Strategies From a Wellness Expert For Managing Stress In The Workplace
Article by Beverly Beuermann-King posted in March in the Work Smart Live Smart blog.
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Almost half our waking hours are spent earning a living. For many people, a job provides more than just an income; it is a significant portion of their identity. It can determine their self-worth, their accomplishments, and successes. Managing stress in the workplace by holding a stress management workshop is so important.
Many Canadians experience an enormous amount of stress from their workplace. In fact, the Ontario Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association stated that almost half of Canadians reported feeling overwhelmed by their job. The Conference Board of Canada Canadians are feeling more stress than they did 10 years ago.
What Does Job Stress Feel Like?
Pessimism, dissatisfaction, lowered concentration, decreased motivation, accidents, absenteeism, and poor health are all symptoms of job stress. Lost wages, decreased productivity, and increased medical bills have a negative financial impact on the person, their family, company, and society as a whole. Managing job stress makes sense.
The top 6 sources of workplace stress tend to be:
- job dissatisfaction
- physical conditions
- work overload or underload
- scheduling
- unclear demands or lack of control
- job security
Simple strategies can be employed once the sources of stress have been clearly identified.
Matching appropriate and positive coping strategies to these sources can help to decrease the stress felt by the employee.
Coping strategies should help to decrease the effects of the particular source of stress, while additional techniques should be focused directly on personal well-being.
Beverly’s Hot Strategies For Managing Stress In The Workplace
An employee can best minimize job stress by utilizing a number of different kinds of strategies. These types of strategies could include ensuring ‘me’ time, eating well, adequate sleep, hobbies, exercise, and/or talking about difficult issues to a confidant.
As a leader, there are many opportunities to learn more about stress management and the ways that you can support your team. Consider hosting a live in-person or virtual stress management workshop with a qualified instructor who can lead you and your team through tailored resiliency strategies for your environment.
Remember, there is never a shortage of solutions, when pointed in the right direction.
Sources:
Denise Burnett
The best way I reduce my stress at work is to plan my time, identify my priorities, and create a to do list that I can work away at. Seeing it all written down in manageable pieces is much less daunting and overwhelming than keeping it all in my head. And I ask for clarification on priorities if there are too many competing tasks. Personally I make sure I take my lunches and step away from my desk. A break is necessary for refreshing the mind and allowing for different perspectives. Some of my biggest issues have been resolved right after coming back from a break.
This is a great tip! Thank you, Denise 😁
Beverly Beuermann-King
These are great Denise!
Caitlin Henderson, PCP
When I am feeling stressed at work, I will often go for a walk. Moving my body, not looking at a screen, focused breathing and some fresh air often help me to regain control of the stress. As a bonus I often come up with a solution on those short walks.
These are great tips, and it’s so true that sometimes we get the best ideas when we wind down. Thank you, Caitlin!