Tips for Managing Workplace Stress

1. Tips for Managing Workplace Stress By Mary G. White, SPHR Provided by LoveToKnow.com

2. Managing Workplace Stress • It’s not realistic to eliminate all stress from work, as stress is a fact of life. • Every job involves stress to some degree • Some stress is positive and some is negative • There is not a one-size-fits all solution to managing workplace stress.

3. Managing Workplace Stress • Learning how to manage stress begins with: • Recognizing situations that lead to stress • Separating positive stress from negative • Accepting the reality of unavoidable negative stressors • Implement strategies to minimize the impact of unavoidable stressors • Take steps to eliminate unnecessary negative stressors

4. Identifying Work-Related Stressors • Learning to managing stress starts with recognizing what causes you to feel stressed. • To identify your primary sources of stress (i.e., stressors), you’ll need to identify the work-related situations that lead to feelings of negative stress. • Certain situations? _________________________________________ • Certain people? ___________________________________________ • Certain types of tasks? ______________________________________

5. Identifying Work-Related Stressors • Pay attention to when you feel the most stressed over a period of time to determine your primary stressors. • Keeping a stress journal may be helpful: • http://cf.ltkcdn.net/stress/files/2002-Stress-Journal-Page.pdf

6. Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions • Stressor: Looming deadlines • Set and follow pre-deadlines for yourself (i.e., trick yourself into thinking it’s due sooner than it really is) • Establish and keep up with project milestones • Avoid putting off projects until the last minute

7. Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions • Stressor: Keeping track of tasks with a lot of steps • Make yourself a checklist and follow it • Come up with an acronym to make it easier to remember the steps • For example – “RACE to fire safety!” is an acronym that stands for Rescue, Alarm, Contain, Extinguish) • Practice the task until you start to feel comfortable with it

8. Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions • Stressor: Discovering that co-workers haven’t done what you need when it’s too late to find an alternative • Review progress with co-workers periodically, actually looking at work-to-date rather than just asking how things are going • Have a contingency plan in mind from the beginning of the project, just in case someone doesn’t meet obligations

9. Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions • Stressor: Feeling like circumstances are beyond your control • Recognize that you cannot control everything • Don’t spend effort and energy trying to change what you cannot control; accept what you can’t control and move on • Focus instead on accomplishing your goals in light of whatever limitations you must work within

10. Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions • Stressor: Co-workers handling situations different from the way you would handle them • Accept that there is more than one right way to accomplish a task • Realize that trying to get everyone to do things your way will make you seem like a micromanager • Focus on the goal or objective rather than the method; if their approach works, don’t stress over it

11. Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions • Stressor: Participation in professional associations, community organizations and company task forces or committees is taking too much time. • Make a list of which “extra-curricular activities” are the most valuable and meaningful to you at this time in your life • Step away from the activities that don’t make the list, realizing that you can always go back later if circumstances change • Remember: It’s better to do a few things well than to try to spread yourself to thin and end up stressed out or making a negative impression on others

12. Individual Solutions These are just a tiny portion of the many types of workplace stress paired with a few potential solutions; use these ideas to brainstorm a list that meets your individual needs.

13. Ongoing Process Learning how to manage stress is an ongoing process, but it requires a solution-focused mindset. Remember: • Identify the stressors you experience at work • Try to eliminate the ones that are unnecessary • Come up with workable solutions for the ones that are inevitable