What are the best ways to avoid workplace stress? Our guide gives you 11 simple strategies to cope with whatever the workplace throws at you and enjoy your job more.
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Does every day feel like it’s too long until the weekend? If you ask yourself this from Monday to Friday, you obviously don’t feel like doing your job. Unfortunately, since better places do not grow on trees, it is time to change something about your own dissatisfaction, and use these strategies to avoid workplace stress!
11 ways to avoid workplace stress
1. Start the day relaxed
Much too late, the stomach in the back of the knees and there was also no coffee: If you open up in the office like that, you don’t have to be surprised when the day is already beginning.display
Tip: get up 15 minutes earlier, have a quiet coffee, have a relaxed breakfast and read the newspaper – the world will look better. And to be honest: 15 minutes more sleep is nothing against a stress-free start to the day.
2. Maintain calm
The email box is overflowing and the first colleagues are standing in the door with annoying questions. That’s it with calm and relaxation.
Tip: take it easy! Tell the coworkers that you will come over in half an hour and take care of everything. Before that, you will check the emails and get an overview of what needs to be done first.
3. Don’t panic!
Argh! The to-do list has grown immensely in the course of the morning, the phone rings during a tour and you are about to go nuts.
Tip: Now is the time to take a deep breath. Ommmm … If the pulse is back to normal and the first panic has passed, sit down and try to distribute smaller tasks to colleagues. Doesn’t everything always have to get stuck with you.
4. Time for a break
Stress or not: Breaks are absolutely necessary to relax and go home with a smile at the end of the day.
Tip: It’s best to go out into the fresh air for a moment (preferably with a nice colleague) and chat about everything – everything except about the job.
5. Don’t take everything personally!
The boss is in a bad mood to complain about everything and thus creates a great atmosphere in the office …
Tip: do not take it personally! (Unless you’ve really done something wrong. Can happen to anyone. Correct the mistake, make a note of it for next time, and tick it off.)
6. And don’t let the stress take over!
The WORST thing you can do is get totally into your frustration. That messes up the whole day and you will definitely take the anger home with you.
Tip: It’s damn hard not to let the anger down too much. A little help in switching off: Think of something nice, for example the next vacation, the cocktail evening with your best friend or the upcoming visit to the cinema.
7. Chocolate break
Yes, chocolate doesn’t solve any problems. BUT: It makes the day much more pleasant! Tip: plan a small, fixed chocolate break. You can look forward to it all day long!
8. Addressing problems
Unfortunately, the chocolate high is short-lived, because less than five minutes later we get upset again about colleague XY, who is causing a paper jam on the copier for the 1000th time – without removing it.
Tip: Silently annoying oneself does not help at all and in the worst case causes a stomach ulcer. Address the problem – to the relevant colleague and NOT to the other colleagues, who cannot change anything anyway.
9. Compliments, compliments
“You did a great job!” Everyone likes to hear compliments. Unfortunately, they are said far too seldom in the job.
Tip: get started. Praise a colleague, she will certainly be happy and will return the favor soon. With a bit of luck, the compliment culture takes on a life of its own and everyone becomes a little nicer to one another.
10. Set an end to the work!
The work is still piling up on the desk and you could still do an infinite number of things and work overtime forever.
Tip: Don’t leave everything just because the official working hours are over. BUT: Working longer than your colleagues all the time only creates frustration. Do what needs to be done, the rest can wait until tomorrow.
11. Check out!
End of working day. Your desk is miles away, but still everything revolves around work and there are no other topics of conversation? Not good!
Tip: Leave all your thoughts on work in the office. Arrange with friends and family to only talk about the bare minimum of a job. So no hours of analysis of what the boss might have meant by XY, no constant blasphemy about the stupid colleague. That messes up the whole evening and makes you go to the office the next morning with anger in your stomach. Nobody needs it!
