Managing Stress in the Workplace

Let’s face it, work can be stressful. There is pressure all around. Work load responsibilities, deadlines, balancing your work with your personal life, and personality conflicts are common.  But really doesn’t everyone have to deal with this? Is it really that bad? Shouldn’t we just “suck it up” and move on? Well let’s think about this.

Is it really that bad? The answer is yes. Stress in a workplace can be detrimental to you relationships and your health. When you are under stress you are naturally more on edge and your relationships suffer. What about your health? The effect of everyday stress on your physical health is well documented. Every time your brain senses stress it sends out a flush of hormones into your bloodstream. Under normal circumstances this process could save your life. If you are being chased by a criminal intent on hurting you then this is a good thing. However, the interesting thing about the brain is that the subconscience will not decipher the difference between a bad person chasing you down the street and a bad person yelling at you at work. For the brain the safety response is the same. So what is the answer? Manage it.

It is just a fact that most of the causes cannot be eliminated so they must be managed. There are some simple steps that can help immensely. Give these a try.

1. Be clear where the exact stress is coming from. Is it the workload, coworkers, work life balance, or maybe even your own unrealistic expectations? Which? Once you are clear the largest source you can design a plan to manage it better.
2. Make your plan reasonable and doable. If you create steps in your plan that are too hard to reach then the plan it becomes a source of stress.
3. Count to ten and breath deep. Yes that is what I said. Deep breathing is one of the fastest and simplest way to calm your brain down and release tension from your body.
4. Get up and move often. Tension will build the longer you are stationary. Movement will increase the oxygen and blood flow to your brain and that will help to reduce stress.
5. Surround yourself with the positive. This can be positive sayings around your work station or daily doses of inspirational thoughts.

I could go on with more detailed steps but these should get you started. They are fairly simple to do and easy to implement. Give them a try. Spread them out over the next 5 weeks, one step per week. By the end of the 5 weeks you should have created a strong habit and notice a decline in your day to day stress and increase in your overall emotional tone. When you manage your stress well your relationships will improve and your brain will thank you.

Julie “Brain Lady” Anderson
Brain Personality Connection Expert

Creator of the YBM Certification Program and the Mind Blowing Life transforming Events