A Guide to Dealing with Stress at Work

24 Sep 2024

What Causes Stress in the Workplace?

On the whole, work is good for our mental health. It often provides us with a sense of purpose, as well as a setting where we can connect with other people. But it can also be a source of stress.

Work-related stress can have many causes and vary greatly in its impact.

Some stress is normal, like when you’re preparing for an important presentation or working on a task for the first time. It can even be a good motivator.

However, factors like unmanageable workloads, workplace conflict or a lack of support from colleagues can cause stress to become harmful, both physically and mentally.

How to Manage Work Stress and Anxiety

Identify and Evaluate

Stress often feels all-consuming, but taking a step back to pinpoint what triggers it and how it impacts you can help you manage it better.

For example, you may identify that when you perform a certain task at work, you begin to experience stress symptoms like tightness in your chest and feelings of fatigue. 

This identification of how you’re feeling, both physically and mentally, is a form of mindfulness and provides a foundation for tackling your stress. From here, you can practise relaxation techniques to help alleviate your stress symptoms, such as breathing exercises and meditation. 

You can also start to interrogate any thoughts where you see yourself as ‘failing’ or not being ‘good enough’. You can then re-evaluate them as just that - ‘thoughts’ - not ‘truths’ that define you or how others see you.

Take Time to Recharge

Preserving a good work life balance will go a long way towards managing your stress. This balance will look different person-to-person but will almost always involve a clear delineation between work and personal time. 

Achieving this requires solid time management. Making use of tools to schedule your tasks and using reminder apps are great ways to bring structure to your work day. They also mean that you get to the end of the day with a clear picture of all you have achieved.

Talk to Someone

Leaning on your support network in times of stress is a great way to lighten the load. Friends, family and trusted colleagues can provide much needed emotional support and help you work through your feelings.

If you have a good relationship with your supervisor, it could be worth confiding in them as well. They may be able to help you adjust your workload or provide some additional coaching to make your tasks feel more manageable.

Seeking support from a mental health professional can also help. These conversations provide an outlet for your feelings of stress while also creating a forum where you can learn strategies to better manage it.

What Employers Can Do to Improve Employee Wellbeing

Employers can play an important role in reducing stress in the workplace. The benefits of this go both ways:

• Employees with lower stress and anxiety levels are likely to feel more happy, both at work and in their personal lives. 
• Employers with happier employees are likely to see an increase in productivity and job satisfaction.

Employee well-being initiatives are a great way to introduce effective stress management into the workplace. For example, a Corporate Wellness Program offers many wellness benefits for employees by providing both a physical and mental outlet for workplace stress.

On-site Stress Management Corporate Wellness Programs

We offer a number of Corporate Wellness Programs to help you improve your employee wellbeing, including Corporate Yoga, Corporate Fitness and Corporate Pilates.

Are you interested in organising a program for your workplace? Get in contact today!

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