Working in a high-stress environment can be exhilarating. In fact, short-term stress can help enhance your innate and adaptive immune responses. However, stress that lasts for hours to days can dysregulate your immune systems, causing health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, headaches, skin conditions, depression and anxiety. If you work in a high-stress environment, here are a few tips on dealing with stress at work.
1. Develop healthy responses
After a long and stressful day at the office, it’s important to decompress. Instead of drinking the night away or watching endless hours of TV, choose healthy coping mechanisms. Any form of physical exercise is a great stress reliever, so try exercising or doing some yoga. Alternatively, you can spend time with your friends and family talking or playing games. Lastly, ensure that you get six to eight hours of good-quality sleep.
2. Stay organised
Starting your day in a rush makes you more reactive to stress in the workplace. Therefore, develop a realistic morning routine and plan properly so that you have enough time to get ready and have a healthy breakfast. Remember to plan your work so that you’re not always rushing to beat deadlines.
3. Clarify your job description
One of the common causes of burnout in the workplace is unclear employee requirements. If you’re unclear about the degree of authority you have or what your boss expects from you, you’re likely to experience constant stress. Also, with unclear job expectations, you’re likely to take on more work and work longer hours, all of which can cause severe stress. If you feel like your roles and responsibilities are ambiguous, talk to your supervisor about their expectations of you.
4. Identify and track stressors at work
The key to dealing with a stressful work environment is identifying situations that cause you the most stress. Keep a record of the people and circumstances involved, and also take note of your responses. Doing this will help you avoid your stressors or deal with them better.
5. Get support
Talking to colleagues, friends, and family members can help you manage your stress better. If you’re unable to open up to them, consider talking to a psychologist who can help you make lifestyle changes.
