Stress at work in small doses is beneficial and helps improve productivity. This means that you are dealing with something new, getting used to it and mastering your skills. Stress prevents stagnation and keeps the whole body in good shape. Many professions, such as firefighters, police, high-altitude workers, extreme sports, and some manufacturing, are generally impossible to imagine without stress.
In large quantities, stress adversely affects the body and destroys the personality. Stress occurs when a person cannot adequately withstand increased emotional, mental and physical stress. The situation develops in such a way that a person cannot maintain control over it and bring everything to the desired denominator. He begins to look for ways, take action, but all to no avail, or he finds a way out, but at the same time loses a lot of strength. This leads to deterioration in health and, at a certain point, when the body can no longer withstand it, to failure.
According to research, many people experience stress and do not know how to deal with it. When stressed, a worker feels anxious, tired, aimless, wants to stop working and go home, and develops depression and irritability. The condition is expressed in physical symptoms: headaches, insomnia, stomach pain. The worker will find reasons for absenteeism and, in the future, for dismissal.
There are two lines of dealing with stress.
The first is an approach to the individual himself, the development of certain skills that allow him to overcome the external situation and cope with it more easily. Strategies are developed, the employee improves his skills, and in the future, what caused such a reaction, thanks to training, no longer seems so difficult to him.
The second line is improving working conditions. Introduction of new technologies, improvements in working conditions, organization of the workplace, elimination of unfavorable factors.
To improve psycho-emotional health and prevent stress at work, you must adhere to the following tips:
1. If you think that you are not able to continue to cope with the workload normally, then think positively and look for a new job. Everything passes and this will pass.
2. Contact your employer. Ask for better working conditions and, if possible, to remove stressful situations.
3. Rest during the decision process. complex tasks. A large piece can only be eaten in parts. Recover your strength and only then proceed to the next element of the task. Use relaxation exercises.
4. Clean up your workspace. This will improve your sense of control and eliminate unnecessary panic during an emergency.
5. Seek support. Find a mentor to help with advice. By pouring out your emotions, you will relieve tension. Find people you can rely on difficult situation, and who can help you solve problems.
6. Sometimes there are activities in which perfection simply does not exist in the workplace. It will not be possible to structure the process and bring order here; every day here is like a new battle.
7. Learn to be calm. Even if the whole world is collapsing around you, if you don’t worry so much, you won’t see its ruins and continue your life. Don’t take everything too seriously, remember that this is just part of life, and if everything is so bad here, it doesn’t mean it’s like that everywhere.
Using all these techniques and two lines of coping, you will definitely correct the situation; if not, then this job is not your calling.
According to American Psychological Association, stress can trigger headaches, muscle strain, chest pain, upset stomach, loss of motivation, fatigue, anxiety, restlessness, absent-mindedness, irritability, depression, drug problems, social withdrawal...
Don't rush to panic. Inc.com assures that stress can be avoided even in today's hyper-stressful business world. Here are six simple tricks:
1. Create an oasis for yourself
If earlier people at the very least adhered to a work schedule from nine in the morning to five in the evening, then in today’s business world the 24/7 schedule is considered the norm. Without further ado, it is clear that such loads provoke many reasons for stress.
A surprisingly simple way to overcome overvoltage is to switch off mobile phone and a computer not only for bedtime, but also for an hour before and after bedtime. It will be difficult at first, because the habit of checking email will not just go away. It also takes confidence to let your boss, co-workers, and clients know that you are unavailable during those hours. And do it anyway.
2. Find the "tidbits"
A task list that is too long can also cause stress because it makes you feel like you'll never get it done.
Distribute tasks by difficulty (“easy”, “medium”, “hard”), and then by degree of potential benefit (“large”, “medium”, “small”). You may find just a dozen tasks that are relatively simple, but the most rewarding in terms of payoff. Tackle these “tidbits” first.
In most cases, you will achieve 80% of your goals by doing 20% of the work (yes, Vilfredo Pareto again). In addition to this, ignore tasks that are difficult to perform and do not promise a noticeable effect either for the company or for you personally.
3. Redistribute your workload
Unreasonable expectations can provoke severe stress, and it makes no difference who the source of the expectations is - yourself, your boss or your clients.
The cure for such stress is a dose of reality. Estimate how much time you will need to solve the problem, how large the amount of work is, and, based on the data obtained, decide what you are actually going to do and can do. If you are expected to do A, B, C, D, and you only have time for three tasks, then ask your boss to choose the most important tasks.
