Stress is a universal experience. If you think you're the only one getting stressed out by your circumstances, you'd be wrong! Stress can occur for a number of different reasons - from burnout to insecurities to problems in your personal or professional life, there could be any number of reasons for stress.
Avoiding stress is necessary, though. While some amount of stress can be good for providing motivation, if it crosses a certain threshold it can easily become a serious problem, resulting in other issues like decrease in productivity, declining mental health and even physical health issues like musculoskeletal disorders.
It's not a hopeless case, though. There are ways to reduce workplace stress. Let's look at some of them.
What is Workplace Stress?
Before we go into how to reduce it, we need to identify what workplace stress is.
Stress isn't about the situation at hand, but rather our reaction to it. In a severe situation, people are likely to be more stressed, but even then, stress levels will vary. Sometimes people may get stressed by a situation that isn't considered stressful by others, but the reaction itself is one of stress.
While environmental stressors will vary from person to person, there are some common factors. For example, major life events can be stressful, like moving to a new country or switching jobs. Illnesses and injuries can be stressful, and even daily life hassles like being stuck in traffic.
In the workplace, there are many different things that could stress you out. Short deadlines can be stressful, as can overwhelming workload. Having poor relationships at work can be a major source of stress for some people, while the salary and compensation could be a problem for others.
A major cause of stress for most people - in the workplace or not - is that of physical injury. The reason behind this is rather understandable, since injuries will hinder your ability to get things done efficiently and as productively as you would otherwise. Injuries may also contribute to existing workplace stressors, since you may not be able to keep up with heavy workloads, or find that your injury makes you worry about your job security.
When you're stressed, you'd have poor time management due to your worries and distractions, issues with focusing and interacting with your peers and colleagues and reduced productivity. Unfortunately, all of these factors will only serve to stress you out even more, and you'll get stuck in that horrible loop of stress and stress and more stress.
However, there are ways out of this vicious cycle! You can't get rid of the stressors present in the environment, but you can make a difference in how you approach these stressors. Let's consider some of the ways to avoid workplace stress.
Dealing With Workplace Stress
While stress is admittedly difficult to deal with, making a few changes to how you approach the workplace is necessary.
Communicate More Openly
There are plenty of jokes about the relationship between employees and their bosses, but there is some truth to these. One of the biggest stressors in the workplace is a negative relationship between employees and their bosses. Of course, not everyone has a bad relationship, but for the people who do, this is a major contributor.
ONe way to reduce this problem is to be more open about communication. This will go both ways, of course, and there are understandably some barriers that prevent employees from being too open with their supervisors. However, having more positive communication can reduce some of the stress of dealing with emotional regulation or harsh feedback and even conflict management.
When employees and their bosses communicate more openly, stress levels are likely to decline in both parties.
Take Care of Mental and Physical Health
Stress doesn't just stop at making you feel worried, it can have a serious effect on your mental and physical health as well. Prolonged stress may even end up causing long-term issues like anxiety and depression, as well as physical health problems like high blood pressure, breathing problems and other such issues.
If you feel that you are stressed out and that it's taking a toll on your health, getting help for it should be one of your priorities. Not everyone can reduce the stressors in their lives, but what they can do is try to change their own mindset so that they are not as stressed out by them.
This is easier said than done, but with professional help, it's not impossible. Taking care of your physical health by working out regularly and eating a balanced diet, as well as mental health by meditating and having someone to talk to and help you regulate your emotions can do a great deal to minimize stress levels, and thus improve your quality of life.
Take a Break
Sometimes, no matter how much you communicate openly and manage your health, stress levels can get too much and you're unable to deal with them. In this case, the best option would be to distance yourself from the stressors, even if it's just for a while.
Employees are often wary of utilizing their vacation days because they may feel like they are falling behind. However, vacation days are provided for this reason: to rejuvenate and take time off from work so that you don't end up burning yourself out and losing your productivity.
Take breaks when needed, and remove the stressors from your life so you can focus on other things and cleanse your mind. Then, when you come back to work, you can address these sources of stress with a fresh and new perspective and be able to deal with them a lot better.
An Ergonomic Workstation
Many times, stressors don't have to be about how you interact with the environment, but about the physical aspect of the environment itself.
For example, you may think you're worried about your workload, but you may actually be worried about the fact that your body is in pain and you're working too slowly to meet your deadline, and your workstation setup is such that it doesn't let you work any faster without making your body hurt more.
Sound familiar? There are thousands of people who face this problem everyday.
Having a good workstation is necessary to make sure you're not just exhausting yourself physically, but also maintaining your productivity. Remember: physical health and mental health are tied together. Declining mental health always has an effect on your physical body, and vice versa.
If your setup is one that requires you to bend your body in unnatural ways and causes you pain, then your productivity may be impacted, not to mention you'd be distracted by the pain. This results in stress - not just from your looming deadlines, but also from your aching body.
Unless you change your workstation, this problem will just keep dragging.
One of the best ways to set up a good workstation is to opt for a standing desk. Not only does this allow you to incorporate good ergonomics in your workday, but it also allows you to offset some of the negative effects of sitting for too long.
When your health is not at risk because of your work, thats one less stressor to worry about, and you'll find that you have the brainspace and the physical and mental stability to handle other sources of stress a lot better than you would otherwise.
FlexiSpot E5
When it comes to standing desks, there is no better option than the FlexiSpot E5. The most notable feature about this desk is the height adjustment. You can adjust the height of the desk to whatever works best for you and your body type so that your posture is corrected and you don't put yourself at risk of any musculoskeletal disorders, thus reducing that stressor.
But it can do more than that! With the height adjustment ranging from 24" to 50" this desk allows you to work while standing as well. This way, you are able to avoid the problems that come from sitting for long stretches of time, and maintain good health. Standing desks also have a positive impact on your overall productivity and health.
The desk has an improved dual motor lifting system which allows the desk to move up or down with ease and remain stable while doing so. You don't have to worry about the desk wobbling even if it's at the highest height, so your work items stay safe as you adjust the top up and down.
There is also an advanced keypad panel that lets you input 3 height presets. This way, you don't have to fiddle around with different heights to find the one that works for you every time. You can simply choose the preset one, and your desk will be perfect for you to work at. The desk also has a sit-stand reminder that reminds you about standing after you've been sitting for a long time. This notification will also help you remember to fix your posture, even if you're not necessarily standing.
Taking the step to reduce stress is quite difficult, even when you really want to do it. With these tips, however, you can make a difference.