How To Eliminate Stress At Work

How Can Employers Reduce Stress In The Workplace

Above all, when a company goes above and beyond to help their employees reduce their stress, employees are more likely to feel good about their quality of life and well-being.

When it comes to the origin of stress in the workplace, how severe stress is for employees depends on:

• The demands that are placed on them
• How much control employees have in dealing with those demands

When employees feel there is a lot demanded of them and cannot control their work-life balance and capacity, stress levels increase drastically.4

As an employer or HR professional, you hold significant power to transform your culture by supporting the mental health of your workforce and taking tangible steps to prioritize stress reduction.

Ways To Combat Workplace Stress

An employee facing workplace stress

Recent research has proved that there is a high percentage of Americans who feel workplace stress, and this percentage is only getting higher with timea survey conducted with more than 2000 full-time employees in the U.S. between the ages 18-79 showed that more than half of the people find themselves in stressful situations at work 60% of the time.

Work stress can cause various health complications. These health consequences can be minor, like becoming more susceptible to colds and flu, to more serious such as metabolic syndrome and heart disease. Constant stress at the workplace should not be ignored for an extended period.

It is challenging, if not impossible, to find a job that is not stressful in any way. The better option is to adopt coping mechanisms that can help with workplace stress. You can be facing pressure regarding various aspects of your work. Maybe you have to deal with a toxic coworker or keeping up with deadlines is causing anxiety.

Some of the everyday causes of stress at the workplace include:

• Excessive workload
• Work isnt challenging or exciting
• Fewer opportunities for growth
• Not being given enough control over work-related decisions
• Lack of support from colleagues and superiors
• Unclear or conflicting demands and performance expectations

Create A Work Environment That Decreases Stress

When employees are put in a high-stress situation whether from unclear expectations, unreasonable deadlines, or a hectic workspace they are at risk of moving into fight-or-flight mode. This is something that happens to our bodies when we feel threatened. The primal, more emotional, parts of our brains take over, and our ability to think long term, strategize, and innovate decreases. If we stay in this mode too long, eventually, we get burned out. To counter this effect, you need to build a secure work environment and incorporate stress reduction habits into your teams daily workflows.

Increase psychological safety. If your employees perceive your workplace as a threat, then you cannot build the trust your team needs to collaborate and innovate effectively. In her book, The Fearless Organization, Amy Edmondson describes three steps you can take to build psychological safety. First, make your expectations obvious by giving your employees clear goals. Second, make sure everyone feels like their voices are heard, and that everyone knows that you want their voices to be heard. You can do this by inviting people to speak up in meetings and conducting brainstorming sessions more than you impose top-down decisions. Third, develop a work environment that is both challenging and unthreatening. Let people know its okay to fail. Recognize team members who think outside the box, and ask your employees for feedback regularly to show youre all in it together.

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Provide Onsite Or Distance Counseling

Many companies have also begun providing counseling as a way for employees to help deal with stress in a recent study, almost half of workers felt they needed help in learning how to handle the stresses of their jobs. This strategyin or out of the office, in group settings or individuallycan help employees prepare for what stress will come their way.

How To Manage Stress At Work

In the working world, you have probably heard of the popular phrase taking a mental health day. Perhaps you have taken one yourself or had a compassionate boss that encouraged you to take one. Of course you would never say to others that you need a mental health day , but perhaps you called in sick and while you are not technically, its simply due to work related stress.

There is nothing like a work environment to bring about stress. It is a testing ground to be challenged, to achieve and to grow. That often times leads to stress at work. Some can take stress and use it to their advantage, thriving off competition and the adrenaline rush of attempting to meet a short turn around or deadline. They thrive off chaos and the creative process that doesnt follow a linear path. Others may feel overwhelmed and pressured they would require stress management at work. They might also prefer more structure and to work more methodically or alone.

In a work situation, interpersonal conflicts seem to take the most toll in creating work stress. Miscommunication and conflicting work styles and ethics is usually the basis for these conflicts and people generally look forward to the weekend to recover from work related stress and get away from their co-workers. Another reason could be not being able to organize oneself that leads to work stress. Sadhguru takes the example of an entrepreneur:

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How To Deal With Anxiety At Work

Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

• Getting Help

Not everyone is able to effectively manage and cope with their anxiety at work. Many people struggle with excessive worry about a variety of everyday problems related to work or their personal lives while trying to get their job done.

This type of anxiety typically disproportionate to the situation and can be debilitating. It often also results in physical symptoms like fatigue and muscle tension that can cause problems in your professional and personal life.

