A whopping 82 percent of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress. About 125,000 workers die every year due to workplace stress related illness and associated heart attacks or strokes. If you needed any sobering statistics today, that is it.
By the way, those are stats from the pre-COVID period, so you can imagine how worse the situation has become considering the effects of the pandemic.
People in the United States work more jobs and longer hours than nearly any other country in the world, and stress runs rampant.
Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment, but clearly, they aren’t doing enough – not even close. As an employee, there’s a need to take it upon yourself to care for your wellbeing.
We are sharing tips for managing workplace stress. Keep reading for a healthier you!
1. Establish Whether You Are Suffering from Work-Related Stress
Accurate diagnosis is key to the successful treatment of any health condition. Stress is no different when it comes to risks, diseases, and damage that can be done.
However, there are different types of stress and each might call for a different treatment approach. This is why it is important to establish whether you are suffering from work-related stress. Although this should be easy to find out, it is possible that you could be suffering from stress that is not related to your work and assume that it’s the work that’s causing it.
A mental health counselor can help you identify whether you’re indeed suffering from work-related stress.
2. Identify The Source Of Your Workplace Stress
OK, so you have now established that you’re suffering from workplace stress.
What exactly is causing the stress? There are many causes of stress that are job-related. It could be the long hours, heavy workload, organization changes, job insecurity, lack of autonomy, tight schedules, boring work, or change to job duties. It can be one or a combination of these causes.
Once you’ve identified the cause, you’ll be in a better position to start taking active steps to manage the stress.
Of course, some issues can be easy to fix, and others, not so easy. For instance, if long working hours are the sole source of your work-related stress, for example, you can try asking your boss for a flexible work schedule. This could be the solution that fixes your stress for good.
If your stress is arising from feelings of professional inadequacy, you could solve the problem by taking a skills development program. You’ll get to interact with your peers, some of who might be feeling the way you do. Peer learning is an effective way to overcome different kinds of workplace stress.
3. Balance Life And Work
Many a time, workplace stress won’t arise exclusively because of work issues. Issues at home can also contribute or even be the trigger.
It goes without saying that if things aren’t right at home, you aren’t going to have an easy time at work. Homelife and work-life are mutually interdependent. When one is thriving, the other will follow suit.
Therefore, strive to strike a healthy balance between life and work. Try not to bring work home. Even when you’re working from home, set a strict schedule and stick to it.
Managing Workplace Stress The Easy Way
Workplace stress is a pandemic, really. While there are no vaccines being developed for the condition, you shouldn’t give up and suffer in silence. Managing workplace stress isn’t the easiest of tasks because some aspects might be out of your control, but with the right information, you can do it.
Put your health first and keep reading our blog for more advice. Visit the Healthcare, HR, Career, and Frugal Fitness sections of the Frugal Finance Blog to learn more about stress management related to working.
