Five Tips for Shaking off Stress at Work

Most jobs in the modern working environment are pressurised and can induce stress. Productivity is key, activity is measured and everyone is accountable to varying degrees. While this type of pressure is good as it keeps you motivated and focused, any type of pressure can still lead to stress or stressful situations. This certainly true in the recruitment industry, where there can be plenty of pressure and plenty of unforeseen scenarios that for some people can lead to stress. However what’s important, and also key to your career success, is how you act in these stressful situations. Here are five tips for dealing with these situations and ensure a positive outcome.

1. Count to 10

Avoid a knee jerk reaction. It is the classic reaction, but it works, as human being’s we are programmed to make decisions and solve problems, sometimes that means we can make a quick decision that…well…turns out to be the wrong decision!

So our first tip is to count to 10, only in your mind though (out loud will make you look crazy)….this short time allows you to pause and consider the key elements before acting. In most cases your reaction after counting to 10 will be different (and more positive or measured) than your immediate knee jerk reaction.

2. Get Up

Step away from the PC and shake it off. Go and make a cup of tea or coffee, get some fresh air, grab a piece of fruit – just do something that gets you up and moving, distance from your work-station can really give you clarity and a fresh perspective.

3. Fresh Air

Fresh air is great and there is nothing better to gather your thoughts in a potentially pressurised situation…a walk around the block was always my favourite…only takes five minutes but it can make all the difference.

4. Laugh

Laughter is the best medicine and its free, the science is there to back it up, laughter alters your mood and released endorphins that can help improve your state of mind and could be the key to turning a potentially negative situation into a positive one.

5. Analyse, Rationalise and Learn

This is the key tip, take the time to consider some key factors, ask yourself these questions: What was my role in arriving at this situation? Could I have done something differently – if yes, identify it, own it and learn from it. Is there is something I can do to fix it? Yes – identify the solution and then implement it. Is there nothing I could have done? Well then understand that, don’t beat yourself up to much and work towards a solution, if someone else was at fault, rationalise….we cannot change people so don’t frustrate yourself too much about what someone could have or should have done but communicate rationally and clearly in an effort to draw their attention to how the situation could have been dealt with differently and what they could have done to ensure a more positive outcome, hopefully it won’t happen again.

In general the rule of thumb is don’t dwell on the negative…take time to consider all sides, rationalise and then work towards a solution…..these five tips will help give you the mind-space and clarity to do this.

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