9 Ways to Manage Work Stress for Women
How to Manage Work Stress
Women are more prone to workplace stress because of the many roles they play in life: as career woman, wife, mother, daughter, and friend. Most women work way beyond the 9-5 shift, often having to rush home to cook dinner, help the kids with homework, and prepare the next day’s office attire and appearance.
The stress and anxiety caused by endless tasks and impossible deadlines in a high-speed, high-tech world has made women’s lives a living web of complexity. Managing work stress becomes crucial.
Causes of Stress
Stress is a combination of fatigue, restlessness, depression, over-focusing, and over-all gloominess that is a consequence of overwork and other domestic and personal issues that come about as a result of life. The difficulty of trying to balance time between work and the home has been causing many women to suffer from stress. But the drive for success cannot always protect us from times of depression and overwork. So, how can women cope with stress and anxiety at work?
There is hope for over-worked, stressed women. Here are some practical ways for women to reduce and manage work-related stress:
How to Manage Stress at Work
*9 Ways to Manage Stress at Work:
1. Put up relaxing scenes.
It could be a poster or a small painting with beautiful scenery. It could be a background or screen saver on your computer or phone. These images will help to calm you and also to remind you to calm yourself throughout the day.
2. Prioritize.
Whenever possible, get your most important work done first thing in the day. That way, no matter what comes up, you’ve dot that completed!
Stop reading things like junk email that simply wastes time. Likewise, evaluate how much time you are spending on social media and whether that time could be better used getting something done or simply taking a break.
3. Time out.
Take some time out for a breather. This doesn’t mean surfing the web. It means literally taking a time out. You can mediate, walk, or just be.
4. Rearrange your workstation.
To the greatest extent possible, create your work area to be as comfortable and aesthetic as possible. Put up photos of your family or favorite pet. Your environment can greatly impact how you feel.
5. When a plant isn’t just a plant.
Having a plant around your workplace is good stress relief. Studies show that looking at something green like a plant helps soothe your eyes after facing the computer monitor all day or after reading for a long time. Focusing on a green plant will have a soothing effect.
6. Exercise.
Walking, climbing the stairs, or going out to run helps fight stress. Physical activity helps get rid of tension. During a workout, your body releases endorphins which helps your body to relax. Endorphins also act as natural pain killers. There are a lot of exercise videos that you can use ranging from the standard aerobics to pilates, tae-bo, and a host of other fitness programs. See also Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.
7. De-clutter.
A cluttered workstation adds more stress to your day than you may even realize. Make your work environment more appealing by organizing your things and throwing away things you no longer need. Set aside a short amount of time either daily or weekly to purge the things you don’t need and to organize the things you do need.
8. Set Boundaries.
Communicate clearly and assert yourself, make your co-workers know when you are more available for chit chat and when you are not!
9. Go less in your caffeine intake.
Caffeine is a powerful stimulant and too much of it will wear you out over time, wreaking havoc on your adrenals and lessening your ability to deal with stress. A great resource about adrenal gland health is: The Adrenal Reset Diet: Strategically Cycle Carbs and Proteins to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones, and Move from Stressed to Thriving.
There are things at work that are in our control and things that are outside of our control. Get a grip on work-related stress by eliminating the stress that you can eliminate and preparing for the stress you can’t. You will find you can cope much better than you have been.
And of course, if you are in a situation where your work is severely compromising your health and wellbeing, it is wise to figure out a way to transition to something better for you. That would be one of the best ways to manage work stress for you.
