by Compuease

Job burnout and stress are rampant in today’s workforce. People feel stressed, insecure and overwhelmed like never before.

“People are afraid for their jobs and are quick to assume the worst,” says Lorne Curtis, a management consultant in Ontario, Canada, adding that as a result, “They’re defensive and more inclined to argue with their supervisor or other employees.”

It’s easier to put out a small fire than it is to put out a large, raging one. In the same way it’s easier to deal with smaller doses of stress than it is to deal with large amounts of built-up stress. Therefore, make some kind of stress management plan a daily practice.

This will provide two benefits:

• it helps us to reduce the stressful triggers in life that can be reduced
• it helps us to control our response to the stresses that are unavoidable

Here are just a couple of helpful tips you might use right away to reduce the stress you’re facing.

Establish boundaries. It’s too easy to feel pressured to be available for work 24 hours per day. That might mean making a rule for yourself that you will not check work email from home in the evening or on the weekends. For example, you might set your phone’s email app settings to disable notifications for your work email account in the evening. Or you might have the self-control to simply ignore them. Do whatever you need to do in order to leave work behind and focus on your home life. Although people make different choices when it comes to how much they balance their work and home life, establishing some clear boundaries between them can reduce the potential for stress.

Take time to recharge. Don’t let your vacation days go to waste, nor continually save them up “for a rainy day” or for a super-long extended holiday. When possible, book a vacation day off to just relax and unwind at home. You don’t have to make it a “long weekend”; sometimes just having a single day off in the middle of the week works wonders. Work may be busy, but if you’re stressed and not working to your full potential then you may actually be wasting time playing catch-up. Take a day to recharge and then go back to work feeling refreshed and ready to perform at your best. If that’s simply not possible, then at least be sure to take a proper lunch break away from your workspace.

There are many courses available to help you recognize where your stress is coming from and how you can deal with it. If your stress levels are rising and getting you down, then consider talking to your supervisor or looking into one of the excellent stress management courses offered by Compuease.

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Contact us today at Compuease at 613.235.6161 or training@compuease.ca for additional helpful tips and to discuss our available professional skills training courses.