Stress Management Article

MANAGING STRESS AT THE WORKPLACE

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Perhaps one of the highest sources of stress among adults is the workplace. It is where they spend nearly half of their waking lives. While spending a lot of time at the office is not necessarily destructive for all, the fact that most jobs involve repetition, tense environments and various kinds of people and personalities is often reason enough for some to feel as if work is bearing down on them heavily.



A lot of people, especially the ones that earn the highest salaries, complain that their jobs are the ones that are giving them the highest amounts of stress. While those who belong to the rank and file seem to be the most busy of all workplace levels, because they are the ones who are usually tasked to perform the more menial duties, it is the executives and the other higher-ups who are actually more prone to workplace stress.



This is because aside from having to make huge decisions that affect the entire office, executives hold responsibility for everyone and are the ones who are made most accountable for any victory and glitch or mistake. Thus, the pressure is bigger on them, as opposed to the rank and file who merely follow orders.



More and more offices nowadays place importance on taking care of their employees. This is because a happy employee spells greater productivity. In order for workers to do better at their jobs, bosses should always seek to feed their morale. This is often done via yearly office sports events, parties and stress management and self-improvement seminars.



Some of the more popular stress management seminars offices send their employees to are the Franklin Covey seminars, like What Matters Most and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. While these seminars do not really tackle work matters directly, they help staff respond better to any job that is given to them.



If stress management seminars are not being offered at your workplace, you can always manage your stress by yourself. Taking a short walk around the office block or simply getting yourself a cup of coffee and chatting up with colleagues during break time will help jumpstart your dwindling mood and set you up for another few hours of desk tasks. A change of scenery, even if it’s just for a few minutes, will do you good.



Even if you don’t leave your work desk, you will find that simply trying to clear your head of distractions and the work at hand for around five minutes will do wonders to your mood for the day. Simple meditation techniques like closing your eyes and breathing deeply can already do the trick. If silence is not your cup of tea, you can also try the various stress busting games available on the Internet to keep you amused for a while. Anything to get your mind off your stressor.



At the workplace, the most effective way to manage stress is not to lash out at it and throw a fit. It will only aggravate the problem. Instead, approach the situation calmly. Once you do so, the better you will be able to deal with it and, eventually, eliminate it.



Christine P. Gray is a recognized authority on the subject of stress management. Her website www.selfimprovementsguide.com provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you will need to know about self improvement. All rights reserved. Articles may be reprinted as long as the content and links remains intact and unchanged.