| Coping With
Stress At Work
Today, as
society moves at a much faster pace, employees and even employers find
that they are often under pressure due to stressful work conditions and
undesirable environment in and out of their workplaces. Here are some
useful suggestions by the Health Education Authority in the UK to cope
with, and finally to break the stress we face at work.
- Talk it out. Share it with
someone else. Others will welcome your trust.
- Write it out. It is easier
to see a problem in perspective when it is put on paper.
- Shrug it off. Raise your
shoulders then drop them. Relax your body.
- Breathe it away. Inhale
deeply and exhale heavily a few times. Calm your thoughts.
- Sort it out. List
practical options, weigh them up, make a decision, then act.
- Delay it. Put a side 15
minutes a day for a worry session; leave it until then.
- Work it off. Do something
physical. Clear your head, divert your energy.
- Reverse it. Consider
taking an opposite approach, explore alternatives.
- Laugh it off. Lighten it
with humor. Be generous with smiles.
- Distance it. Imagine a few
years from now. How much will it matter then?
- Balance it. Consider the
good consequences and feel glad about them.
- Cancel it. Think
positively, don't let the negative pull you down.
- Exaggerate it. Picture the
worst that could really happen. Is it likely?
- Win through it. Imagine
yourself being successful and feel good about it.
- Hold it. Say 'Stop', pause
and think. Now take a fresh look.
- Escape it. Notice
something enjoyable around you. Get into the present.
However,
following some of these measures does not necessarily mean that you can
run away from stress or problem at work. You are likely to be digging
yourself even deeper into the mire if you deal with it using the negative
ways such as the following.
1. Denial
A refusal to admit that anything is wrong in the hope that it will go
away. Often it does not; in fact it will probably get worse.
2. Escapism
Moving from one situation to another - a new job, a new marriage - in an
attempt to make a 'fresh start' and leave problems behind. But a it's the
way you habitually behave that is usually the problem, you troubles travel
with you.
3. Avoidance
Arranging your life so that you avoid stressful situations - or indeed,
any kind of challenge that might be uncomfortable in the short run. As
you're always canceling appointments, it puts a strain on your personal
and business relationships.
4. Projection
You blame everyone but yourself for whatever goes wrong. It's your
partner's fault the car is out of petrol even though you drove it last.
5. Displacement
Feelings of aggression and frustration are dumped on other people (usually
those who know you and love you best) and things instead of the source of
trouble can be disastrous.
6. Rationalization
You explain away your conduct with any number of plausible reasons -
except the real ones.
7. Nostalgia
Things were better in the past. You avoid present stresses by
contemplating past happiness and success.
8. Regression
When stress is very severe, people may escape by reverting to childhood
behavior. They were dependent on others then to protect them and order
their life.
9. Repression
Sometimes we bury past traumas in our unconscious and forget they ever
happened. But the weight of them is still with us, and they can surface as
nightmares, depression, phobias and obsessions.
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