Workplace stress can kill. Hopefully, that tidbit got your attention — because it’s true. Chronic stress increases your risk of developing several severe health conditions, including heart disease.
Finding more joy in your daily routine can add years to your life. How can you deal with and eliminate stress at work? Try these tips.
Start the Day With the Right Mindset
What’s the first thing you do when your alarm rings? Do you roll over and grab your phone to surf social media? If so, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to adjust your mindset for the day ahead.
Harness the power of the new day by starting your morning by practicing gratitude meditation for a few minutes. Instead of rolling over and thinking, “Ugh, today I have to” focus on all the things that make you smile. Maybe you’re happy to have a job that enables you to feed your family nutritious food. Perhaps you appreciate having a roof over your head. Shifting your attention to the things you have to give thanks for instantly raises your vibration.
Practice Mindfulness and Empathy
Repeat after me. Their behavior is not about you. Say it again for the folks in the back. The chances are that unless you recently made a major faux pas, your boss isn’t in a dour mood because of something you did. The office Negative Nancy? Her behavior reflects upon her, not you.
Use mindfulness and empathy when dealing with difficult people. To stay calm and collected when a colleague or customer loses their cool, put yourself in their shoes. Are they genuinely trying to ruin your day? Probably not. Maybe the angry caller did waste the past two hours with another representative who failed to answer their question. Now they’re frantic about how they’re going to finish what they need to do in time to pick up their children from soccer practice. Follow the golden rule and treat them the way you’d want someone to behave toward you in similar circumstances.
Use Apps to Remind You to Breathe and Move
Nowadays, there’s an app for everything — including those that reduce workplace stress. Use this technology to set routine reminders to get up from your desk and move. Getting the blood flowing to your brain at least once per hour alleviates tension and boosts your productivity. Stand up and walk around the office for 2-3 minutes. Find a stairwell and run up and down it. Practice a few yoga poses — you can do some variations seated.
Use a similar mental cue to remind you to stop and breathe deeply. You can wear a rubber band around your wrist and snap it as a reminder when you feel particularly stressed. Stop and inhale for a count of four. Pause, and exhale for the same count. Repeat this breathing as often and as long as possible to reduce your blood pressure.
Share a Good Laugh Now and Then
Finally, locate at least one colleague with whom you can share a good laugh. You might share humorous (but workplace appropriate) memes. Maybe you both enjoy a similar wry sense of sarcasm.
When the workplace tension gets overwhelming, indulge in a deep belly laugh. Doing so relieves your stress response and stimulates circulation and muscle relaxation. You might want to keep a joke book in your drawer or hang a poster that makes you smile near your desk.
Eliminate Workplace Stress With These Tips
Every job comes with some degree of stress, but you don’t have to let it impact your health and well-being. Follow these tips, and enjoy less tension after you clock in each day.
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