This article will offer tips to help you learn how to deal with workplace anxiety and discuss the common causes and symptoms.

Benefits Of Reducing Your Team’s Stress

Reducing stress for your team members can have positive effects on their well-being and the operations of the company. Some benefits of reducing stress in the workplace include:

• Increased engagement: Employees who have a clear focus and plans to manage their stress may be more likely to collaborate with others on projects and initiatives. They may also be more present in their individual work due to increased focus.

• Lower company costs: Reducing stress for employees may save organizations money on medical insurance, talent acquisition and other people-centric business expenses.

• More productive hours: Stress can affect a person’s physical body, leaving them less alert or even susceptible to illness. By eliminating workplace stress, employees may take fewer sick days, allowing for more productivity in the office.

• Stable company culture: Employees who feel that their companies care about their mental and physical health may have a more positive connection to the organization and be more likely to stay with the company rather than look for a new position in more challenging times.

Related:16 Tips for When You’re Stressed About Work

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Quick Ways To Reduce Stress

Taking care of your long-term mental and physical health is an important part of stress management. However, there isnt always time to take a nap, hike a fourteener, or read a novel. Thus, here are 25 ways to reduce stress in five minutes or less. From eating chocolate to meditating, there is a quick stress-relieving tactic for everyone.

1. BreatheSlow, deep breaths can help lower blood pressure and heart rate. Try pranayama breathing, a yogic method that involves breathing through one nostril at a time to relieve anxiety. The technique is supposed to work the same way as acupuncture, balancing the mind and body.

2. Listen to Music No matter what the song, sometimes belting out the lyrics to a favorite tune makes everything seem all right. If youre in a public place, just listening to music can be a quick fix for a bad mood. Classical music can be especially relaxing right before bedtime.

3. Take a Quick Walk When youre feeling overwhelmed or having trouble concentrating, go for a quick stroll around the block. Youll get the benefits of alone time, physical activity, and a few minutes to gather your thoughts.

4. Find the Sun If its a sunny day, head outside for an easy way to lift your spirits. Bright light can be an effective treatment for people who suffer from depression, and can even cheer up otherwise healthy people.

8. Rub Your Feet Over a Golf Ball You can get an impromptu, relaxing foot massage by rubbing your feet back and forth over a golf ball.

12. Be Alone

Tip : Reduce Stress At Work By Taking Care Of Yourself

When stress at work affects your job performance, your private life, or your health, it is time to act. First, take care of your physical and emotional health. If you take care of your own needs, you will be stronger and more resilient to stress. The better you feel, the better equipped you will be to deal with work stress without being overwhelmed.

Taking care of yourself does not require a complete lifestyle overhaul. Even small things can lift your mood, boost your energy levels, and make you feel like you’re back in the driver’s seat. Go one step at a time, and if you make more positive lifestyle choices, you’ll soon notice a reduction in your stress levels, both at home and at work.

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Stress At Work Warning Signs

When you feel overwhelmed at work, you lose confidence and may become angry, irritable, or withdrawn. Other signs and symptoms of excessive stress at work include:

• Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed
• Apathy, loss of interest in work
• Problems sleeping

• Using alcohol or drugs to cope

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Bring Some Diversions Into The Office

The team that plays together, works better together.

There are an infinite number of fun activities you can bring in to reduce workplace stress, whether theyre permanent fixtures or for a special occasion. Here are a few ideas:

• Ping pong table

• Board games

• Dog-friendly office

It may sound counterintuitive to bring diversions into a place of work, but allowing your employees to let loose during the day will help them deal with stress in the workplace and boost employee productivity and morale.

Also Check: How To Relax In Stressful Situations

Drink Alcohol In Moderation And Avoid Nicotine

Alcohol temporarily reduces anxiety and worry, but too much of it can cause anxiety when it subsides. Drinking to reduce stress at work can ultimately lead to alcohol abuse and dependence.

Similarly, smoking may have a calming effect when you feel stressed and overwhelmed, but nicotine is a powerful stimulant – leading to higher, not lower, anxiety levels.

Rely On A Strong Support Network

Keep in touch with trusted friends and family members to help cope with stressful work situations.

If youre struggling with an especially challenging work week, try asking parent friends if they can help out with carpooling your kids to school on certain days.

Having people you can rely on during the tough times can alleviate some of the built-up tension.

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Coping With Stress At Work

Working hard should not be confused with overworking at the expense of relationships and physical health.

Coping with stress at work.

