How to Minimize Workplace Stress

Can You Eliminate Workplace Stress?

First, the bad news. In most cases, you will be unable to eliminate workplace stress regardless of your desire and persistence level. However, assuming you accept this reality, your reaction to stress can be managed to give it little power to ruin your work day.

There have been hundreds of articles and books written about stress, how to eliminate it, and how to control it. Many contain some excellent ideas, suggestions, and analysis of the issue and potential remedies. However, historical data indicates that, at least in the workplace, stress cannot be totally eliminated.

Whether you work in the private sector, controlled by the profit motive, the non-profit industry, motivated by the service motive, or the government, motivated by public issues, there will be stress in the workplace to achieve the organization’s goals. The first step in managing stress is to admit that it will exist, regardless of your attempts to eliminate it.

The second step is to identify and understand the types of workplace stress you’ll typically encounter. This important factor is usually the most misunderstood component of the process and the subject. However, one question stands out above all others: “How can you control something that you don’t understand?” Here are the two, often overlooked, components of workplace stress.

Identify the Two Major Types of Workplace Stress

• External stress. Your workplace environment creates a multitude of stress factors in most organizations. Some of the issues you might face include:
  • Authoritarian management (“My way or the highway.”)
  • Uncommunicative supervisors
  • Requirements to put out extra effort with no substantive rewards
  • An atmosphere of isolation in your work duties or surroundings
  • Team personal conflict
  • Hazy or non-existent promotional opportunities
  • Uncertainty of company solidity or future prospects
• Internal stress. This factor is less understood than the former, but it can be even more critical or damaging. Internal stress typically arises because of how you perceive your workplace situation or environment. This factor is a “you are what you think” condition. For example, if you love your job, your workplace, your peers, and your career, your internal stress factor may already be low. However, should you be dissatisfied with your position, your working conditions, your coworkers, or your career progression, you may be experiencing high internal stress levels.

How to Minimize These Stress Factors

Whether you experience external, internal, or both types of stress, your ability to minimize and control it comes directly from you, not from outside sources. Reading all the stress management books and articles ever written will offer little help unless you commit yourself to attacking this issue from the internal you. Once you are ready to act from within to affect that which is without, here are some tips to minimize workplace stress.

• Vent, but only to the “right” person/people. Orally venting your frustrations and stresses can be wonderful therapy. However, in a workplace situation, you must be careful to only vent to the right person. That person may be a coworker you trust completely, a sympathetic supervisor, or another third party unconnected with your specific job or department. Be careful though. Your honest display of stress or frustration to another can morph into comments about your complaining or whining about your job if the listener breaks your confidence and shares your comments with others.
• When feeling stressed, do some physical activity. The fastest and most effective stress relief comes from physical activity. Jogging, swimming, or playing your favorite sport is very effective. If you are less “sports-specific,” just walking, a controlled workout, or a treadmill session will accomplish the same goal.
• Analyze your typical reaction to stress and start changing those responses that escalate, not minimize, the effects. Self-analyzing your usual reactions to workplace stress is critical. Reflect on how you act, what you say, and things you do when influenced by stress. Positive reactions should remain in your repertoire. Disregard behaviors that are negative or actually increase your stress level immediately.
• Develop strong control of your emotions at the workplace. This may be the most difficult tip to achieve at first. If you tend to be highly emotional in many situations, your difficulty quotient increases. However, fear not, with practice and repetition, you can learn to control your workplace emotions to minimize stress.

Workplace stress will be your companion throughout your career. As you rise up the corporate ladder or embark on an entrepreneurial adventure, you will face a variety of stress factors. Learn to manage and minimize stress to achieve your career and lifestyle goals by using these tips to level out your psyche and responses. This minimizes the effects of stress and reduces them to a manageable level.