4. Turn off the news
The media, like any other business in the entertainment industry, makes money by provoking emotions in its audience. Almost all news, excluding business news, evokes in people negative emotions: anger, fear, anxiety, apprehension, disappointment.
We think the news distracts us from the stress of work, but in reality it only increases our overall stress. It's like drinking beer with a hangover: it seems to help, but then it only gets worse.
Therefore, as soon as you hear or see news that may make you angry or upset, change the channel or go to another page. Provided, of course, that this news does not concern you personally.
5. Step away from what you can't control
There are things you simply cannot control: the economy, transportation, other people's emotions, customer actions, and so on. It is useful to observe such events and predict their outcome, but as soon as you decide to fight them, you are dooming yourself to stress.
By worrying about these things, you cannot change the course of events one iota. You'll just waste your energy. Change what you can and ignore what you can't.
6. Avoid irritable people
You may not notice it, but our psychology is designed in such a way that we project onto ourselves the moods of the people around us (this is the result of the work of the so-called “mirror neurons”). In other words, you can pick up stress from other people. Although sometimes this is simply not possible, you should avoid tense people.
How do you relieve stress at work?
Stress is not always destructive to the body. “In some cases, it even increases the body’s adaptive abilities, promotes the development creative approach to solving any situations at work, he believes Vadim Demchenko, business coach at CASE. — Such acute situations include, for example, extracurricular project, related to promotion, new functionality, minor troubles with colleagues. On a ten-point scale for assessing stress, they are equal to 3-5 points. But if you constantly experience problems and pressure at work, then your stress level approaches 10 points.” For comparison, we experience approximately the same stress after losing a loved one.
If you work in a “high-stress zone,” you can act in two ways: run away (read: quit) or try to minimize the consequences of this stress. Together with our experts, we analyzed the most common stressful situations that you may encounter at work.
Stressful situation 1. You are entrusted with something that is not in your competence
Bring coffee instead of the secretary, clean up office space for a cleaner - in some companies, such requests may puzzle both the chief accountant and the head of the department. But there is another extreme - when an ordinary employee is entrusted with the mission of making a fateful decision for the organization, which actually does not fit into his functionality.
Your actions. First of all, pay attention to the type of orders. They indicate their attitude towards you. Perhaps by entrusting something extremely responsible, the manager sees your potential. And if you are regularly given assignments that are significantly below your competence, it is worth considering how well you have proven yourself in your position as a qualified specialist.
“Often people do things that are not theirs because they are misled: if you follow all the instructions of your superiors, this will help you win his favor and get a promotion,” says Eka Kadagidze, psychologist, gestalt therapist. “Practice shows that those who respect professional and personal boundaries are usually promoted. Learn to label them in a way that is comfortable for you. This doesn’t mean being rude and uncomfortable.”
For example, if we are talking about assignments below your competence, you can use the phrases: “I think this task is for a secretary/specialist. It would be wiser to use my time on...” If we are talking about decisions that are beyond your competence, convey to management that you are ready to complete this task, but do not take responsibility for the result, since this is beyond the scope of your job responsibilities.
And another useful tip. « If you are trying to defend your position, pay attention to your posture. Proudly straightened shoulders will give confidence to your words, says Vadim Demchenko. — Practice the pose of confident presence at home. Stand up, neck stretched up, chin slightly raised, chest open. It is very important not to cross your arms in front of you or cover your stomach with them: this is your place of power. The knees should be soft, the feet should be completely on the floor.”
Stressful situation 2. The team does not accept you
You can convince yourself for as long as you like that you come to work to earn money and not to communicate. But if you feel like an outcast in a team, then you won’t even want to think about your financial situation.
Your actions. “When a person says that the team does not accept him, it is often not about actions, but about feelings,” says Eka Kadagidze . - For example, you want to gain the favor of all your colleagues - in this case it makes sense to build relationships with each person individually. Trying to get closer to your colleagues? First, take a closer look at how they interact with each other: maybe excessive closeness is not welcome in your team.” Perhaps you yourself do not like someone, and you are trying to project your dislike onto others. In this case, it is important to understand that it is the person who does not like you, and not you. This approach will pull you out of the position of a victim and help you choose the appropriate way of communication, for example, respectfully and politely.
And another useful tip. “The barrier between you and the team may be related to your communication style,” says Svetlana Shnaidman, coach, NLP master, master's degree holder from Weizmann University in Israel. — If you want to get closer to a colleague, you can tell him some interesting story from your life, and facial expressions will betray fear or arrogance.” Think about what qualities in this person irritate you most and why. If smooth relationships in a team are important to you, practice facial expressions in front of the mirror, learn to smile and practice a polite-neutral tone of voice.
