Five Tips For Managing Stress At Work

April is National Stress Awareness Month and with this in mind, now is probably a good time to think about one of our greatest stressors … work. Since studies show that Americans dedicate an average of 80% of our waking hours to work related activities, it would make sense that work related issues contribute to the majority of our stress.

Most of us can’t quit our jobs and quite frankly, quitting your job is not going to lesson your stress. Taking a step back and reframing both how you view your work life and how you manage your work life, can improve your quality of life. Check out these five quick and easy tips, try one or two and see the difference that they can make.

1. Plan your activities: It is important to timetable responsibilities, both on a daily basis and long-term. Plan out the, what, why, how, when, and who will do the job. By placing specific duties into a timeframe, you’ll be able to easily identify the weak link, address the issue and move forward.

2. Organize your time on a daily basis: Make a list of issues; give priority to the most important or the most pressing issues. At the end of each day check what you’ve completed. If you find that certain tasks or issues are not being addressed, re-evaluate your list.

3. Don’t hesitate to ask: In the fast paced world of today’s workplace, tasks and responsibilities often change. It is hardly a black mark against you to ask a question if you are unsure. However, not getting clarification and failing to deliver, will be.

4. Contribute to a positive environment at work: Be open for discussions, have good communication with others and do not be afraid of positive critique. Keep in mind individual differences, some people perform better under pressure, others need more time to organize their work. Knowing the work style of your colleagues is a positive when a project needs to be completed.

5. Take a break and delegate: Yes, you are allowed to take a breather. Break for a few minutes several time throughout the day and learn how to let go. For any Type A personality, delegating responsibilities can be tricky. But learning to delegate responsibility is necessary unless you prefer burnout.

Not a single one of the above tips are going to solve your work stress, but they will help you to begin to identify specific areas where you are able to begin to make changes. In my opinion, an area to really focus upon is a positive work environment. For those that are in supervisory positions, you set the tone of the work environment. Having a positive and energetic attitude is infectious and will help your employees to feel more positive … leading to more productivity and less stress for you.

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