4 Tips on Decreasing Workplace Stress We All Need to Implement

Workplace-related stress is definitely a thing and we should all do whatever it takes to address it properly.

Recently I wrote about increasing the positive work atmosphere at the office since this is a crucial element for maintaining a team with happy and fulfilled customers. Today I decided to look at things from the other end of the specter – while improving the work environment is key, sometimes we may start with a way too stressful environment. In order for us to elevate the positive atmosphere, we first need to get rid of the stress ASAP.

Stress in its many forms can be downright toxic for everyone submerged in those kinds of situations

What is stress, eventually?

At mentalhealth.org.uk we find this very well-said explanation:

Stress is our body’s response to pressure. Many different situations or life events can cause stress. It is often triggered when we experience something new, unexpected or that threatens our sense of self, or when we feel we have little control over a situation.

So, we understand that stress is our bodies’ response to pressure. We all know that pressure is at times always present in the workplace. Be it coming deadlines, arrogant bosses, self-centered colleagues, hard tasks, the overwhelming amount of duties, you name it and it is probably present in any office out there.

If we, as leaders and managers, don’t pay enough attention to work-related pressure, then we can bet soon stress would be quite a thing in our office space. But what’s worse is that stress itself can cause much damage both to employees’ productivity and their mental health and well-being.

Nowadays we all hear plenty of information dedicated to productivity and mental health. While we aim at mastering productivity hacks and engaging in fun activities with our employees, sometimes we may miss a crucial step along the way – getting rid of all the occasions that may be triggering pressure, anxiety, and stress in the workplace.

So what are some of the most well-distributed factors that relate to stress and pressure at the office?

As we’ve already stated, stress and pressure are definitely a thing in the modern office, especially if we refer to a corporate one.

A team constantly meets an endless list of tasks, duties, and deadlines that tend to shrink by the minute in order to perform in the best way possible for the company’s good and well-being.

Of course, we cannot simply erase all tasks and duties – essentially, that’s the job itself. Instead of burning out trying desperately to fulfill every certain work-related criteria, we all could just sit down for a minute and try to come up with ways to improve the wholesome situation. Of course, we need to address all those triggers and do our best to decrease their effect both on us and on our team.

• Stress factor number 1. Deadlines.

I bet almost every office out there distributes the workload in terms of deadlines. As we all tend to have different tempos when it comes to working, often our job requires us to find the perfect balance between our employers’ expectations and our own capabilities. A good idea for stress decrease is if we, as managers, gather our team and speak with each member individually. Our goal would be to get to know their unique tempos and relate them to the tasks’ deadlines. Finding the perfect balance between the two would certainly help the employees feel less pressured.

• Stress factor number 2. Bossy bosses.

In some previous articles of mine, I’ve already discussed the issue with bossy and arrogant boss figures. If a boss decides to behave in a way that stresses out their employees, we all can safely state that things won’t go as smoothly as intended. The majority of people show not-so-dazzling work-related results if they feel constantly under pressure when at the office. A good approach for a manager would be turning toward the transformational leadership approach.

• Stress factor number 3. Quarrels with teammates.

Our employees spend a huge amount of their day at the office. It would be a shame if they didn’t get along with their teammates. Quarrels within the team are definitely some of the risk factors when it comes to stress and pressure in the workplace. It should be our top priority as leaders to make sure we dissolve any types of negative and toxic relationships.

• Stress factor number 4. Assigning too many tasks at once.

Sure, there is plenty of work. We all know that. But it’s not the best approach to assign all of it at once to certain individuals. This way we risk pushing them towards the realms of burnout – if this happens, we could potentially lose key players in the long run. Instead, we, as leaders, should make a list of what’s urgent and what can wait and distribute only the most important tasks first.

In a nutshell

Once we get rid of the majority of stress-triggering factors, we can then focus on actually improving the overall work atmosphere. It’s important to always remember that while work is important, our team’s well-being should be the top priority.