How to Deal with Common Causes of Stress in the Office

At first glance, an office environment isn’t as dangerous or taxing on your body as working on a construction yard or even in a restaurant. However, just because people try to stay quiet about certain issues and don’t let their frustration get the best of them doesn’t mean that they are not severely stressed out and mentally fatigued. There are a lot of things in the office environment that can cause us great stress, from being overworked to engaging in office politics, but fortunately there are ways of dealing with all of them. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to cut down the stress in your workplace.

Liven up your work space

A grey, gloomy environment feels soulless and boring. It is easy for the mind to wonder off, or to start feeling a bit claustrophobic or moody after spending several hours seated at a desk, particularly if your environment feels foreign and you associate it with hard work and obligations. Livening up your surroundings can be as simple as bringing in a few colorful pictures, a plant, a new lamp, a few figurines and your personal coffee mug. Just try to make the place a bit more welcoming and decorate it to suit your personality – within reason of course.

Make sure you are sitting properly

An aching body will quickly cause you to fall into a bad mood, become easily irritated and distracted, which in itself leads to lowered productivity and the stress related to not being sure whether you can meet a deadline. A decent ergonomic chair will provide good lumbar support, but even if you have some simple chairs in your office, sitting with your back straight, shoulders pulled slightly back, knees and elbow joints at ninety degrees and the monitor set up at eye height will make you feel a lot better and keep you healthy.

Organize your time more efficiently

A lot of that weekly dose of stress comes from the fact that we are always rushing, never quite managing to get everything sorted out on time. Procrastination can play a huge role in this, or you may simply be unable to effectively juggle work, relationships, hobbies and other obligations just by feel. Not a lot of people out there can just improvise on the spot and deal with problems on the move – making some kind of a plan is paramount for those looking to utilize their life efficiently and reduce stress. Sit down and write all the things you have to do this week, then prioritize them and figure out how much time will go into completing each task. Once you have a game plan, try to stick to it as closely as you can, and if you’ve got a bit more free time on your hands, use it to complete another task rather than just lying around and watching TV.

Take short breaks

It’s amazing just how much a few short breaks during a busy day can help you stay focused and calm. Take a short 5-10 minute break every couple of hours and move your eyes left to right, up and down and then in a circular fashion. Spend thirty seconds on each eye exercise, than get up and walk around the room, stretch out your muscles a bit and end with a couple of minutes of deep, slow breathing with your eyes closed back at the desk. This short routine done several times a day will do wonders for you.

Learn to deal with problematic people

It’s easy to tell people not to get involved in office politics, but sometimes you just get sucked into it and, there is not much you can do to avoid it, unless you want to be the weird loner in the corner that never speaks. You’ll need to become more comfortable with expressing your thoughts and feelings in a polite manner. Don’t be afraid to set boundaries and even be a bit blunt when protecting them. There is a difference between being assertive and being verbally aggressive, and it’s something you need to learn over time.

Backing of when an argument is escalating and standing your ground and letting people know you don’t want them close to you or that you don’t have time for them are both good strategies for keeping the peace, and it’s important to know which strategy to use in a given situation. If things go too far however – e.g. a person is too pushy, someone is literally bullying you or sexually harassing you – then you need to act straight away and get the law involved. Don’t be afraid to immediately seek legal counsel and press charges if you start seeing some very clear signs that a person means you harm.

Talk to your boss

Here is where the ability to be assertive without appearing menacing or bothersome will do you a lot of good. It’s easy for a person to become a Yes Man, someone who doesn't want to anger or disappoint the boss and ends up agreeing to all kinds of extra work or never speaking up against certain practices or issues within the company. All this stuff can eat away at you silently until you are overworked or under-appreciated to the point where you snap. Don’t be afraid to tell the boss what you think or to negotiate. Of course, you’ll need to be very tactful and try and find a good way to communicate with your boss, but in the end, you can end up saving a lot of nerves with a few simple sentences.

There are many reasons to get stressed working in an office, and a bit of stress now and then can keep us on our toes and make us work harder. However, chronic stress is a sign that something is really off and that we are not satisfied at work. This is something that can be changed with a bit of effort, so try to fix the root of the problem and the stress will slowly go away.

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