"I'm Stressed" - Overwhelmed Employee | How To Manage Stress At Work

A life without stress. Wouldn't that be nice? Imagine having no deadlines, no nagging bosses, and no worries about hitting certain numbers. If we lived that life, completing a task or finding a way to creatively overcome barriers will leave us unsatisfied.

This is because there is good stress and bad stress. In the workplace in 2022, unfortunately, bad stress, short-term and long-term, is all too common. America's Psychology Association's annual Stress in America Survey has consistently found that, "Individual work is cited as a significant source of stress by a majority of Americans." Specifically for Gen Z adults, Millennials, and Baby Boomers, work was listed in the top three stressors for all generations accompanied with money, the economy, and health-related concern.

Across the three generations, work stress consisted more than 50% of all stress sources showing how big of a problem managing stress related to work can be for so many people. It's real. It exists. But there are ways to overcome bad stress and make it good.

Types of Stress

As mentioned earlier, there are positive and negative forms of stress. Acute eustress is short term, generally not remembered or retained, and what we consider good stress. So an example of this is taking part in a physical challenge. This stress aids awareness and muscular strength in order to complete.

An example of mental acute eustress could be the pressure to build a good email. You encounter it, you write a compelling email, you feel good, and then you move on with your day. The small items of our job that challenge us also gives us rewards.

If we don't find ourselves as engagers in our work, this can cause us actually more stress as we are not being tested or getting that positive rush or reward.

Chronic eustress

This type of stress is long-lasting and recurrent, but we also consider this as good stress. So an example of this is when an individual loves their work and finds it challenging. Cognitive stress is on the mind, but it further develops and grows in a more creative matter.

Do you ever wonder how people in what is typically deemed to be highly stressful jobs love their jobs, from professions like doctors, and engineers to farmers? If your work is fulfilling and engaging, you face chronic stress. This is where we actually want to be for most of our careers, and it's a huge part of career success.

Yes, challenges make work difficult, but they give us fulfillment which can help make your career feel like making a house a home”.

Negative Stress

Acute stress is short-term, treatable, and manageable, but it's also considered bad stress. So acute stress is the most common form of stress that happens day to day.

Some examples of acute stress are your prospect rejects your email or your boss is extra picky giving feedback or your space bar is sticking to your keyboard.

These are all stressful items that are bound to happen in life. They suck. We're not going to say that they don't. But this is the type of stress you can learn to deal with if you've got the right tools in your belt.

Track your stressors

Not every stressor is as easy to see or notice as a missing key in your keyboard. The first step in managing your worry is to recognize when you are worried and to start tracking it. You can either keep track or even keep a journal for a week or two to identify which situations cause you the most stress and how you respond to them.

Not into journaling? Practice a few sessions of mindfulness to take a mental inventory to help as well. You're looking to understand your thoughts, your feelings and information about the environment, including the people and circumstances involved, the physical setting and how you reacted.

• So did you raise your voice?
• Was this the first time an incident like this happened?
• Did the walk you took after help you cool down?

You're not taking notes to find all the answers at a later date. Rather, you're using them for periodic reflection and perhaps revisiting for additional learning and healing with professionals. There are different ways to respond to situations, some are healthy and some are not.

Healthy Responses

The verbal/written response to the situation. Once you begin to track your stressors, here is where you can start your journey of developing healthy responses to those stressors.

Instead of reacting in the moment to any stressors, have a few canned responses that you can lean on. There may be times where you get a Slack message from a coworker with feedback that rubs you the wrong way. A poor reaction and emotional message can ruin reputations and working relationships.

No matter the stressor, have the right response. Learning how emotions belong in the workplace can set you up for success. Try starting with a thank you even if you're angry or mad. Start your correspondence by saying thanks at the beginning of the message. It's polite and quick to do, and it comes across way better than okay, well actually, or even just 'kay'.

