We’ve all had those days. It seems like one thing after another is demanding our time. Deadlines loom. Interactions with coworkers and supervisors exacerbate the rate at which our shoulders are tightening. And that little voice inside narrates each moment, telling us we’re never going to get everything done, and that even if we do, it won’t be good enough.
Workplace stress can seem never-ending.
The prevalence of and fallout from stress in the workplace is a pervasive and thorny problem in America, according to the American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work in America Survey. More than three in four workers surveyed report experiencing work-related stress. Some 57% say that stress is having a negative impact, including causing issues that are often associated with burnout, such as emotional exhaustion (31%); lack of motivation to do their best (26%); and a desire to keep to themselves (25%) or even quit (23%). One in five say stress reduces their productivity, and nearly that number (19%) say it causes them to be irritable or angry with coworkers and customers.
Fortunately, there are some ways to get some relief when day-to-day stress feels overwhelming, says psychologist Chris Mosunic, chief clinical officer at mental health company Calm.
Mosunic says that—in simple terms—emotional states are caused by blood flow in different parts of the brain, including the part that triggers feelings of stress. “When we get stressed, what happens is that blood flow just accumulates in that section over the course of the day,” he says. The best remedy? Take a few minutes off every hour or half hour. He likens it to taking the lid off a pot of water on the stove to prevent it from boiling over.
Take a few deep breaths. Watch a few minutes of TV. Do something very different than what you’ve been working on. “If you end up having a really high fight-or-flight situation, that’s when nobody gets smarter and nobody benefits—your coworker and yourself included,” he says. These microbreaks alleviate the fight-or-flight response and give you some relief.
Want to short-circuit stress? Pay attention to another person. You don’t even need a “high-quality” engagement; no face-to-face, heart-to-heart conversations with your best friend are necessary. Simply connecting in the hallway with a coworker or hopping on a video call will likely do the trick, Mosunic says.
“It’s just that you’re paying attention to another human being. The face is extremely engaging, and it gets us out of our own [heads],” he says. “It’s very, very effective, [yet] people minimize it.”
Mosunic says that one of the cornerstones of cognitive behavioral therapy for stress and anxiety is journaling. “It helps us to slow down that soundtrack in our brain that goes off every single day for every part of our life,” he says. Those “automatic thoughts” can cause stress.
“When you start to journal, you slow that down and things start popping out that you didn’t even know you were thinking, that you would never say to any other human being,” he says. So when you’re feeling stressed, find a few moments to write down what’s happening. You may be surprised how effective it can be for reducing the tension.
We’ve heard that going for a walk or run when you’re feeling stressed can help you feel better. But Mosunic says that preemptive exercise can help you stay calm in the first place. As long as you’re healthy enough to do so (it’s a good idea to check with your doctor before starting any exercise program), moving before you encounter a challenging situation can help you not have as big a stress response.
“If a person goes for, say, a brisk walk or run before a stressful event, their stress response will be muted compared to if they didn’t exercise before that event,” Musonic says.
One favorite technique that Mosunic uses to manage stress responses is progressive muscle relaxation. Essentially, it involves tensing a group of muscles and then letting go, which forces your body to relax. Start by focusing on tensing your arm muscles and releasing them. Then do the same with your legs and other muscle groups. It’s not new; in fact, the practice has been around for decades.
“It also helps with physical health,” Musonic says. At least one study has shown that the practice reduced blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes.
The next time it feels like your fight-or-flight response is on overload, try any or all of these techniques to manage the stress and give yourself some relief.
How to handle the kind of stressful workday when everything’s going wrong
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06.12.2023
We’ve all had those days. It seems like one thing after another is demanding our time. Deadlines loom. Interactions with coworkers and supervisors exacerbate the rate at which our shoulders are tightening. And that little voice inside narrates each moment, telling us we’re never going to get everything done, and that even if we do, it won’t be good enough.
Workplace stress can seem never-ending.
The prevalence of and fallout from stress in the workplace is a pervasive and thorny problem in America, according to the American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work in America Survey. More than three in four workers surveyed report experiencing work-related stress. Some 57% say that stress is having a negative impact, including causing issues that are often associated with burnout, such as emotional exhaustion (31%); lack of motivation to do their best (26%); and a desire to keep to themselves (25%) or even quit (23%). One in five say stress reduces their productivity, and nearly that number (19%) say it causes them to be irritable or angry with coworkers and customers.
Fortunately, there are some ways to get some relief when........
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