Stressful situation 3. Your boss is a boor
Dust to the ceiling, sarcastic remarks or silent contempt - there are a great many ways to express disrespect for your subordinates. Many managers use them masterfully, believing that the salary will more than cover the psychological costs of such treatment.
Your actions. To tell the truth, the chances of you gaining the upper hand in this situation are not very good. “The reality is that if we are talking about the boss, then either you will have to endure humiliation and aggression, or be ready to leave your job if you try to defend yourself,” says Eka Kadagidze. “What is important to do in this situation: do not enter into an aggressive, reactive relationship and do not expect that the situation can change painlessly.”
And another useful tip. If you have to work in such conditions, it is important to minimize the impact of stress on your health. Can help with this exercise stress. “Thanks to it, the body quickly utilizes biologically active substances that are released during stress,” explains Vadim Demchenko. “Immediately after an unpleasant conversation, you can do 15-20 squats or walk for 5-7 minutes at an average pace.”
Stressful situation 4. You are in limbo: the company may be closed, you may be laid off.
This is one of those work situations in which feelings are normal and natural. The main thing is not to increase stress by placing excessive demands on yourself.
Your actions. To reduce anxiety, start searching in parallel new job, go for an interview. This behavior allows you to highlight a zone that you can influence and retains the authorship of your own life.
And another useful tip. “If you are afraid of losing your job, follow this fear to the end,” advises Svetlana Shnaidman . - “What will happen to me if I get fired? I'll have to save money. And then? I'll move in with my mom. So what is next? I’ll have to agree to any job,” etc. As soon as you go through the most severe scenario with your fear, reaching the mental end, you will relax, and the degree of your anxiety will decrease by itself.”
Stressful situation 5. Your job involves stress.
Customer service, call centers, collection agencies - work where you have to frequently communicate with people is associated with enormous stress. As it accumulates, it can become a trigger for serious nervous disorders.
Your actions. It is important to understand that all work cannot be entirely stressful. Most likely, some part of it causes increased anxiety or nervousness. “For example, if you are a collector, then you need to leave a minimum of room for improvisation in your work,” Eka Kadagidze gives an example . — Don’t try to find the right words “in the heat of battle,” think through all the phrases and scenarios in advance. This will allow you not to get involved personally in the situation.”
And another useful tip. Make it a rule to start and end your day in a calm environment. For at least half an hour after waking up and an hour before bed, give up gadgets, listen to calm music or sounds of nature, do yoga, and do some breathing exercises.
By learning to cope with difficult situations at work, you will significantly reduce the impact of stress on your body.
We will talk about the nature of stress at work and its causes. You will also find here interesting and necessary recommendations about ways to limit and manage stress in the workplace.
Man in big city is in a state DC voltage. It is important to do everything everywhere and in time: get yourself in order in the morning, have breakfast, send the children to school. To catch the bus, to work... The work schedule is scheduled for weeks and months in advance, so the lack of time is especially acute in the workplace. It seems that as soon as a person crosses the threshold of a checkpoint or office, he turns from a nice, respectable citizen into a ferocious Cerberus, ready to tear apart everyone he meets. And why? Work stress!
And yet, despite the fact that stress is a normal part of our lives, we should not forget that constant stress at work significantly reduces labor productivity, physical and emotional health. This is why it is so important to find ways to keep work stress under control. Fortunately, each of us can independently limit and manage stress at work; to do this, we need to correctly identify its signs.
Signs of stress at work
How do you understand that something needs to be done about professional stress? Signs of professional stress will help you with this, because the impact of stress can be truly unpredictable:
Physical signs of stress at work: headache, toothache, chest pain, heart pain, shortness of breath. Increased heart rate, high blood pressure, muscle pain, upset stomach, constipation or diarrhea. Increased sweating, fatigue, insomnia, decreased immunity.
Psychosocial signs of stress at work: anxiety, irritability, sadness, anger. Frequent mood swings, hypersensitivity, apathy, depression, slow reactions or racing thoughts. Feelings of anxiety, helplessness and hopelessness.
Behavioral signs of stress at work: overeating or loss of appetite, impatience, irritability, anger, increased consumption of alcohol, nicotine or drugs, social isolation (reluctance to communicate with other people), neglect of responsibility, low productivity, failure to comply with basic personal hygiene rules, changes in family relationships.
How to cope with stress at work?
