Tips for Managing
Workplace Stress
By Mary G. White, SPHR
Provided by LoveToKnow.com
Managing Workplace Stress
• It’s not realistic to eliminate all stress from work, as stress is a
fact of life.
• Every job involves stress to some degree
• Some stress is positive and some is negative
• There is not a one-size-fits all solution to managing workplace
stress.
Managing Workplace Stress
• Learning how to manage stress begins with:
•
•
•
•
•
Recognizing situations that lead to stress
Separating positive stress from negative
Accepting the reality of unavoidable negative stressors
Implement strategies to minimize the impact of unavoidable stressors
Take steps to eliminate unnecessary negative stressors
Identifying Work-Related Stressors
• Learning to managing stress starts with recognizing what
causes you to feel stressed.
• To identify your primary sources of stress (i.e., stressors), you’ll
need to identify the work-related situations that lead to feelings
of negative stress.
• Certain situations? _________________________________________
• Certain people? ___________________________________________
• Certain types of tasks? ______________________________________
Identifying Work-Related Stressors
• Pay attention to when you feel the most stressed over a period
of time to determine your primary stressors.
• Keeping a stress journal may be helpful:
• http://cf.ltkcdn.net/stress/files/2002-Stress-Journal-Page.pdf
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Looming deadlines
• Set and follow pre-deadlines for yourself (i.e., trick yourself into thinking
it’s due sooner than it really is)
• Establish and keep up with project milestones
• Avoid putting off projects until the last minute
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Keeping track of tasks with a lot of steps
• Make yourself a checklist and follow it
• Come up with an acronym to make it easier to remember the steps
• For example – “RACE to fire safety!” is an acronym that stands for Rescue,
Alarm, Contain, Extinguish)
• Practice the task until you start to feel comfortable with it
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Discovering that co-workers haven’t done what you
need when it’s too late to find an alternative
• Review progress with co-workers periodically, actually looking at workto-date rather than just asking how things are going
• Have a contingency plan in mind from the beginning of the project, just
in case someone doesn’t meet obligations
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Feeling like circumstances are beyond your control
• Recognize that you cannot control everything
• Don’t spend effort and energy trying to change what you cannot
control; accept what you can’t control and move on
• Focus instead on accomplishing your goals in light of whatever
limitations you must work within
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Co-workers handling situations different from the way
you would handle them
• Accept that there is more than one right way to accomplish a task
• Realize that trying to get everyone to do things your way will make you
seem like a micromanager
• Focus on the goal or objective rather than the method; if their approach
works, don’t stress over it
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Participation in professional associations, community
organizations and company task forces or committees is taking
too much time.
• Make a list of which “extra-curricular activities” are the most valuable
and meaningful to you at this time in your life
• Step away from the activities that don’t make the list, realizing that you
can always go back later if circumstances change
• Remember: It’s better to do a few things well than to try to spread
yourself to thin and end up stressed out or making a negative
impression on others
Individual Solutions
These are just a tiny portion of the many types of workplace
stress paired with a few potential solutions; use these ideas to
brainstorm a list that meets your individual needs.
Ongoing Process
Learning how to manage stress is an ongoing process, but it
requires a solution-focused mindset.
Remember:
• Identify the stressors you experience at work
• Try to eliminate the ones that are unnecessary
• Come up with workable solutions for the ones that are inevitable