10 Ways to Reduce Workplace Stress

Being placed in a stressful situation, or dealing with stress is a regular occurrence for many people. Dealing with workplace stress is a skill some people have perfected and some people aren’t so good. The good thing is, dealing with workplace stress is something you can always get better at. There are methods for preventing workplace stress, managing stress and dealing with it when it arises. Let’s have a look at some of the ways to reduce workplace stress.

Effects of Workplace Stress

Workplace stress relates to the negative reaction that occurs when an individual’s demand at work exceeds their ability to cope. Here are some of the damaging effects that workplace stress can have on you:

• Heightened Anxiety
• Increased Risk of Depression
• Fatigue
• Reduced Ability to Concentrate
• Apathetic Attitude
• Lower Morale
• Reduced Motivation
• Increased ill-health

10 Ways to Reduce Workplace Stress

5 Tips for the Employee

1. Exercise and Nutrition

Eating right and keeping active won’t make your stress disappear. But it will help to reduce the emotional intensity you are feeling. It will help to clear your thoughts and will allow you to approach issues in a calmer manner. Evidence also indicates that physical exercise can additionally:

• raise your self-esteem
• help you to set goals or challenges
• Lead to neurochemical changes in the brain which positively affect mood

2. Work Smarter, Not Harder

One of the ways to optimize your work and help stave off workplace stress is to ‘work smarter, not harder’. This helps to reduce unnecessary workload, help you keep to your work schedule and help you to reduce workplace stress.

3. Establish Boundaries

The world we live in is growing evermore digital and thus the inbuilt pressure to succeed at work means that we feel obliged to work longer hours. This causes an unnecessary and continuous impact on your stress levels. A good way to reduce stress is to establish clear boundaries between your personal life and your professional life. Come up with rules and stick by them. Leave work at a given time each day. Switch off work emails and alerts as soon as you leave the office, leave work equipment at work. Whatever you feel will work for you. Find rules which help you create a healthier work-life balance.

4. Track Your Stressors

How can you deal with your stress if you don’t know what is causing it? You need to identify your stressors. One of the best ways is to keep a journal. Track your stressors for a number of weeks. Write down the situations, circumstances, and things which make you prone to stress. Record your thoughts, information, and feelings pertaining to the situation and your reaction. Taking notes and tracking your stressors can help you to identify stress-causing patterns.

5. Connect with Your Colleagues

We all have that one person at work we can chat too. Having a colleague you can talk too when your stressed is a great way to reduce workplace stress. It can be from leaving work to get a coffee and detox from a stressful situation to talking about continuous workplace stressors.

5 Tips for the Employer

1. Chillout Zone

Create a chillout zone in the workplace somewhere. Giving people a place to destress when needs be. Think about adding beanbags, hammocks, books, board games, and plants. What about getting your employees to help design it. A chillout zone is a great way to reduce workplace stress.

2. Know Your Policies

Employees needing time off if they become stressed, are struggling with chronic workplace stress or if the stress becomes unhealthy, are situations that may occur at your workplace. Knowing your policies for time off is the least you can do as a manager.

3. Research Flexible Working Opportunities

What about allowing more flexible work schedules. Think about having greater scope for remote work and for flexible hours. You hired your employees because you have trust in their capabilities to perform. Providing flexible opportunities is bound to alleviate workplace stress. Freedom is perfect for morale, freedom and perfecting the workplace balance.

4. Recognition

Make sure to continuously show appreciation and recognition to your employees when they deserve it. Receiving little or no recognition for your work compounds workplace stress with irrational thinking about your work. This causes unnecessary workplace stress.

5. Meditation Classes

One of the best ways to reduce workplace stress is to introduce meditation classes for your employees to join. Mindfulness and meditation are great ways to reduce immediate stress and keeps chronic stress at bay.

Reducing workplace stress is no mean feat. There are ways to reduce workplace stress from the employee and manager perspective. Do you think these may work for you or your organization? Or are there ways which you already use and are effective?