Effective Tips for Reducing Job Stress
Most jobs are stressful at one time or another. According to the UK’sHealth and Safety Executive, in the UK “the total number of cases of stress in 2010/11 was 400,000 out of a total of 1,152,000 for all work-related illnesses.” However, if your job is stressful more often than not, and for a prolonged period of time, you need to find effective ways of dealing with it if you are to maintain your health and sanity. There are a number of ways that you can do this.
Pinpoint the cause of the stress
People become stressed in different ways; no two people are the same. You could be stressed because you are drowning under the amount of work you need to do. Then again, it could be the responsibility you are bearing, or your relationship with colleagues and/or managers. It may not even be anything to do with work; sometimes the stress of your private life can encroach on your working one. When you’re busy, it isn’t always easy to recognise what it is that stresses you out, but it is only when you have done so that you can take steps to deal with it.
Decide how you could resolve the matter
Once you have pinpointed what it is that is bothering you the most, work out ways that the matter could be resolved. It could simply be a matter of saying no to new tasks. No-one will expect you to do more than you are physically able, so explain that you would like to help but that you simply don’t have the time. If it is an issue with another employee, you may be able to ease stress by talking to the person in question, or asking someone else to mediate.
Speak to your manager
When you have an idea of the issue that is bothering you in the most effective manner, make an appointment to speak to your manager about it. He needs to know that you are experiencing stress and, unless he is particularly hard-hearted, he should be able to see that you are in need of help. This could come in a number of forms; for example, by re-assessing workloads in general, or offering practical help in some other way. Don’t be tempted to hide the fact that you are stressed.
Broaden your social life
Another way of dealing with stress is to work it out of your system in your spare time. If you go home from work and then worry about it all evening, your stress levels will soar. Find a new hobby, exercise your frustrations away and make some new friends at the same time. Learn to talk to people about your problems. A happy, active social life will make you a more rounded person and will enable you to cope with the vagaries of your working life.
Seek professional help
If you have reached the point where stress is taking over your life – perhaps you aren’t sleeping or eating properly - and your physical and mental health is beginning to suffer, then seeking professional help is a sensible approach. Speak to your doctor in the first instance. He or she may advise you to try counselling, or, if necessary, medication to help you work through the stress. However, it may be more practical to deal with the cause of the stress rather than try and bypass it.
Leave your job
Ultimately, you spend a lot of your life at work. If stress is beginning to get the better of you, then consider leaving, ideally after finding another job first. However, if it is necessary to leave without another job to go to, then do so. No job, or pay packet, is worth so much that it leaves you unable to enjoy life properly. If you need financial assistance, you can almost always find a solution if you try and, in the long term, it will be of enormous benefit to your overall health and happiness.
Stress can be dealt with if you think clearly and don’t let it get the better of you. Don’t wait until you are in such a state that you can no longer cope with life.