By following simple recommendations, you can easily keep stress in the workplace under control:
- Be friendly with colleagues and subordinates;
- Improve your communication skills - learn to speak so that you are understood exactly the way you want;
- Follow the principles of time management, learn to manage time;
- Improve your qualifications - be sure to attend courses and trainings planned at work;
- Do simple exercises regularly physical exercise before going to work: while lying in bed, you can do 20 repetitions of an exercise for the abdominal muscles. Then stand up and stretch upward for 10 seconds. Next, slowly do 20-30 squats, and if possible, push-ups. In addition, after work you need light aerobic exercise, for example, a 30-minute walk at a brisk pace or an hour-long walk before bed at a calm and measured pace.
What can you do to avoid stress at work?
When people are under occupational stress, they become angry and irritable. This condition is not in the best possible way affects the quality of their work and productivity. That is why it is better to prevent stress than to deal with the unpredictable impact of stress on work. In addition, professional stress not only reduces productivity, worsens relationships with management, colleagues and subordinates. Stress in the workplace has the most detrimental effect on health. After all, the most dangerous thing about stress at work is its duration and, very often, the inability to adequately respond to the stimulus. After all, you must admit that it is unreasonable to send the boss when he deserves it - and, as a result, stress.
Why do we experience stress at work? There are many very good reasons for professional stress:
Fear of dismissal. Job loss and stress are certainly related concepts.
Increased demands from management without increasing wages.
The need to constantly maintain a certain level of work.
When work stress reduces your productivity or significantly impacts your personal life, it's time to take action. It is important to first pay attention to your physical and emotional health. To a healthy person it is much easier to cope with stress. The better you feel, the easier it will be to cope with stress when work gets overwhelming.
Taking care of yourself does not require a major lifestyle change. Even the smallest things can lift your mood and increase your energy levels. Take just one step and you will soon see that the amount of stress in your life has been significantly reduced. After this, you may want to take other steps to achieve balance and harmony in your life.
Step 1 - life in motion. Sports are sweaty, but effective method uplifting mood, increasing energy, sharpening attention and relaxing the mind and body. For maximum relaxation, you will need 30 minutes of intense physical activity every day.
Step 2 - food is a joy. It is advisable to eat what you want right now, what makes your mouth water. If possible, take food in small and fractional portions in a calm, conducive environment for eating. Nutrition culture is an important component healthy eating. In addition, frequent and small snacks help maintain normal blood sugar levels - because low sugar levels make you feel anxious and irritable. Let us also recall that overeating makes a person lethargic and deprives him of his ability to work for a long time.
Step 3 - everything in moderation. It is important to reduce alcohol consumption to a minimum. Understanding that a simple overdose of alcohol reduces the performance of the human body by half for 3-4 days is a good argument in favor of moderate consumption during the work week and beyond. Smoking reduces immunity, destroys blood vessels, causes irreparable harm to the pulmonary system and reduces performance by 25-30% - draw your own conclusions. Nicotine also increases anxiety levels, and this is a direct path to depression.
Step 4 - healthy sleep. Anxiety and stress are the main causes of insomnia. However, lack of sleep reduces performance, reaction and ability to concentrate, which inevitably leads to stress in the workplace. Insomnia compromises your ability to cope with stress. It is much easier to maintain emotional balance when you are well rested.
How to relieve stress at work? When workplace stress is overwhelming, you can't just ignore it. Fortunately, there are simple ways to regain control of the situation. Your ability to self-control will be perceived as a strength by others, which will lead to improved relationships with colleagues and superiors.
Here are some tips for reducing stress at work by improving organization and the right choice life guidelines and professional priorities:
Create a balanced schedule. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities and daily tasks. Remember that your job should not be a game of survival. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social activities and hobbies, daily responsibilities and relaxation.
Don't overload yourself. Avoid constant tension. Try not to put off many important tasks until the last day.
Wake up earlier. A reserve of 10-15 minutes will save you from rush and morning stress. Getting up early will make your day a little longer and allow you to be more punctual.
Take regular breaks from work. Make sure you take short breaks for your brain throughout the day. At lunchtime, try to leave your workplace. Taking a short break will help you relax, which will help you be productive.
Tips to reduce stress in the workplace:
List of priority tasks. Make a list of tasks that you must complete in descending order of importance. Focus on your highest priorities first. If you need to do something that is not particularly pleasant, do it as early as possible. And devote the rest of the day to more pleasant activities and responsibilities.
Break large projects into parts. If a large project seems impossible, don’t be afraid, just break it down into a large number of small steps and complete them gradually. Focus on completing each step individually, rather than thinking about everything at once.
Delegate responsibility. You don't have to do everything. If you have people in your company who can handle one of your tasks, why not let them handle that task? Let go of the desire to independently perform and control all, even the most insignificant, tasks. And you will reduce your stress level.
