Dealing with Stress at Work

Not all workplaces provide an environment congenial for performance. Politics, Disrespectful treatment, Harassment and Lack of appreciation and empowerment can adversely affect our motivation and performance. A happy and cooperative work atmosphere is conducive to growth and enhances job satisfaction. Retaining positivity in a non-supportive environment and improving quality of professional relationships can do wonders!

The diary of an employee with a tough boss read “Some people are like clouds, when they disappear it’s a brighter day”! There can be nothing more disappointing in a workplace than a discouraging and intimidating boss who can’t trust. Objectively understanding the triggers, communicating effectively and reasoning logically are some of the ways to handle a challenging boss. .

Keeping hopes up when we lose our job or are unable to find a job seems really difficult but all is not lost. It is okay to start over. It’s a chance to rebuild ourselves. We can use this time to update our skills and bounce back with a bang.

97% of employees and executives believe lack of alignment within a team impacts the outcome of a task or project. Steven Anderson put’s it succinctly “Alone we are smart, together we are brilliant “. A collaborative and motivated team leads to increased productivity, efficient problem solving and successful execution.

This is a problem that takes a toll on us emotionally. We miss being around our loved ones. Even when we are with them, we are not in a mood to give our hundred percent after a hectic day at work. At heart, we want to give our best, but are unable to do it. We find ourselves experiencing stress and emotional outbursts that affects our productivity at work too. Managing our feelings, frustration can help us reduce stress and maintain healthy work-life-balance.

Everyone wants a ‘pat on the back’ to make them feel good. Employees respond to appreciation expressed through recognition of their good work because it confirms their work is valued. The consequence of recognition is increased job satisfaction, productivity and ultimately increased value for one’s organization.

Spending Saturday and Sunday dreading Monday mornings? Cut the morning blues of having to go to work! Aristotle says “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work”. We all want good rewards, interesting and challenging work, strong professional relationships but we may not always have it all. When contentment becomes a way of life, we find silver lining everywhere!

Despite high potential for social interaction, many of us feel disconnected at our workplaces. Amongst tight deadlines, client calls, team meetings, we sit down with a cup of coffee, nodding to familiar faces and yet we feel lost, unable to share our hearts with anyone. By changing our perspective and letting ourselves be a part of the workplace, we can break this deadlock. Finding like-minded people, valuing and deepening our interactions with our colleagues can break the ice and make us feel connected again. It can also help someone else feeling the same break their own barriers.

Promotion and appraisals gives us a sense of accomplishment and acknowledgment for the hard work we have put in. We feel bad and lose motivation when our colleagues get promoted ahead of us or when we don’t get what we feel we deserve. There could also be times when we unknowingly refrain ourselves from improving our skills or seeing a positive side of the situation. All these things can raise our stress levels. Finding a stress buster and learning how to manage these negative feelings can help us in constantly growing and improving in our careers.

Are you being treated differently at work? We often come across situations where we feel that our boss, colleagues are unfair to us and biased towards others. We feel that we are being discriminated because of who we are and what we stand for such as gender, age, caste, political, religious beliefs or activities etc. While this may or may not be true in all situations, it does impact us a lot emotionally. We feel low, cheated and give up easily. It may also crush our self-esteem and make us doubt our capability. In times such as these, it may not be possible to change the way others feel about us but we can definitely change the way feel about our own selves. We must believe that we are unique and different and if we believe in our own unique potential, others will sooner or later believe in it too.