How to Cope with Work Stress

Work stress is a growing concern, and it has significant health consequences. The percentages of people who are stressed at work are getting higher with each passing day. Whatever your work demands, effective coping strategies can help you protect from the damaging effects of stress, boost your physical and mental well-being and improve your job satisfaction. In this article, we will discuss some stress management techniques that you can try to cope with your work-related stress. Let’s get into it! 

Track your stressors

Journaling is a great stress-reducing exercise that helps you find patterns among your stressors and your response to these stressors. Record your feelings, information about the coworkers involved, your thoughts and the internal and external factors involved. Taking notes can also help you identify which situations create more stress and how to respond to these situations. Once you track your stressors, you can reduce stress in your workplace.  

Develop healthy responses 

Developing healthy responses is the best way to cope with work stress. A glass of wine, smoking or eating fast food may seem to help many people, but they do not actually decrease the stress you are already feeling. Try to make healthy choices when you feel stressed. Mediation, yoga or any physical activity is beneficial for stress management. Whether playing games, hanging out with friends or reading a good book, make sure to set aside some time for yourself and do what brings you joy or commitment. 

Establish work-life boundaries

Whether you are working at home or physical workspace, establishing boundaries between your personal life and work life is a good idea that helps you avoid potential stress. Write a list of pros and cons of your job to identify where you need to set work-life boundaries. Establish rules about when you’ll take phone calls or check emails. A place to start is making small steps such as not checking the email after office hours or at weekends and not answering the phone when you spend time with family. 

Learn how to relax and take time to recharge 

To cope with your work stress, you must know how to relax and engage in other activities that you really enjoy. According to experts, you need to take some time for relaxation, socializing, and doing some physical activity to return to your pre-stress level of functioning. It is recommended that you set aside a couple of nights a week for quality time away from work. Deep breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness techniques can help you reduce stress. 

Get some support

A good support network of your close friends, coworkers and family can help you see things differently and reduce work-related stress. When you connect with people around you, you have support to turn to when you need help. Spend some quality time with your friends and do things with them that you really enjoy. We often have a good laugh with our friends, which is a stress reliever. You can even find the solutions to your problems when you talk through them with your friends or family.  Besides, having a mentor is a good way to get the support you need to handle the issues related to your professional life.