Most people have experienced stress at work at least occasionally. Some stress is inevitable, but if you are feeling stressed out (tense, anxious, or sleep is disturbed) much or all of the time you will begin to experience distress. Your productivity and health will deteriorate.
When you begin to feel overwhelmed or stressed out, analyze where your stress is coming from. Sometimes it helps to write it down. Is it conflict with people? Do you have too much to do? Do you feel inadequately trained for what you do? Do you feel under-challenged?
If conflict is causing you major stress, take time to communicate your feeling and desires to remedy the situation with your coworker. Work out mutually agreeable solutions, recognizing that others may have different needs as well. If necessary, get help from your supervisor.
If deadlines and your work load are excessive, ask for help and use good time-management skills (see suggestions below).
It’s important that you keep your life in balance. Plan time where you can simply escape pressures for awhile. Everyone needs time to relax and do something fun. Break the stress cycle with relaxation and physical activity. Consider these good coping skills:
- Set realistic goals. Don’t try to achieve more than is humanly possible.
- Learn to say no if you are already swamped. Don’t take on more responsibility than you are able to do well. If it’s your boss requesting additional work and you are already swamped ask what other jobs can take second priority while you complete this present request.
- Divide and conquer. Some tasks look so huge you can’t even get the energy to start. Divide big jobs into smaller more manageable tasks and do one task at a time.
- Set priorities daily. What is most important for you to do today? Label that an A priority. Label other less important tasks as Bs or Cs. When you’ve finished the A tasks, start on the Bs and if there is time, do the C projects. Reprioritize daily.
- Take a break when needed. Walk around. Get a drink. Stretch. Then come back ready to tackle the next task.
- Consider your own needs, too. Get adequate sleep daily. Feeling tired decreases your coping ability. Take time for a warm, nourishing meal at least once a day. Relax and do something fun daily. If you don’t add balance to your life, you’ll burn out.
- Develop a good support network – friends you can talk with and get help from when you are feeling down or discouraged or simply need a helping hand. Talking out problems with an understanding friend or spouse can help relieve the stress.
- Be physically active daily. Vigorous activity helps relieve feelings of tension and anxiety and helps you relax and feel better about yourself.
If you still feel overwhelmed and don’t know how to proceed, get help from a mental health professional. Just don’t ignore feelings of stress hoping they will go away. As you deal with the problems, you can find solutions and learn better coping skills. By learning to cope, you will be improving both your mental and physical health, and your productivity will improve.
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