April is Stress Awareness Month, which makes it the perfect time to talk about one place where stress can thrive if the proper precautions and interventions aren’t taken: the workplace. In Canada, more than 1 in 3 employees report feeling constantly stressed, and nearly half feel burned out. The most common reasons for workplace stress are having a heavy workload, followed closely by mental or emotional fatigue.1 Knowing that staggering statistic, it’s important to acknowledge and remedy stress in the workplace before it lowers productivity, job satisfaction, and employee retention.
Every job, from entry-level to executive positions, carries varying degrees of stress. That’s why employees and managers alike can benefit from effective and practical stress management techniques to keep their organization running smoothly – even during high-pressure situations or crises. Try these three effective stress management techniques to keep your workplace stress-free:
- Know when to walk away from conflict. When tensions are high, cooler heads will prevail. However cliché that might sound, when you are involved in a tense situation at work, whether it’s with a boss, employee, or coworker, it’s easy for stress to run wild, thereby escalating an already tense and stressful interaction. Stress can lead to feelings of defensiveness, frustration, and hostility, which will only intensify the conflict. That’s why it’s best to distance yourself from the stressful situation, even for a moment or two, and then return to the conversation with a calmer and more pragmatic approach to problem-solving.
Managers: If you notice that employees are engaged in a heated exchange, calmly interject and encourage them to revisit the topic later, when stressful emotions aren’t running the conversation. Also, if you find yourself raising your voice or gesturing aggressively as a result of stress, be aware that your demeanour will likely be adopted by the employee with whom you’re speaking. De-escalate the situation by lowering your voice in hopes that your employee will match your tone and calm demeanour.
Tip: Speaking slowly and clearly while lowering your voice can be effective and will encourage the other person to mirror you. As well, it’s perfectly fine (unless it is an emergency) to reschedule a date/time to continue to work toward a resolution to the issue.
2. Speak up for yourself. If your workload is too heavy or you find that there are unrealistic expectations of you to perform with limited time or resources, it’s your right to speak up for yourself. Have an open and honest discussion with your supervisor about how you’re feeling and ways you think you could decrease your workload without compromising productivity. Remember, it’s always helpful to bring a solution to the problem so that you’re being proactive.
Managers: if your employee approaches you with concerns about their workload, welcome the conversation and help them feel heard. After all, it can be intimidating to admit an inability to keep up with work demands to your boss.
3. Promote self-care. Self-care has become an ambiguous catch-all term for prioritizing your health and happiness, but it’s still as important as ever to practice. If you’re feeling mentally or emotionally fatigued, either from events at home or at work, actively take steps to protect your mental health by reducing stress with healthy coping skills. For some, it might mean committing to a walk outside at lunchtime. For others, it can involve not checking emails while at home in the evening. Find whatever you need to feel recharged and introduce that habit into your daily routine. Just try to avoid unhealthy habits to cope with stress, like substance use or fast food, because these behaviours might lead to more stress down the road.
Managers: Encourage your employees to take the time they need to practice self-care. Perhaps organizing staff exercise sessions at lunch, offering short mindfulness classes on breaks, or providing free healthy snack options in the office kitchen will help your employees feel as though you support their commitment to self-care. This action might even pay off in the long-term by retaining happy, healthy, and productive employees.
Tip: Set and maintain clear boundaries with your employer so that you are upfront with your dedication to self-care. Proactively communicating your needs is important so that you can be transparent and freely fulfill those needs.
Implementing stress management techniques in your workplace takes practice and will become more effective – not to mention, easier to adopt – the more often you use them. For more support on stress management, both at work and at home, please explore one of Homewood Health’s many mental health services listed below:
Therapy@Home: Intensive Outpatient Program