You can also buy yourself some time by detailing that you will follow up at a later time. There is no rush, especially in remote environments, to force you to follow up at a moment's notice, especially if you're feeling an emotional reaction coming up. So you can say something like, "I've seen your message and will try my best to get back to you by this date."

Establish boundaries

In today's digital world, it's easy to feel pressured to be available 24 hours a day. Establish some work-life boundaries for yourself and start picking when you'll deal with work stress and when you won't. That might mean making a rule not to check email after a certain time, or answering your phone during dinner.

Although people have preferences on how they blend their work life and personal life, creating clear boundaries between these realms can reduce the potential for work-life conflict and any additional stressors. It's hard to limit stress when you're constantly surrounded by what is stressing you out, that's why establishing a healthy work-life balance is so vital for reducing stress.

Many work communication apps or even email now have features that allow you to mute notifications starting at a certain point in the day when you're no longer available. So take advantage of features like this to disconnect and get a break.

Chronic stress is consistent and unavoidable, and it's considered bad stress. It's usually experienced by a person in a highly stressful job or a difficult relationship. Chronic stress causes most work burnout. This is the, "Oh, it's really starting to drain me" kind of stress. Anything lasting more than a few days can be classified as chronic stress.

Think about targets that are always just too out of reach and make the team feel anxious, those cause chronic stress. This is the type of stress where simply going for a walk won't fix it. It might help, but it's not going to help you in the long run.

Take time to recharge

So what can you do to help when you come across chronic stressors in the workplace? Press pause and take time to recharge. To avoid the negative effects of chronic stress, we need to replenish and return to our prestress level of functioning.

This process requires switching off and having time where you're neither engaging in work-related activities nor thinking about work. That's why it's essential that you disconnect from time to time in a way that fits your needs and preferences.

Whether this means taking some vacation days to take some time off or getting a bite to eat with your friends or taking your dog for a walk, how you unwind and disconnect from work depends on what you like and what you enjoy doing to get your mind off of stressors.

Talk to your supervisor

Your supervisor should be your go-to person at work who can help you when you’re struggling. They can help you work through a challenge with a plan. Employee health has been linked to productivity at work so your boss has the incentive to create a workplace environment that promotes employee wellness.

Start by having an open conversation with your supervisor. The purpose of this isn't to outline a list of complaints, but rather to come up with an effective plan for managing the stressors that you've identified so you can perform at your best on the job.

Your supervisor can also help you by bringing in additional resources or support to help with your stressors. While some parts of your plan may be designed to help you improve your skills in areas such as time management, for example, other elements might include identifying employer-sponsored resources or benefits that are offered.

Other elements might include clarifying what's expected of you, getting necessary support or help from your colleagues, enriching your job to include more challenging or meaningful tasks, or making changes to your physical workspace to make it more comfortable and reduce stress.

Sometimes your supervisor cannot offer you any help or support. In these situations, it's a telling sign in its own right of what kind of work culture you're working for, and you may want to remove yourself from these situations and try to find a new workplace to align your values with. If your current workplace doesn't value your well-being, we encourage you to find one that does.

There's plenty out there and it's essential for having a great career. If you find that your career isn't the right for you, maybe it's time to change careers. For advice about moving from one career to the next, take a look at our Career Change Guide.

We designed this guide for professionals interested in making a move into tech sales. It’s filled with insights, resources, and downloadable assets to help you find success through every stage of your transition.

Get professional help and support

There is no shame in accepting help from friends and family, and it can really improve your ability to manage your stress. Or you can look into professional counselors or therapy. If you continue to feel overwhelmed by work stress, you may want to talk to a psychologist who can better help you and can help you manage unhealthy responses and behavior to stress.

Check your coverage

Look into what your work benefits cover. It's different for every company, but your employer may have stress management resources available to you through an employee assistance program, through professional health services, including online information, counseling, or even referral to mental health professionals if needed.

At Uvaro, we’re committed to helping you on your career journey. Take a look at ourCareer Success Catalogto see how we can best support you, and your wonderful, incredible feelings! We can’t wait to hear your story.