Stress is the body’s natural reaction to pressure. That means that since there will always be pressure as one goes about living in a contemporary setting; one is bound to get exposed to stress one way or another.
The way to go about handling stress at work differs from job to job and industry to industry. However some things are constant. The same applies in the workplace. The pressures one encounters when on the job one way or another begets workplace stress. Stress at work is not entirely avoidable but it calls for attention when coping becomes a problem.
When stress surpasses threshold levels, it leads to “bad stress” otherwise known in psychology circles as distress. The bottom-line then of handling stress at work is to prevent it from becoming a distress, thereby negatively affecting our productivity, and putting the welfare of the organization in peril. In extreme cases it even goes beyond and affects other of our lives and into our family lives.
For this, I’ve developed a five step guide to handling stress at work. The first thing is identifying the causes of the stress. Causes of stress are called stressors. For one to be able to employ measures to cope with stress in the workplace, one has to be able to identify their stressors.
One of common stressors is the demands of too much work to complete in very little time especially in work involving deadlines. Other stressors could be lack of appreciation for work done including enough remuneration, competition for position among employees, improper communication between bosses and employees and poor work environments. By identifying stressors one can be able to formulate a way if not to eradicate the completely, to keep stress at manageable levels.
Second, formulating stressor management techniques is important. It would be easier to attack the problem at the source rather than deal with the stress itself. This is applying bottoms up approach to the problem. One learns how to avoid or cope with the stressors better, thereby curtailing the possibility of the stress itself.
Such measures could include reporting to work earlier in order to manage work volume, management of time, maintaining a positive attitude to other workers and bosses and learning to fit in a disadvantaged working environment rather than keep complaining about it.
Research has shown that exercising regularly also helps to boost ones morale. There exists no rule of the thumb on the best way to manage stress. Often, formulating your own method is encouraged since you are best able to do what they are comfortable with.
Next is evaluating ones progress in stressor management. After formulating your technique of handling stress at work and executing it, you need to evaluate yourself to identify progress made. One thing you need to remember is that progress may be slow, or not exist at all. That means one or all items in your technique needs improvement and measurement can prove as an indication to go back to the drawing board to redraft the method.
The Way To Go About Handling Stress At Work
The fourth guide pertains to refining/redrafting your stressor management technique. This involves coming up with more ideas to enable one to handle works stress better. This is still important even when your technique is working for you as it enables you to refine it even more hence improve its efficacy. Generally the success to handle stress at work will always entail doing cycles of this steps until the desired is reached.
Of course for one to succeed in handling workplace stress, they have to make a decision to want to do so. Such a personal approach will enable one to build up the positive attitude and the morale necessary to tackle the task at hand. Remember one thing being able to handle stress is not only important in the workplace but in all aspects of one’s life. So start with the decision today. Work towards a stress free life.
Due Daniels
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