Everyone who has ever held a job has, at some point, felt the pressure of work-related stress. Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. In the short-term, you may experience pressure to meet a deadline or to fulfill a challenging obligation. But when work stress becomes chronic, it can be overwhelmingand harmful to both physical and emotional health.

Unfortunately, such long-term stress is all too common. In fact, has consistently found that work is cited as a significant source of stress by a majority of Americans. You cant always avoid the tensions that occur on the job. Yet you can take steps to manage work-related stress.

Simple Ways To Reduce Stress In The Workplace

Kristin Ryba

Stress is one of the most daunting obstacles to employee engagement in the modern workplace.

Studies estimate that stress costs U.S. businesses an estimated $300 billion annually, and the workplace has been identified as the number one source of stress for American workers.

Workload, lack of job security, and personnel problems gang up on and overwhelm employees, dragging down their satisfaction levels. In fact, the negative consequences from stress are so strong that it has been declared a World Wide Epidemic by the World Health Organization.

While many have tried to construct all-encompassing lists of stress reduction tactics, recent studies have shown there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

In the workplace, employee-environment fit should be the primary focus. If it’s a good match, the employee is likely to be relaxed. A poor fit increases tension and stress.

As managers and companies, we need to examine our employees and the environments we create for them. We need to make sure we are providing an office that fits our employees’ definition of not stressful, not just what we think that looks like.

We have a few broad ideas that can be used to alleviate workplace stress, but make sure you tailor them to your workforce. Put these ideas into action and remember, the best strategies start with leaderships example.

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Know Your Paid And Unpaid Leave Policies

Speaking of which, knowing family leave policies in the country and your state are an important piece of offering employee support.

Whether or not your company decides to offer unlimited vacations, you will have to consider the varied needs and circumstances of your team. For many people, workplace stress actually centers around the difficulty of fitting life events around work such as pregnancy, family death and illness, and childcare.

Spend Time With Friends And Family

Social support from friends and family can help you get through stressful times.

Being part of a friend network gives you a sense of belonging and self-worth, which can help you in tough times.

One study found that for women in particular, spending time with friends and children helps release oxytocin, a natural stress reliever. This effect is called tend and befriend, and is the opposite of the fight-or-flight response .

Keep in mind that both men and women benefit from friendship.

Another study found that men and women with the fewest social connections were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety .

summary

Having strong social ties may help you get through stressful times and lower your risk of anxiety.

Its hard to feel anxious when youre laughing. Its good for your health, and there are a few ways it may help relieve stress:

• Relieving your stress response.
• Relieving tension by relaxing your muscles.

In the long term, laughter can also help improve your immune system and mood.

A study among people with cancer found that people in the laughter intervention group experienced more stress relief than those who were simply distracted (

Try watching a funny TV show or hanging out with friends who make you laugh.

summary

Find the humor in everyday life, spend time with funny friends or watch a comedy show to help relieve stress.

Not all stressors are within your control, but some are.

One way to do this may be to say no more often.

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Tip : Reduce Stress At Work By Breaking Bad Habits

As you learn to manage your stress at work and improve your work relationships, you will have more control over your ability to think clearly and act appropriately. You will be able to break habits that increase your stress at work – and you will even be able to change negative mindsets about things that only increase your stress.

How To Help Your Employees Reduce Stress & Increase Total Well

In just six weeks, your workforce can experience reduced stress levels and have the tools needed to control future feelings of stress.

Through Stress Free Now – an online, six-week program by Cleveland Clinic | Bravo that teaches clinically proven relaxation techniques to help employees reduce and control their feelings of stress – your employees can reduce perceived stress and increase their levels of mindfulness, psychological well-being, vitality and quality of life.

Learn more about Stress Free Now and lets talk about how we can help you build a stronger, healthier, stress-free culture:

Need actionable steps to take right now as you learn more about our Stress Free Now program? Find five strategies for managing stress in the workplace below that complement this program.

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How To Deal With Stress At Work: The 10 Best Tips

Stress affects most of us in every way from environmental factors such as a fast-approaching deadline, to psychological factors like not knowing how to create a website by ourselves. No matter the cause, your heart starts to beat fast, your breath becomes short, and you enter this state known as the fight-or-flight response. In that state, your immediate thought is to either fight off the stress quickly or run away – perhaps acting irrational or quitting your job in the worst possible scenarios.

Consistently entering the fight-or-flight response state will cause chronic stress, which can result in major health complications. We arent here to scare you though, were here to help you take control of it by tackling the number one cause of tension in most peoples lives first: Work stress!

Here are 10 tips on how to deal with stress at work: