Archive

Archive for the ‘Managing Workplace Stress’ Category

How To Beat Workplace Stress and Better Your Job Performance

January 23rd, 2010

No matter where you work or who your office mates are, nothing can change the fact that stress will be one of the main issues you will have to deal with. The only thing you can change is the way that you take towards stress.

If you are equipped with the proper skills and attitude, you will find that it is actually quite easy to beat workplace stress.

If you wait to deal with stress until you can’t stand it anymore. Until you feel like you are about to lose you mind it can be too late. Excessive high levels of stress cause serious health issues.

Knowing this alone should motivate you to get up and do something about workplace stress. But where do you start?

Stress in nothing more than a negative emotion that prevents you from accomplishing as much as you can in the office. What you should do is to redirect your emotions into a positive path, making you more productive at work.

These are a few ways to defeat workplace stress:

1. Each time you feel that you are about to get stressed out, pause for a minute and take 10 deep, long breaths of fresh air. If possible, excuse yourself from the room and take a few seconds to recompose yourself. It may sound too simple but once you try it, you will realize just how effective this method can be.

2. Another good way to relieve a little stress is when you are feeling stressed out, get out a piece of paper and write down what you’re feeling at that time. Why how you feel and what makes you feel this way. After you get it all on paper, take the paper and tear it up. Then toss it into the trash. This is like throwing away your stress. Plus, writing it down is a good way to vent.

3. Again when you feel stress coming on stop what you’re doing and imagine a peaceful place. A place that makes you happy. It can be anywhere you favorite vacation spot or just in your backyard looking at your garden. Imagine yourself there until you come back to zen. Then you can continuing working.

4. When you are full of stress it’s not the best idea to play hard or heavy metal rock, rap, or punk. These lyrics are negative and songs about being heartbroken and angry are not going to help. If those are your favorite types of music then listen to them when you are in a good mood. At this time try classical or soft music.

5. Employ self-motivation techniques. The most popular of these is the recitation of relevant affirmations to convince yourself of your ability to eliminate stress. You can also read a passage from the bible, or perhaps a line from your favorite inspirational poem. Any phrase that has a positive message would be a good way of keeping yourself from being overcome by stress at work.

As you can see, these are very simple ways to beat stress in the office. You don’t need to make major changes in your work routine just to perform these stress-release methods. You can even do them without having to leave your desk, and without anyone noticing anything different.

Dealing with stress getting to be too much to bear? Are you ready to better your life and start coping with stress in the workplace? Then go now to www.SuperSonicSuccess.com and find more tips on how to deal with job stress to keep and maintain a good and healthy life.

Managing Workplace Stress , , , ,

Why You Need to Relieve Workplace Stress

January 20th, 2010

Gone are the days when most people can expect to be with the same company for the balance of their working career. Family businesses are not as common today, as in the past. In fact, with the constantly changing dynamics of the workplace, many employees are worried about keeping their jobs. Although understandable, there are several reasons why you need to relieve workplace stress.


First, workplace stress can become the predictor of your worst fears. If you are constantly anxious about your job or work circumstances, chances are good that your productivity will go down. Instead of concentrating on your daily tasks, you will always be concerned about possible downsizing and being laid off.


Also, many jobs require additional education in order to keep up with the changes in the workplace. If you are worried about losing your job, it will be more difficult to learn what you need to know, in order to retain your position. Learning is very difficult if you are under pressure and in fear of losing your job.


Second, in addition to conquering the fear of losing your employment, you need to relieve workplace stress to be able to be more empathetic to coworkers and others in your circle of friends and family. Naturally, people under immense pressure are self absorbed. It is hard to think about others when you are worried about your own situation.


Especially if you are in a position of supervisor, connecting with your subordinates is extremely important. Unfortunately, your stress only adds to their job pressures, which will make you a less affective leader. Once again, you can be a predictor of your own future, if you do no learn the techniques to relax. A self-absorbed supervisor does not necessarily remain in his/her position.


Third, if you do not learn how to relieve your job stress, you will likely take it home at the end of the day. Then, not only will you have the pressures of work, you will have added attention in the one place where you should be able to relax and be at peace. While your family may understand, they can only take so much before the entire family is walking on egg shells.


So, before every area of your life is adversely affected by workplace pressure, you can learn techniques to relieve workplace stress. As a result, you will be more content with life today, and more able to face whatever tomorrow may bring. You do not have to be a slave to stress. You can learn to be content with life’s circumstances. It does not mean you have to like what is going on, but you will have the mechanisms not to let it cloud tomorrow.

Paul Sutherland is an Accelerated Business Growth Coach. His company – Daniel Thomas International is also heavily involved in personal development and growth. Now a website www.perfected-products.comhas been created. Here you will find some of the very best tried tested and proven methods for creating the life you really want.

Managing Workplace Stress , , ,

Change in the Workplace Stress Management

January 17th, 2010

Workplace stress management can already be quite a task just to maintain employee productivity, efficiency as well as satisfaction. Nothing can be more stressful for managers than to handle stress brought about by workplace change. Change can affect the workplace in many ways, with the negative side of it always bringing along considerable stress to some.


Workplace change is usually inevitable in the business world. Changes in the economy and the competitiveness between businesses can bring about certain changes in the workplace when most may least expect it. Businesses always run the risk of having to stage lay-offs, personnel downsizing and even bankruptcy. And when these changes happen, the employees of the affected businesses go through quite a stressful situation having to deal with unemployment and an uncertain future. The management even has the more stressful task to inform employees about it.


It is important for management to try to break the news of a workplace change in a less abrupt manner as possible. Communication would be very important in this case. Effective and timely communication may help affected employees better understand and accept such upsetting and stressful news.


One of the best ways to communicate massive changes in the workplace is to involve key communicators to bring the news to the employees. While it may sound logical to have the CEO speak to the entire group of working personnel in a company-wide meeting, he or she alone may not be able to give the details more effectively on all levels. The CEO of the company alone may not be able to satisfy employee questions and concerns.


Having other people such as supervisors or team leaders to handle the job of communicating any workplace change would surely be more efficient and effective. By having the company’s front-line supervisors and maybe team leaders address employees under them and answer their questions, this helps communicating change more efficiently accessible to more employees and may take less time to make them understand and accept the unfortunate news.


But aside from having several people handling the stressful news of change to company staff. It is also as important for the management to create an effective message. And since companies are comprised of different departments and levels, the message of change should be designed to cater to the information needed of these different levels. In short, the message should cater and fit to a specific audience in order to be more effective and hence avoid possible confusion as well as additional stress.


Effective communication of change in the workplace means that information required by different levels of the company should be satisfied. Others may stop at citing the reasons why change is a good idea for the company. Other companies may only try to communicate only what the changes affect the corporate level.


Neglect on providing information that really matter to employees, such as how the change may affect their future in the company, can really add considerable stress and many sleepless nights to many people.


That is not considered as good workplace stress management for a company that is in the midst of undergoing changes.

For more information please visit stress relaxation techniques

Managing Workplace Stress , , ,

Managing Your Stress in the Workplace

January 14th, 2010

Face it. Even if you are stressed beyond your limits in the office, you can’t do anything about it. After all, what job does not involve any stress? The secret is to make sure that you can manage on the side the job of managing your stress!


Managing your stress however can be really tricky if you are inside the office. The work environment limits the ways that you can manage your stress. For instance, if watching TV or movies relieves your stress, you cannot very well do that inside the office. Neither can you play badminton or sing with a karaoke. The most that you can do is to play some quick computer game, hoping that somehow it can relax you. For some people, this is enough; but for others, it is not.


But there are ways to relieve the stress while sitting on your office chair. Often, the trick is to not wait for the stress levels to go up. As they say in medicine, an ounce of prevention is more than a pound of cure. Don’t wait to get stressed, avoid it like the plague! Here’s how.


1. Eat healthy

People who are basically healthy will have more energy levels on which to work on. They are more able to withstand late nights and are more able to keep up with long brain activities as compared to people who are not. To do this, you’ve got to eat healthy foods especially those that are rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins. Besides, having all the energy that you need will help you cope better with stress when it happens.


2. Sleep

Sleeping provides the body the rest that it needs. Brain activity and bodily functions slow down when people are sleeping. Muscles also relax. When the body lacks sleep, energy levels go down and the brain becomes disoriented. This results to poorer concentration, which in the long run can become detrimental to your job functions. Thus, one way to avoid stress altogether is get the requisite 8 hours or more sleep. It will do you good.


3. Exercise

Another way to combat stress and to prevent it from happening altogether is to have a daily run or an exercise routine. Experts say that a person must work out 30 minutes each day to successfully keep the body in shape and healthy. Exercise strengthens our resistance and surprisingly increases the energy levels. It helps keep the stressors at bay as it relaxes the muscles and keeps the air flowing freely through breathing techniques.


4. Manage time

Nothing can make you more stressful than not managing your time well. Just ask people who are used to cramming for exams or for work assignments. Planning your time right and doing what you are supposed to do on time will help keep the stressors away. Besides, by doing your assignments and work load piece by piece allows you to relax while doing it and gives you enough time to really work on it should the boss decides to have it real early.


5. Smiling

Being happy and optimistic is the number stress buster there is. Do you know that smiling can help keep the muscles in the face relaxed? It actually uses less muscles than when you are frowning. So laugh on the job and keep it cool.

For more information please visit stress relaxation techniques

Managing Workplace Stress , ,

Ethical Issues Inherent With Workplace Stress

January 8th, 2010

There are several possible triggers of stress in the office, but the most common are ethical issues inherent with workplace stress. Stress has been one of the basic part of life, wherein people are constantly subjected to pressure of meeting demands.

Researchers have recognized and identified the top causes of stress in the workplace. Being able to identify the triggers of your stress will help you avoid or cope with the situation that cause them to arise in the first place.

The most common reason for workplace stress is the pressure of having to do too much work within a limited time scope. Then, stress heightens when several interruptions begin to slow down your progress at work.

Things become more complicated when you toss in conflicts among co-workers or superior that provides less motivation for excelling at the job. Indeed, these stress sources could come from an internal or external force.

Concept of Ethics

Ethics is a complicated concept to define. Often, the definition could differ from one person to another. As universally known though, ethics is based on a set of recognized and accepted standards of what is right and wrong. Therefore, it consists of feelings resulted from doing certain acts in the society.

Despite its general nature, the ethical standards for each individual could differ as well since each individual is raised in a different environment and ethical structure.

When relating to ethics at the workplace, conflicts happen when one person benefits at another’s expense. Certainly, such scenarios of inequality can cause conflicts to arise and even result to reduced levels of productivity for some individuals.

Samples of Ethical Issues Inherent With Workplace Stress

If you’re still quite unsure how ethical issues inherent with workplace stress is like, it can take on several different forms. It varies based on the source of conflict and how the parties involved react to that.

The most common source of ethical issues arise from recognition and merit of employees. Aside from achieving maximum salary grade, employees are also motivated by the idea of stepping up the corporate ladder. Hence, the positions they hold are also of importance to them. But, how do you recognize those limitations?

On the other end of the spectrum, employers could also be facing the same ethical dilemmas. This applies to a financially struggling company who is looking to lay off some of its employees. But in the time of financial crisis, how do you help them cope with the financial challenges by stripping their jobs off of them?

Indeed, the level of stress for the people who had to make these decisions are escalating with the many ethical considerations to make.

Dealing With Ethical Issues Inherent With Workplace Stress

There are three recommended steps to deal with a dilemma of this nature:

1) Are you taking legal actions?

When you are faced with ethical problems, you must ask this question first. There is no reason to feel guilty about laying off employees if that is what is best for the company, as long as it is done in a legal manner.

Also, if you are remaining true to the policy of the company and you do not violate any civil law, then you are free to make that decision.

2) Is the decision fair for both parties involved?

