Tip : Dont Skimp On Sleep
You may feel like you just dont have the time get a full nights sleep. But skimping on sleep interferes with your daytime productivity, creativity, problem-solving skills, and ability to focus. The better rested you are, the better equipped youll be to tackle your job responsibilities and cope with workplace stress.
Improve the quality of your sleep by making healthy changes to your daytime and nightly routines. For example, go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, be smart about what you eat and drink during the day, and make adjustments to your sleep environment. Aim for 8 hours a nightthe amount of sleep most adults need to operate at their best.
Turn off screens one hour before bedtime. The light emitted from TV, tablets, smartphones, and computers suppresses your bodys production of melatonin and can severely disrupt your sleep.
Avoid stimulating activity and stressful situations before bedtime such as catching up on work. Instead, focus on quiet, soothing activities, such as reading or listening to soft music, while keeping lights low.
Stress and shift work
Working night, early morning, or rotating shifts can impact your sleep quality, which in turn may affect productivity and performance, leaving you more vulnerable to stress.
Listen To Soothing Music
Listening to music can have a very relaxing effect on the body.
Slow-paced instrumental music can induce the relaxation response by helping lower blood pressure and heart rate as well as stress hormones.
Some types of classical, Celtic, Native American and Indian music can be particularly soothing, but simply listening to the music you enjoy is effective too .
Nature sounds can also be very calming. This is why theyre often incorporated into relaxation and meditation music.
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Ways To Reduce Workplace Stress
Stressed out employees are bad for profits and morale. Heres how to help your team perform at their very best.
Have you ever had a day at work when your mind was somewhere else and you couldnt focus? It might have had something to do with stress, or maybe even stress at work itself.
According to the Harvard Gazette, 36% of U.S. workers suffer from workplace stress and it costs U.S. businesses $30 billion a year in lost workdays.
Stress is a normal part of work and life, but too much of it can have dire effects on team morale and productivity. As a business leader, how can you de-stress your employees lives so they perform at their very best? We have a few ideas.
Psst…we have an entire toolkit around employee happiness complete with team bonding ideas and an employee happiness survey. You .
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Ways To Keep Work Stress Out Of Your Relationship
Now more than ever, it is important that we strive to gain and maintain work-life balance. According to one study, 52 percent of employees say that job demands interfere with family or home responsibilities, while 43 percent say that home and family responsibilities interfere with job performance. These statistics show just how overworked people are, especially when they feel as if their home life is interfering with their work.
As a psychologist, I see it as a stress cycle. The stress at work causes stress at home, and then the stress of neglecting home affects the person’s work performance and further increases their stress at work. In this economy, people are working around the clock so it appears that personal things seem to interfere with their job performance.
Right now some people have the responsibilities of 2-3 different roles. Their job day starts earlier and ends later, and everyone has one, if not two cell phones. People are working so much that they don’t have the time and energy to maintain work-life balance and healthy relationships.
When things get out of balance and their personal relationship becomes stressed, that stress will seep into their work life. It seems that personal responsibilities are impinging upon work because work has become so demanding that it prevents people from getting home early to spend time with family or from having time during the day to call their significant other.
Make Food Choices That Keep You Going
Low blood sugar can cause anxiety and irritability, while eating too much can make you lethargic. A healthy diet can help you get through stressful work days. By eating small but frequent meals, you can help your body maintain an even blood sugar level, maintain your energy levels, stay focused and avoid mood swings.
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Stretch / Walk It Out
Cue DJ Unks Walk It Out. Getting up from your work station and moving your body is the key to work from home success. While we may not do it enough when were in-office , getting in some movement is vital to keeping your spirits up. Just 15 minutes a day can really make a difference. We love going for a walk around our neighborhood or stretching it out with friends like Yoga with Adriene or Fitness Blender. Hot Tip: A quick yoga sesh or HIIT workout can do wonders to your morale.
