Cape Town - Excessive stress seems to have become the new normal, and dealing with stress-related challenges requires a new strategy, says Peter Kriel, head of the faculty of business at the Independent Institute of Education, a private higher education institution.
“Extreme stress is now considered par for the course in the workplace. But although some stress is indeed normal, the challenge is to be able to differentiate between acceptable levels of stress and excessive stress, and then to manage the excess,” he says. “It’s important for employees and employers to address dangerous stress levels, because these cause people to feel anxious, irritable and sometimes even depressed, which affects productivity as well as quality of work.”
He says for people experiencing the stress, the impact goes beyond the office into personal life and relationships, and in severe cases can become life-threatening. “Work stress, coupled with external stress factors such as looking after the family and paying the bills can even cause physical illness. Although employers have a responsibility to assist with stress management in the workplace, there are some guidelines for employees, especially those in more junior positions, on how to manage the kinds of stress and stressors they experience in the workplace.”
He says the most important step is to determine which stressors you have control over, and which ones are outside your control.
Examples of contributors to stress in the workplace over which you have little or no control, unless you are in top management, are aspects such as the financial stability of the company, the overall company strategy, the staff shortage in another department and the personality of your line manager.
“Every time you feel stressed, ask yourself if you can in any way control the situation. If the answer is no, let it go, and direct your focus somewhere more productive.
“One place to direct it is to think about where you can contribute to changing the situation – even if you cannot control it. If, for instance, you are experiencing conversations at the coffee station as bitter and angry, rather get your coffee when the angry people have gone away,” says Kriel.
“This sounds simple but it is actually key in the management of stress – people who behave differently begin to feel different, and they attract fewer stressed people to them. On the other hand, if a stressor is something that can be managed it is worth accurately pinpointing where it is coming from, and then doing something about it.
“This will go a long way towards making you happier and more productive at work, and more fulfilled in your personal life.”
Kriel says there are a few general but effective ways for heading off unhealthy stress by managing yourself differently.
Underperformance
One of the leading causes of stress in the workplace is underperformance – not meeting deadlines and not delivering what you are employed to do. “Procrastination is often the first step down a spiral of increasing disempowerment, and an inability to get daily tasks crossed off. Check your social media behaviour and don’t get caught in the trap of putting things off until the last minute.
“Get things done consistently and as a matter of course – this will make the small tasks run-of-the-mill and the bigger tasks manageable. It is also important to differentiate between real underperformance and perceived underperformance. The easiest way to know the difference is to ask your line manager if you are meeting expectations and if there is anything specific you are not delivering on.
“Even senior people in the workplace sometimes still suffer from something called impostor syndrome – where they constantly fear they are not qualified to be where they are.
“If you are doing your job and your manager agrees that you are performing well, then banish this stressful notion from your mind.”
Ignore office gossip
In a tough economy, rumours often run rife about downsizings, retrenchments and other potentially bad news for employees. Remember that gossip and rumours are often embellishment with only a little, if any, truth to them.
Someone mentions the word retrenchment in the tea room and the next minute you are stressing about the fact that the whole company is going to close down.
Don’t get into a panic that will affect your performance, about information that isn’t officially communicated. If bad things do happen, there will be plenty of time to deal with it then. Also steer clear of idle office talk about colleagues and managers. This will ensure you don’t become part of a negative narrative about your work environment and will help you to focus on the positive.
Plan your work-life balance
Unless there is a real emergency, leave work for office hours. You may receive a work-related email on a Sunday morning, but if you read it, be clear about whether it needs your urgent attention or not. A general request to deliver on something in two weeks’ time is not something you should attend to immediately.
The same applies to overtime. It is acceptable and even good that you will sometimes be required to work overtime and many ambitious people are putting in more time and effort than their colleagues.
The ones that succeed, though, manage when and how often to put in the overtime and they do switch off regularly – emotionally and from their technology. On the other hand if you have to work overtime because you are not performing or you are using your office hours for unproductive or destructive engagement, then you need to deal with that. Kriel says that, as always, investing in a healthy lifestyle will also go a long way towards helping you cope with stress in and out of the workplace.
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