PAM's Talent Management Blog

It’s Time to Say Good-Bye to Workplace Stress!

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People encounter stress in every aspect of life but especially at work. Stress at work can be caused by co-workers, the work environment, or the workload itself. Still, no matter where it comes from, it’s important for your health that you learn how to reduce the stress you’re feeling.

Below are five ways to help you deal with stress:

1. Time Management/Organization Skills: A good way to start is by making lists or goals for everything you need to finish as well as everything you would like to accomplish. First, make lists of what you need to do each day. Before leaving work every day take five minutes to list everything that needs to be done the next day, so when you get in the next morning you have a place to start. After you have a system for the day to day things, work on setting longer term goals for the week, month, and year. The reason for this is to help you look forward, allowing you to spread out projects over the proper amount of time. This will help prevent everything from piling up so that it does not become overwhelming.
2. Taking Breaks: Every once in a while taking a five minute break can be extremely beneficial. Concentrating on work for long periods of time can be stressful. A good way to deal with this is by stepping out of the office for a few minutes and taking a little walk outside. Use the time to clear your mind and breathe. Allow yourself to think of things other than work.
3. Activities/ Exercise: Becoming aggravated with co-workers or the work you’re doing does happen. How you deal with that aggravation is the key! It’s important to have an outlet other than blowing up in the work place. One of the best ways to help reduce stress is physical activity. A company softball team is an excellent way to get exercise and mingle with co-workers. If you don’t have a company team, it might be beneficial to start one. A company garden is another way to stay active, as it allows people to take a break from work and get some fresh air. Try to find something that will absorb you completely and invites you to forget about work and worries.
4. Listening! Whenever there is a disagreement in the workplace there can be a lot of tension between everyone involved. A way to help reduce the amount of tension is to seek out the person you have the issue with and truly listen to what they have to say. Sometimes the problem is that you don’t understand what the other person is trying to say and you have been assuming they are saying something completely different. It can help to rephrase what the other person has told you. This proves that you understand and were listening to their thoughts. It also means that when you speak they should give you the same courtesy. Talking it out helps because it allows everyone to see the problem clearly.
5. ASKING FOR HELP! Just because you want to be able to do everything doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to…at least not by yourself. Things can become overwhelming and sometimes people are embarrassed to ask for help. But asking for help can be the best thing for you and the organization.

Learning how to reduce stress can be beneficial in all aspects of life. When things become overwhelming, take a step back and breathe. Then try to solve the problem one step at a time.