Table of Contents
5 Tips for the Employee
1. Exercise and Nutrition
While maintaining a healthy diet and exercising more won’t make your stress automatically go away, it will help to lower the intensity of the emotions you are going through and help you feel much better. This way, you will be in a better position to clear your thoughts and approach issues in a calm and more effective manner. Scientific research also shows that physical exercise can:
– improve your self-esteem
– help you set and focus on achieving goals or objectives
– induce neurological changes that help to boost your mood
2. Work Smarter Instead of Working Harder
One of the best ways to avoid work-related stress is to ‘work smarter, not harder’. This working strategy allows you to minimize unnecessary workload and lets you keep to your work schedule. Try this work time tracker. Too much work and the need to complete one’s work on time are some of the key contributors to workplace stress.
3. Establish Boundaries
With the world becoming increasingly digital and people having the ability to continue their work at home, it has become more difficult to establish a healthy work-life balance. Given our innate desire to succeed at work, many people now feel obligated to work longer hours. And this often leads to unnecessary stress. To avoid this, you need to establish a clear boundary between your work life and your home life. Set rules for yourself and abide by them. For instance, you can set the time that you will be leaving work each day. Another rule can be no coming home with work equipment and that your work emails and alerts should be switched off as soon as you leave work. Establish rules that work for you and enable you to create a healthier work-life balance.
4. Identify Your Stressors
For you to properly deal with your stress, you first need to identify what is causing it and work on it. A great way to track your stressors is to keep a journal. Note down the things, situations, and circumstances that increase your stress levels. Record how these stressors make you feel and note your reaction to them. Do this for a number of weeks. Tracking your stressors will help you to better identify patterns that contribute to your stress.
5. Connect with a Colleague
Everyone has that one colleague that they get along with so well. When you have a colleague that you can connect with and talk to, you will be able to distract yourself from your stressful situation. They may also provide you with a solution for your issue.
5 Tips for the Employer
1. Set Up a Chillout Zone
A chillout zone will offer your employees a suitable spot at the workplace where they can go and destress if they need to. Consider adding plants, board games, hammocks, books, and bean bags. It will help to get your employees involved in setting up the place. Having a chillout zone will offer an excellent way of reducing work-related stress.
2. Adjust Your Policies
It isn’t uncommon for employees to ask for time off when they become stressed, are dealing with chronic work-related stress, or the stress has become unhealthy. It is important that you, as an employer, keep this in mind and adjust your policies for time off accordingly.
3. Think About Flexible Working Options
Allowing for more flexible working schedules goes a long way in reducing workplace stress. You should consider offering your employees the option to work remotely and for flexible hours. After all, you chose to hire your employees because you believe in them and their abilities to deliver. Offering flexible working options will not only help to reduce workplace stress but will also help to improve employee morale and work-life balance.
4. Appreciate Your Employee
Failure to recognize or appreciate your employee’s contribution to the company may be causing them unnecessary stress. When one’s hard work isn’t being recognized, it may cause them to have irrational thoughts about their work and performance which leads to unreasonable stress.
5. Offer Meditation Classes
Another great way to reduce workplace stress is to offer meditation classes to your employees. Meditation and mindfulness go a long way in minimizing immediate stress and prevents chronic stress.