Reducing stress at work with emotional self-control
Emotional self-control in the workplace has four main components:
* Self-awareness is the ability to recognize your emotions and understand their impact on your decisions.
* Self-management - the ability to control one's emotions and behavior and adapt to changing circumstances.
* Social consciousness- the ability to feel, understand and respond to the feelings and emotions of other people. Helps you feel comfortable in a team.
* Relationship management - the ability to inspire, influence and interact with other people, the desire and ability to manage conflicts.
The higher your ability to exercise emotional self-control, the easier it is for you to cope with professional stress. Fortunately, emotional self-control is not an innate ability; it is something we can learn throughout our lives.
For example, changing jobs is also stressful. How to emotionally prepare yourself for a new team and survive the first time in a new place with the least emotional losses? You need to gradually develop emotional and non-verbal communication skills, which include the following techniques:
* Admit to yourself that you may be stressed. Prepare for stress psychologically - remember the state of inner harmony and peace. Try to learn to enter this state in any situation. Perhaps deep breathing or memories of happy moments in life will help you with this.
* Give a report own emotions. Say to yourself: “now I’m angry” or “now I’m offended,” etc. This exercise will help you remember negative emotions, realize and try to switch to a positive way. This practice will help you learn to understand not only your emotions, but also the emotions of the people around you. For example, if you recently got a job, this will help you quickly integrate into the team and understand who is who.
* Learn to recognize and effectively use nonverbal signals, which make up 95-98% of your communication process. Remember that it is not what you say, but how you say it that matters.
*Laugh. Nothing lightens the atmosphere like a good joke. But know when to stop, because... Joking at other people can backfire. Don't laugh at your colleagues.
Learn to listen. A person who knows how to listen is very valuable.
Coping with stress after leaving work.
None of us are immune from the blows of fate. In our difficult times, job loss is not at all uncommon; companies close unexpectedly and many employees are not ready for such a turn, and after losing their job they fall into deep depression and not only cannot, but also do not want to look for a new job.
There is no universal cure for bad mood and depression, but a number of basic solutions can be identified that will ultimately bring your condition back to normal. Dismissal is always a stressful factor and the main cause of depression, so in order to survive a stressful situation with minimal losses, you need to adhere to some rules. Symptoms of stress after losing a job can be different - laziness, loss of appetite, irritability, emotional and physical exhaustion, Bad mood and well-being.
After being fired, you shouldn’t always rush to look for a new job; you will experience even more stress if you can’t do it the first time and short time. Sometimes it's better to give yourself time to rest, especially if Previous work it was heavy and tense. However, just lying in bed at home and watching TV all day is not an option. Such a rest is unlikely to help you get out of prostration. Don't let yourself freeze in one place. The longer you lie on the bed, the more difficult it will be to get out of it. Remember, getting out of a state of deep stress is much more difficult; it will be impossible to cope and eliminate all the symptoms of depression on your own and you will have to turn to specialists - psychologists and psychotherapists.
Movement is life, therefore, no matter what, take a walk, do physical exercise, move, go shopping, cafes, meet friends and spend more time with your family and friends. Visit those places where you could not go in the past due to being busy at work. This could be a cinema, various municipal institutions, a medical examination at a clinic or a visit to the dentist. Sign up for a swimming pool, fitness or advanced training course. Spend no more than 8 hours a day sleeping.
During this forced rest there will be time to think about what your wishes are for your new job. Do you want to do what you did before or would you like to try something new? Or maybe you have long dreamed of finding a new profession, trying yourself in a new “role”?
Try to find inspiration in everything, watch movies, read books, imagine yourself working in a new interesting position, or dream with pleasure of returning to your old profession, only in a new place. Draw images of your new colleagues in your specialty. All this will help you miss work and start looking for it with renewed vigor. Good method get rid of emotional stress- pour out your soul, tell a close friend or relative about your pain, cry, remember everything that worries you, but only once. Tell and forget.
Set yourself in a positive mood so that nothing happens to you, be it loss of a job or any other stressful situation, nothing can be changed, but you will still have to continue living and working. Stop blaming yourself and looking within yourself negative sides, pull yourself together and in any situation look only positive points. Remember your strengths, write them down on paper, thereby raising your self-esteem and easily finding a new job. Good specialists are needed always and everywhere, convince yourself that you are a qualified worker, a positive person and an excellent colleague. Even if you can’t find it the first time suitable job, do not despair, continue searching and working on yourself, then such a cause of stress as losing a job will seem like a trifle to you.
Material prepared by psychological service
Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region