Triggers
Understanding the root causes of stress is the first step towards managing it. Take note of situations, tasks, or interactions that consistently elevate your stress levels.
It might be looming deadlines, conflicts with colleagues, or feeling overwhelmed by the workload, which might push you into bad habits. Whether that’s smoking during breaks or frequently calling into work just so you don’t have to go in and face work.
By understanding cause and effect, you can handle these things with things such as breathing techniques, practising mindfulness or investing in some nicopods for a quick fix.
Prioritise and Organise Tasks
Creating a structured plan can significantly reduce stress. By making a schedule, you can accurately communicate with your colleagues or managers that you only have time for a certain number of tasks.
Break down large projects into smaller, manageable tasks, setting realistic deadlines for each and prioritising tasks based on urgency and importance.
You can trial many organisational tools like to-do lists, calendars, or project management apps, which can be invaluable in keeping track of responsibilities.
Practice Time Management
Poor time management can amplify stress. Try setting boundaries by allocating specific times for work-related tasks and breaks.
Avoid multitasking, as it can lead to not only an increase in stress but also a reduction in productivity and a huge potential for mistakes.
Instead, focus your attention on one thing at a time, giving your full attention before moving on to the next thing. This way, you won’t forget things and leave less room for mistakes.
Talk to Someone
Having open communication with friends, health professionals, and your managers. Speaking to anyone can not only inspire some advice but is also good for your mental health.
If your manager is aware that you are unhappy in the workplace, they can make changes and ensure that things are better for you.
Family and friends are the perfect support system; they can give some needed advice but also help you release some pent-up stress.
Self Care
The human mind can sometimes be our worst enemy; finding ways to stop yourself from spiralling and caving to stress can be hard.
Taking the time to give yourself the love you deserve will do so much for your mental health and stress levels. Investing in some vegan skincare products can help you unwind and relax. Resetting yourself after a stressful day or days at work.