Effective ways to manage stress at work

Even if you love what you do, every job can have stressful elements to it. A little bit of stress every so often can help you stay focused. However, when stress leaves you feeling like you can no longer cope, it’s important to learn ways to help control this feeling. Below, we’ve outlined tips to help you manage your stress at work.

Tip 1 – Reach out

Sometimes, the best way to reduce stress is by sharing your worries with someone close to you. Getting support from friends, family or co-workers can be an effective way of blowing off steam and help to regain your sense of calm.

If you feel as if you have no one to turn to, it’s never too late to build new friendships. Take the time to get to know your colleagues or meet people by joining a club.

Tip 2 – Eat well and exercise

When there’s a lot going on at work, it can be easy to forget to look after your health properly. You don’t need to completely overhaul your lifestyle, normally, slight changes to your diet can do the world of good.

For maximum stress relief, try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. This could be as simple as walking to work or going for a wander on your lunch break. If it’s difficult to fit this into your schedule, break it up into two or three shorter segments.

Your food choices will have a big impact on how you feel throughout the working day. Try to avoid foods which leave you feeling sluggish and opt for healthy alternatives such as a salmon salad or a protein pot.

These small changes to your diet and lifestyle will help to boost your mood, leaving you feeling back in control of your emotions.

Tip 3 – Sleep

Getting a full night’s sleep can help you to feel more productive and creative at work. In short, the better rested you are, the better equipped you will be at tackling your job responsibilities and coping with stress.

If your stress is making you have sleepless nights, turn off screens an hour before you go to bed. The light given off by phones, computers and TVs supresses your body’s production of melatonin and severely disrupts your sleep. Instead focus on soothing activities such as reading or listening to calming music. Music streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer have lots of playlists dedicated to helping you nod off, why not give them a listen the next time you’re struggling to get to sleep.

Tip 4 – Break bad habits

Most of the time, we make our stress worse with negative thoughts and behaviour. If you can turn this around, you’ll find your stress easier to handle. Try to think more positively about your work and pat yourself on the back for small accomplishments.

Tip 5 – Have some ‘me time’

Here, in the UK, we work the longest hours in Europe meaning we often don’t take the time to do the things we really enjoy. Set aside a couple of nights each week for some quality time away from work.

We’d love to hear how you combat your stress - comment below or share on Facebook!