Work-related stress is one of the biggest causes of anxiety.
Out of every topic that I cover with Upplifter, work-related stress is one of the most consistent stressors that my audience complains about experiencing.
But there are a few different elements that set work-related stress apart from other forms of anxiety.
- Since work takes up one-third of our lives, it’s difficult to escape.
- And since work provides us with our income and means to survive, we can’t always leave the job or find a quick fix.
This is why covering this topic is something I take to heart.
Almost every single working person experiences some level of work-related stress.
WHAT CONSTITUTES AS WORK-RELATED STRESS?
Work-related stress can take on many different forms and definitions.
Work stress can come from many areas, such as:
- Relationships with co-workers, managers, and customers.
- The work itself can be dangerous, overwhelming, volatile, etc.
- Low salary or stagnant wages.
- The effects of the work (if you work construction, for example, you may come home physically beat up.
- First responders may experience traumatic situations that affect your mental health); excessive workloads.
- Confusing and conflicting job descriptions.
- Lack of work advancement opportunities.
As you can see, there are many types of work-related stress that a person can experience.
But how do you go about handling this type of stress?
5 WAYS TO HELP REDUCE WORK-RELATED STRESS
Clearly Define The Pain Points
Pain points are the specific areas where you are struggling at work.
To begin reducing work-related stress, we first need to pinpoint exactly where the root cause of the stress is originating. Clearly defining the pain points is crucial in eventually reducing your work-related stress because you can’t fix something until you know what is broken.
For example:
Let’s say you have a boss who is a rude, arrogant micromanager. Whenever they give you a project to work on, you automatically sink in your seat with a pit in your stomach. And since you know that they will criticize your every step, you tend to work slowly to triple-check your work. Doing this is causing you to continually turn in projects late, which causes your boss to criticize you further.
At first, you think that it’s your projects causing you the issues because they are too overwhelming, and you can never complete them on time. But the real pain point is your micromanaging boss who is creating a state of fear that causes you to work too slowly.
Pain points are essential because you can create a plan to minimize their effects on you once you identify them.
Prioritize & Plan
Prioritizing and planning are essential in almost any area of life.
It’s hard to accomplish anything worthwhile without having some plan. Planning gives you the ability to view your problems from a greater perspective and gives you a jumping-off point.
Once you know what your pain points are at work, you can begin to develop a plan to combat those issues.
This plan must start with prioritizing the most critical aspects of your pain points.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is staying fully present in the moment.
One of the most exhausting work-related stress areas is that many people take that stress home with them. Compartmentalizing is difficult, and the stress from work can pour into other parts of our personal lives, our family time, and our alone time.
Learning to practice mindfulness and stay present in the moment instead of ruminating about the past or worrying about some future event at work holds many benefits, namely, helping to calm down our fight, flight, or freeze response, which can be activated when we are anxious and worrying.
Mindfulness can consist of many different activities, but meditation, journaling, or taking hikes in nature are all techniques I have found helpful.
Utilize Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is an excellent way to keep calm in stressful environments. Breathing is something we have to do every day, whether we like it or not. There is no choice in the matter. It’s as natural as any physical activity we perform, and it happens to be quite crucial to everything we do. We can use it to help initiate deeper sleep, relieve tension, and promote mindfulness. So why not use it to help us manage our work-related stress?
Implementing healthy and proven deep breathing techniques can alleviate some of the pain and suffering that anxiety causes. It naturally calms down our sympathetic nervous system, responsible for the fight, flight, or freeze response. Deep breathing is a powerful and sometimes underutilized tool in our mental health toolbox.
Learn The 90-Second Rule
The 90-second rule is a term coined by Harvard brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor.
She discovered that when a person has an emotional reaction to something in their environment, there’s a 90-second chemical process. Any emotional response beyond that 90-seconds is the person choosing to stay in that emotional loop.
What does this mean?
According to Taylor’s observation, from a neurological standpoint, we can choose moment by moment how we want to be in our environment.
So anytime you are emotionally triggered and feel that stress coming on, think of the 90-second rule and let the chemical process do run its course while you move onto a different thought.
IN REVIEW
Work-related stress affects nearly everyone at some point in their life. Learning how to cope with it in healthy ways is the key to reducing it. Many people choose unhealthy coping mechanisms that only enhance their anxiety. But managing and reducing work-related stress comes in many forms, depending on the specific job and pain points, so you must learn to adapt depending on the situation. Overall, there are many basic techniques and methods to reduce stress caused by work; you need to figure out which ones work best for you.
Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for any kind of professional advice, and you should not rely solely on this information. Always consult a professional in the medical and health area for your particular needs and circumstances prior-to making any medical or health-related decisions. For your health-related questions, please seek the advice of a licensed physician or any other qualified health care provider immediately.
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