Strategies For Managing Stress In The Workplace

Managing Stress In The Workplace

Almost half our waking hours are spent earning a living. For many people, a job provides more than just an income; it is a significant portion of their identity. It can determine their self-worth, their accomplishments, and successes.

Are You The Only One Who Is Stressed Out At Work?

Many Canadians experience an enormous amount of stress from their workplace. In fact, the Ontario Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association stated that almost half of Canadians reported feeling overwhelmed by their job. The Conference Board of Canada Canadians are feeling more stress than they did 10 years ago.

What Does Job Stress Feel Like?

Pessimism, dissatisfaction, lowered concentration, decreased motivation, accidents, absenteeism, and poor health are all symptoms of job stress. Lost wages, decreased productivity, and increased medical bills have a negative financial impact on the person, their family, company, and society as a whole. Managing job stress makes sense.

The top 6 sources of workplace stress tend to be:

job dissatisfaction
physical conditions
work overload or underload
scheduling
unclear demands or lack of control
job security

Simple strategies can be employed once the sources of stress have been clearly identified.

Matching appropriate and positive coping strategies to these sources can help to decrease the stress felt by the person. A person can best minimize job stress by utilizing a number of different kinds of strategies.

Coping strategies should help to decrease the effects of the particular source of stress, while additional techniques should be focused directly on personal well-being. Beverly Beuermann-King Click to tweet

Beverly’s Hot Strategies For Managing Stress In The Workplace

These types of strategies could include ensuring ‘me’ time, eating well, adequate sleep, hobbies, exercise, and/or talking about difficult issues to a confidant.

Many opportunities exist to learn more about stress management. The local library or bookstore has many interesting and informative resources, as well, the internet has all kinds of tidbits around particular sources of stress. Information workshops help to build skills, while learning and sharing with others who may also be dealing with similar issues. More interactive assistance may be received by contacting human resources, a community counselor or therapist, or your family doctor or psychiatrist. Remember, there is never a shortage of solutions, when pointed in the right direction.

If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!