Although both parties do not necessarily have to gain something out of the decision made on the workplace, it must produce an even result for either parties. By saying that, no one ends up aggravated by the decision made.

3) Will the decision bother you ethically?

This consideration is subjective; however, you need to produce a satisfactory answer to it in order to ensure that you have dealt with ethical issues inherent with workplace stress properly.

Want to know how does stress affect health and boost your energy level? Get FREE stress-busting tips and video at http://www.squidoo.com/howdoesstressaffectyourhealth so you’ll know what to do to relieve stress and be full of vitality. Hurry! Don’t put your life at risk.

Managing Workplace Stress , , , ,

How can I reduce stress at my workplace?

January 8th, 2010

I am a British engineering manager in a design house in England. We design hi-tech microchips for mobile phones. We are owned by a big American corporation.

I work with the US workforce on a daily basis but report to a VP who is British. He is the founder of a British start-up firm that made it to the big time and he made his millions (and a bit for us) by selling it to the American firm. He has conservative opinions on how the design house should maintain its british approach that made it so successful.

The US want us to use their procedures but this causes the engineers here to work late hours when the US is awake (8hr time difference). He hates the kind of place it has become and wants to leave in a year or so (when his shares vest).

Its inevitable that we will eventually be swept up into the arms of the global hyper-corporation! Unfortuantely for me I manage a team of UK and US engineers. So how do I cope? The more I Americanize the place myself the tougher it gets.

Managing Workplace Stress , ,

4 Ways To Minimize Workplace Stress

January 5th, 2010

Employers and employees alike have to face stress at the workplace; no working individual is free from it. The success of your career depends on how well you can manage stress at the workplace.

Stress can be positive if it motivates you, provides you with a sense of purpose and urgency, and has a positive outcome. On the other hand, stress can be negative if it makes you anxious, restless, and lowers your productivity at work.

If you are facing the problem of negative stress, you have to learn certain techniques of stress-management that can help you manage stress at the workplace and make your life easier.

Here is a list of ways to get rid of stress at the workplace. They are guaranteed to make your life easy, comfortable, and stress free.

1. Get Organized

An organized worker does not suffer from as much stress as a disorganized worker. For example, hunting through a pile of papers to find a single important document when you need it in just a few minutes can be an extremely stressful task. If you organize your desk better, you won’t have to suffer this fate. Remember to spend a few minutes a day putting your desk in order even if it means that you have to start for work early or leave a bit late.

2. Minimize Personal Chats

Keep personal chit chats with your colleagues to the minimum, especially during working hours. You will save valuable working hours if you stick to socializing with your colleagues only during the lunch hour. This simple practise prevents you from falling behind schedule. Struggling to keep up with deadlines causes a great deal of stress, which you can prevent if only you socialize wisely.

You can reduce further stress by taking a short walk during the lunch hour or simply sitting in the sun at break.

3. Have a Relaxed Morning

An important stress-management technique begins before you leave for work. Wake up a bit earlier to give yourself ample time to prepare yourself to leave for work. Enjoy your morning cup of coffee, eat a hearty breakfast, and take some time to relax before you leave for work. The last-minute rush for work, along with the worry that you might reach late and have an unpleasant session with your boss, causes more stress than you can imagine.

4. Spend Time Away from Work

Strike a healthy balance between work and your personal life. If your life comprises work and only work, you will have to face more stress-related problems. Spend time with your friends and family, forget work for some time, and enjoy life.

You achieve a sense of peace, happiness, and well-being if you engage yourself in activities such as taking the dog for a walk, cleaning your car, watching a movie, or even indulging in a hobby, such as gardening. These activities go a long way in relieving stress.

The use of these simple techniques can help you get rid of stress at the workplace. No longer will you feel exhausted and stressed out. These simple ways will help you live a more balanced and happier life.

Abhishek is a Stress Management expert and he has got some great Stress Management Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 90 Pages Ebook, “How To Win Your War Against Stress!” from his website http://www.Positive-You.com/507/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.

Managing Workplace Stress , , ,