Offer Mental And Physical Health Benefits
If your employees are feeling profound effects of stress, its likely that their mental and physical health will suffer as well. Providing a safety net to address those problems will help the overall health of your employees and of your organization.
According to a study conducted by Justworks, 41% of small- to medium-sized employers provide their employees access to benefits. Although offering access to a benefits package can feel expensive at first, it has plenty of returns.
Employees with access to health insurance will perform better and be more loyal to the company, as well. According a study by Aflac, 26% of small business employees would move to a larger company for better benefits offerings.
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Make A Dedicated Workspace
If you can, find a quiet space away from people and distractions like the TV .
Get everything you need in one place, before you start work chargers, pens, paper and anything else and shut the door if you can. Even in a small or shared space, try to designate an area for work.
Lastly, get comfortable. While it might be tempting to sit on the sofa, it’s much better to sit at a desk or table. Use the NHS guidelines to set up your workspace correctly, as much as you possibly can.
If you do not have office furniture like an adjustable chair, try using things like cushions to support you in your chair, or a box as a footrest.
Make A Schedule And Stick To It
Sometimes we can overcommit, and when we do so, we might not be able to do everything, or we might find ourselves losing sleep trying to get everything done. This goes back to setting boundaries and limits. The Mayo Clinic suggests making a list of family events on a weekly calendar so you have a plan and know what youre doing outside of work. I think this can be said for all your commitments, personal and work. If you have everything mapped out, youll know your bandwidth and be realistic about your availability.
Time is so valuable, so keeping track of how youre spending your time and whats being asked of you can empower you to say no to the things you cant physically or mentally take on .
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Simple Tips To Tackle Working From Home
The coronavirus outbreak has meant big life changes for us all, including adjusting to new ways of working. While some of us have returned to our normal workplace, many are still working from home or going through a phased return.
Working from home does have perks that some of us enjoy , but for many among us, changes like these have been challenging too.
Feeling stress, lack of motivation, anxiety and uncertainty is completely normal. Alongside this, many of us might be worried about future job prospects or the best way to juggle work with our personal and family life.
These simple tips can help you feel more productive and motivated, and take care of your mental health while working from home.
Negative Effects At The Company Level
While stress can be harmful to the employee, it also has the potential to damage the company due to increased staff absence due to sickness, poor productivity, high turnover, low morale, poor motivation, and increased employee complaints .
The American Institute of Stress estimates the cost of stress to U.S. industry to be over $300 billion annually.
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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.
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.
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Heres How To Leave Work Stress Behind
When your workday is done, do you still carry much of the stress of your work with you into your off-work hours?
Whether you work at home or go to an office, its important for there to be a separation between your work and personal life. Without a clear gap, you will not be able to de-stress, and being able to leave that stress behind is crucially important to your quality of life.
Keeping your stress with you can also result in chronic stress, which contributes to many serious health issues.
If youre finding that you continue to think about work events after working hours or youre having difficulty with letting go of your stress, consider these tips to de-stress, so you can enjoy your time away from work.
Taking Steps To Manage Stress
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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.
Unplug On The Way Home
Whether your commute is 15 minutes or 55 minutes, that can be time that you can use wisely to do things that will improve your mindset when you walk in the door. I try to use my commute usually to have some me time, says Christopher Willard, Psy.D, a psychologist and the author of Growing Up Mindful and Raising Resilience. Willard listens to music, calls an old friend to catch up, or simply pays attention to how beautiful the drive is. Practicing gratitude on the drive home to arrive in a better mood about what went well and who I appreciate at the office, he says. Hell, even doing some deep breathing on the commute, especially the last part of it to walk in the door feeling better. If you work from home, then go for a walk around the block or have some sort of routine.
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Tips To Prevent Workplace Stress
Preventing and reducing workplace stress is preferable to finding ways to cope or recover.
The following tips help reduce the likelihood of feeling overloaded and overwhelmed :
- Practice self-compassion, permitting yourself to make mistakes. Rather than dwell on the past, learn from it and improve your performance.
