How to manage work stress: 10 practical tips

Everyone experiences job stress at some point in their professional life, no matter how much they love their job. Schedules, co-workers, delivery dates, fear of dismissal and many more are reasons for worry and work stress.

A little stress is motivating and necessary to achieve the objectives, but when this stress is constant can lead to health problems, problems with our relationships and poor performance labor.

It is for this reason that learning how to manage stress at work can be a big help, both in the workplace and in our personal lives and we will see, below, ways to manage this problem at work.

• Related article: "The 7 consequences of work overload"

How to manage work stress properly, step by step

Stress is something that is present in our lives and is normal, especially in the workplace. When we work we need to be wide awake and know what we are doing to avoid accidents, meet the objectives assigned to us and deliver the reports and other documents within the deadlines agree. However,

In certain situations, this stress is not adaptive at all, harming us at the level of health, affecting our performance and damaging our relationships..

The causes of work stress are very diverse, but among them we can find an excessive workload, having few breaks, not knowing what are the functions of our job, having bad working conditions, bad relations with the boss and colleagues, uncertainty about the future, feeling of lack of control, lack of job support or poor communication in the company, among many others further.

Due to all this, there are many forms of discomfort that we can suffer from work stress. Among the most important we have heart problems, back pain, mood problems, immune system problems, angry outbursts and bad relationships with our close circle, which will cause even more stress. In addition, it is common to feel an enormous feeling of apathy and frustration.

It is a type of discomfort that should not be taken as a joke. To avoid all this, below we will see how to manage work stress, focusing on the quality of the position work, our relationship with it, strategies to reduce our anxiety and ways to channel it.

1. Take a break

It is essential to have a little time to disconnect at the workplace. Taking a break can be the best way to reduce stress and return to task with a clearer, clearer head.

We can try to rest by taking a short walk, having a healthy snack such as an infusion or reading a book that we have taken to the workplace.

In the event that we cannot leave homework for more than ten minutes or that in our job it is not possible to leave the office, one option is to close our eyes for five minutes and breathe deeply.

2. Describe the job

Although it may seem strange, On many occasions, work stress is caused by not knowing exactly what tasks must be performed.

Describe the job, identifying tasks that should not be assigned to us or knowing more clearly what we have to do are ways to deal with the uncertainty and ambiguity that often appear in job positions. job.

Once these ambiguities have been overcome, it is possible to be clear about what must be done, who to turn to when something goes wrong and what our responsibilities are.

3. set reasonable goals

It is very important to set reasonable and realistic goals that do not consume excessively or take up all our available time. Do not accept more work than can be done with good time management.

If the boss assigns us a task that we are not sure we can complete on time, we should talk to him to raise the possibility of breaking it down into smaller and easily assumable objectives, and thus doing a better quality job without burn us

• You may be interested in: "Time management: 13 tips to make the most of the hours of the day"

4. Manage the use of technology

It often happens that we get home, look at our mobile, see a notification from our boss and get nervous: we have taken our work home, even though the day is over.

We must set limits to work announcements by establishing a schedule in which we can be found available and having our mobile, pager or work email disconnected after a certain time, such as dinner time or at night.

5. Organize based on priorities

A good way to avoid work stress is by organizing the workplace properly, establishing which pending tasks should be done first. One idea is to take a piece of paper and write down, in order from highest to lowest priority, those tasks that must be done, either during the day or during the week.

This will help us to organize ourselves better, it will motivate us to get down to work and it will take away the uncertainty of not knowing how to start or how to continue.

6. Enjoy during the week

On many occasions, work stress is not due to the fact that our work is stressful in itself or that something bad has happened to us at work.

It often happens that we get stressed and frustrated because we have focused too much on our work, to such an extent that when we realize it, it has already become night and we do not have time to enjoy our hobbies, such as playing sports, watching movies, meeting friends or enjoying time with our family.

To the extent that our work allows us, especially if we have flexible hours, a very A good way to avoid this frustration is to reserve a time of the week to do what we like.

Enjoy during the week activities that are pleasant to us it will make us not feel bad for having let work eat up our free time because, really, we will have enjoyed it.

7. Avoid multitasking

We are bombarded with the message that we are capable of doing all sorts of things at once. Well, that's not the case, much less while working. If we want what has been assigned to us to go well, we must avoid multitasking at all things.

It is much better to just do one thing, concentrating on what we are doing and making sure that everything is going well, than not trying to do two or more at the same time and not realizing that we are committing mistakes.

If we have more than one job to do, it is best, as we have already mentioned, to organize ourselves according to which tasks are priorities. Allocating time and energy to more than one task at a time will only cause us to perform poorly and deteriorate our health.

8. Family and friend support

If we suffer work stress It is very important that our circle of friends and family know this.. Not only so that they give us their unconditional support, but also so that they understand that it is not convenient for us to be put under pressure when we have had enough at work.

The support of family and friends and their understanding of how bad we are going through are a protective factor against psychopathology. They can help us to manage stress, in addition to suggesting ways that have worked for them to reduce this problem in their jobs.

9. know when to quit

Sometimes work causes us so much stress that it is not at all healthy to continue in it. If this is the case, you should find out what is the best time to quit your job and see what job options you have.

It may be the case that there are no more jobs to aspire to, which, if we find ourselves unemployed, could cause us more stress. All options must be studied and decided what we think is best for us.

10. Go to the psychologist

Developing healthy habits is essential to be able to cope with stress and to be able to avoid it. In addition to good self-care habits such as having good sleep hygiene, a good diet, exercising and not abusing tobacco, coffee and alcohol, it is necessary to go to the psychologist.

This psychological health professional will study our case, see how much stress we are suffering and opt for one therapeutic option or another., suitable for each case.

It can also help us decide if it is appropriate to continue working where we are or if It would be advisable to look for another job, if the one we have is exhausting us physically and mentally.

Bibliographic references:

• Mutual, m. c. (2008). Stop Stress: How to manage Work Stress. Barcelona: MC Mutual.
• Osorio, J. E., & Niño, L. c. (2017). Work stress: review study. Diversitas, 13(1), 81-90.
• Silla, J. m. Q. (2001). Work stress: an individual and collective perspective. Prevention, work and health: Magazine of the National Institute of Safety and Hygiene at work,(13), 18, 38.