June 14, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

The workplace is full of frustrations, deadlines and demands. Unfortunately, throw in your personal strains too, and stress becomes a way of life. Stress is not uncommon, but can be damaging to your health, productivity and relationships. Determining your own stressors and how to manage them, is the first step to reducing stress.

Here are some common workplace stressors, and tips to manage each one:

Lack of Knowing; Solution: Weekly Team Meetings

Very little is more stressful than the uncertainty about the direction of the company, and/or your own contribution to the company. Before you partake on any new project, ensure your entire team is on the same page. If Marketing doesn’t follow suit with Operations, then promoting and selling your services or products will become an impossible task. To minimize confusion is the workplace, hold ten to thirty minute weekly meetings, covering each person’s highest priorities and the main objective of the company. Depending on the size of your company, you may want to hold a leadership team meeting first, then each of your department managers can meet separately with their respective teams.

Working Overtime; Solution: Clear Your Head

In a fast-paced environment with strict deadlines, it can appear at times impossible to not put in extra hours to meet your deadlines. However, it is important to clear your head and refresh now and then.

  • Take breaks, even for just two minutes.
  • Step away from work distractions.
  • Call a friend for a quick, positive, non-work-related conversation.
  • Take a walk around your building.
  • Take a power nap or rest your eyes for twenty minutes.
  • Eat your lunch in the break room or outside of the office, instead of at your desk.
  • Take a vacation.

If you’re feeling overworked, definitely prioritize your wellbeing over the job. Make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep, exercise, eating healthy, and finding time to visit with your support system – friends/family. If you are lacking in maintaining these four, take a look at your workload and determine where you can de-prioritize or distribute some projects. Talk to management or your team for assistance and support if need be.

Multi-tasking; Solution: Focus

Yes, multi-tasking will happen, but try to maintain focus on one project at a time. Multi-tasking breaks up your focus, and if you are working on two very separate projects, it can cause room for error. As emergency projects arise, be sure to prioritize your tasks to maximize your focus and efficiency, and minimize distractions and mistakes.

Change; Solution: Be Flexible

Change is oftentimes a positive thing. Without change, how are you able to compete, be innovative? Tell yourself, “change is a good thing,” and be flexible and willing to adapt to the change. Know where you stand within your company in case you are required to take on more projects. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to speak with management to better understand the occurring changes and how they will affect you. As we mentioned before, “lack of knowing,” is also a major stressor in the workplace.