How to Reduce Stress at Work to Be More Productive
Stress is a natural part of life, including at work. However, stress is not always bad. In various stressful events can help you to work harder, and meet deadlines. Not only that, stress is also good for memory.
This allows you to remember unavoidable consequences, making you even more careful. Therefore, manage and overcome your stress. By developing good habits and stress management techniques, you can reduce your chances of suffering the long-term health effects of stress.
How to Cope with Stress at Work
You can't always avoid stress at work. However, excessive stress is also not good. Your physical and mental health will suffer. You will experience fatigue. This has an impact on your productivity decreasing. Therefore, it is important to know your stress symptoms.
Stress from work can't just go away. Fortunately, there are many ways to prevent and manage stress that can reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and depression. To deal with stress, do these things:
1. Understand your stress
There are many causes of stress. Each type may affect you differently. If you can find the root cause of stress, it can help you manage and even overcome it.
There are two types of stress, namely emotional and physical. This type of emotional stress is usually related to relationship problems, stress at work, finances, discrimination or major life changes.
Meanwhile, as the name suggests, physical stress is a more visible disorder. For example, illness, injury, insomnia, etc. These changes make your body and mind fight and run. You become more emotional and tired, so work is neglected.
2. Schedule a time to rest
Many people think that the longer they work, the more work they can get done. However, in fact this assumption is wrong. On the other hand, working too long will result in decreased productivity, increased stress, and excessive fatigue which makes you lose concentration. Therefore, there is no need to overwork. It's better to concentrate and focus for about 90 minutes, then take a break. Set your rest schedule. Do a light walk, stretch at your work desk, or do breathing exercises. Not only does it reduce stress, this is done to rejuvenate yourself.
3. Arrange the method of communication
When you are at work you will deal with emails, telephone calls, chat and virtual meetings every day. Getting this notification multiple times can be annoying. While you don't have control over these notifications, you can control how you respond to them.
If there's anything that can still be said in person, ask them to speak to you in person. Encourage those around you to answer emails or call during business hours only. This way you will be more focused and avoid unnecessary notifications.
4. Eat healthy and get enough sleep
Everyone knows that eating healthy food and getting enough sleep is very good for the body. However, in reality this is difficult to follow. Piled up tasks and busy working hours make it difficult for you to take a break and neglect eating. Irregular eating times, and consuming carbohydrate and high sugar foods more often will make the body's system unhealthy.
This condition also affects your sleep. Your thoughts keep racing, making it difficult to fall asleep or waking up in the night and not being able to go back to sleep. Try to eat foods low in sugar and high in protein. Don't forget to drink water while working.
If you have trouble sleeping, do simple breathing tricks that will make you fall asleep quickly. For three to five minutes, close your right nostril and breathe through your left nostril.
5. Talk to your boss
Your health at work is the company's responsibility. Therefore, the work environment must be able to support the welfare of its employees. If you're experiencing stress, start a conversation with your boss. Not complaining, this is done to find out the source of your stress.
From your boss, you may find out that your workplace has stress management resources that you can follow. For example, online information services, counseling, or referrals to mental health professionals. Creating an effective plan to deal with stress can help solve problems more productively.
6. Pay attention to other people
You're not only dealing with your own stress, but other people's as well. Therefore, pay attention to your surroundings. When stressed people's behavior will be different. They can become more sensitive and angry. Meanwhile, without you realizing it, these negative traits can influence the people around you.
If any of your colleagues are stressed, talk to them and let them know that you understand their frustration. However, communicate everything well because by giving understanding, it will be easier for you to solve it.
7. Talk to friends and family
It never hurts to trust friends and family. Talk to them about the difficulties you face even if they are not in the same environment as you. Being open to others can also reduce stress. If you're still feeling stressed, you may want to talk to a professional.
You have to do a variety of ways to deal with stress. Learn again about the symptoms and how to deal with stress. That way you can get back to work and give the best for the company.