- Picture the overall goal or purpose and reflect on the why behind your behavior. You will be more likely to stop and plan rather than burn too much energy on being busy.
- Use routines whenever possible. Each new task and choice takes time and creates mental tension, so find ways to reduce the number of decisions.
- Interesting activities replenish energy. Being curious and finding something that captivates you will help you recharge.
- Add when and where to every item on your task to avoid the week slipping away without getting everything done on time.
- Consider situations and events that trigger stress. Come up with a set of ifthen plans . Planning for the worst will leave you prepared and less stressed if it happens.
- Striving for perfection can lead to procrastination and even burnout. Focus on being good and on improving, rather than setting standards you cant meet.
- Reflect on past successes and the progress you have already made. You have come a long way give yourself the credit you deserve.
- Recognize what motivates you. Life is full of opportunities find what excites you and apply yourself to the challenge.
Tip : Beat Workplace Stress By Reaching Out
Sometimes the best stress-reducer is simply sharing your stress with someone close to you. The act of talking it out and getting support and sympathyespecially face-to-facecan be a highly-effective way of blowing off steam and regaining your sense of calm. The other person doesnt have to fix your problems they just need to be a good listener.
Turn to co-workers for support. Having a solid support system at work can help buffer you from the negative effects of job stress. Just remember to listen to them and offer support when they are in need as well. If you dont have a close friend at work, you can take steps to be more social with your coworkers. When you take a break, for example, instead of directing your attention to your smartphone, try engaging your colleagues.
Lean on your friends and family members. As well as increasing social contact at work, having a strong network of supportive friends and family members is extremely important to managing stress in all areas of your life. On the flip side, the lonelier and more isolated you are, the greater your vulnerability to stress.
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Use Your Mobile Phones
Use mobile phones? Are you serious? Is mobile the solution for how not to bring work stress home? A lot of questions come into your mind when you read this. But yes, a mobile phone is one of the ways that stop you from bringing work stress home. So how to do it? The answer is pretty simple. Stop checking your phone for emails rather, use it for some soothing and relaxing experience. Download apps for a work stress test and other apps with soothing music and videos to relax your mind and reduce your stress level. Use the test to calculate your work stress.
Once you learn not to bring work stress home, your life will be much easier and happier. You will spend more time at home and with your family. You will learn to separate your work and personal life.
How To Reduce Stress At Work For Employers
Having understood the causes and consecuences, How can employers reduce stress at workplace? You can take some actions, starting with assuming positive leadership and staying calm in stressful situations.
It is important that you consult your employees about what factors can be stressful at work, and that you talk to them to reduce the uncertainty of their futures. Listening to them and having face-to-face meetings will make them feel heard and valued. Give them the opportunity to participate in the decisions that affect their work, make them feel involved.
You must deal with conflict by respecting the dignity of each employee and establishing zero tolerance for harassment and violence. Avoid unrealistic deadlines and make sure the tasks are right for each employee based on their abilities and resources. Make your expectations clear, define roles, responsibilities, and goals for each other. Above all, make sure that managements actions are aligned with the values that you proclaim.
Offering awards and incentives, recognizing achievements and planning potentially stressful work periods are also actions that help reduce stress, as well as promote social interaction between employees.
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Symptoms Of Workplace Stress: 3 Examples
Unfortunately, workplace stress doesnt remain in our place of work it follows us home.
With more people working remotely and able to work anytime and anywhere, there is even more spillover of workplace stress into our home lives .
A stressful work environment can contribute to problems such as headache, stomachache, sleep disturbances, short temper, and difficulty concentrating.
American Psychological Association, 2018
Over time, the symptoms of workplace stress may become chronic, damaging physical and mental health.
Prolonged occupational stress resulting from extended, frequent, or intense stressors leads to distress, occurring in one or more of the following forms .
