Five Steps to Cope with Work-Related Stress

By Julianne Brown
Career Coach

We’ve all had those moments when our jobs become stressful, whether it’s due to a major deadline coming too soon or an inbox piling up with emails that demand immediate attention. When work starts stacking up, we can feel overwhelmed and defeated. A survey completed by the American Psychological Association found that more than one-third of workers said they typically feel tense or stressed out during their workday, so you are not alone.

The key to avoid the feeling of defeat and work stress is to look it straight in the eye and tackle it. Here are five tricks to consider when you’re coping with work-related stress:

1. Take a breath: Always remember to take a deep breath when you start to feel stressed. Make sure you take a moment to collect yourself and think about the happy things going on in your life. This pause will relax you and give you a clear head, so you can knock out the tasks weighing you down.

2. Use technology to your advantage: Next time you catch yourself stressing about your workload, try to turn on relaxing music while you work. The music can give you some background noise and really helps to pull your focus into the tasks you are working to complete.

3. Make a list: Making a list gives you an accurate and visual reference of everything you need to get done. Being able to see the whole picture provides you with a better idea of how to manage your time.

4. Focus on one task at a time: Trying to multi-task or having several tasks on your mind at once only increases your stress. That makes you less productive and ultimately lets the stress take over.

5. Identify your stressors: Knowing what triggers your stress can be crucial in battling stress and anxiety in the workplace. Maybe you become overwhelmed by a perceived lack of time. Try to combat this feeling by setting realistic goals for yourself.

Refocusing in moments of chaos and stress improves your productivity and the quality of work you produce. Ultimately, that results in a less stressful work environment for you.