7 ways to combat work stress

Even if you’ve discovered your dream job, you’re not immune from work stress from time to time, simply because everything in life doesn’t always go perfectly according to plan.

Whether you’re battling work stress every day or just once in a while, there are some effective techniques you can use to relieve it. Learning healthy ways to release your stress and even how to prevent a stressful reaction in the first place is critical to your health, success, and peace of mind.

Here are some strategies to combat work stress

1. Practice effective communication. If coworkers are causing you stress, ask yourself, “Why?” There’s a good chance that the two of you aren’t communicating.
   • Put yourself in their shoes to better understand their point of view.
   • Listen to their needs and see if they can be met. If you can satisfy their requirements, a source of conflict is removed and so is the stress associated with it.
   • Also, if you can better communicate your own needs, others are more likely to agree with your requests.
2. Think positively. When things turn sour, you may be tempted to fall into a negative pattern of thinking. It’s easy to say that you hate your job, but are you doing anything to improve the situation? If you adopt a positive attitude, it’ll be easier to maintain the drive you need to overcome problems at work.
   • It’s quite possible that everything at work is not as bad as you think! If you focus on the things that are going right, it’ll bring you more patience, and less stress, and increase your overall job satisfaction.
3. Take care of yourself. If you’re dedicated to your job, you may begin to lose yourself in it. No wonder you’re under a great deal of stress! You may feel as if your job has become your whole life. In these instances, it’s best to take a step back and focus on taking care of yourself.
   • Take regular breaks and enjoy something that’s not work-related when you’re not working.
   • Avoid working overtime or taking work home with you. On rare occasions, it may cause you less stress to stay and finish a project, rather than be late in completing it. However, it might also help you to work on strengthening your time management skills if this occurs frequently.
   • Take care of your body by exercising, eating nutritious foods, and getting enough sleep. While that sounds so simple, how often do we rush around on 4 hours of sleep, a coffee, and a donut all day long?
4. Accept that everyone’s human, including you. The drive to be perfect is an automatic stress inducer! Everyone makes mistakes - you, your coworkers, and your clients.
   • Trust other people to get the job done right. You and your team can still produce quality work, even with an occasional mistake. If you remain flexible, you’ll be less likely to feel stress.
5. Understand other points of view. When you know where someone is coming from, you’ll be better able to understand the situation without all the stress. For example, if you can understand your manager’s expectations, you can take action to meet them, or you can communicate your own more realistic expectations.
6. Get organized. Organization can be a key factor for job stress relief. If your workplace is disorganized, it can also cause disorganization in your mind. Your thoughts may become scattered and you’ll be less likely to think on your feet effectively, causing even more stress.
7. Take responsibility. If you take responsibility for your actions, you can also reduce stress. When you keep yourself accountable, you’ll be focused on constant self-improvement without the lies, blame, or cover-ups.

Reducing stress at work will take a little practice, but the results are well worth the effort. Follow these work stress strategies daily and soon you’ll find fewer and fewer situations to feel stressed about.

• The Aftermath of Burnout: How to Rejuvenate Yourself
• Embracing Vulnerability and Honesty to Boost Collaboration at Work
• How to Cope With Panic Attacks
• Discovering Your Self-Worth Despite Challenging Circumstances