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Stress Awareness Month: Understanding Work Related Stress

by Red/Marketer with a Soul | Apr 11, 2023 | burnout prevention assessment, Customer experience wollongong, customer retention strategy, Time Management

What is Stress Awareness Month?

Stress Awareness Month is a time to recognise the impact of stress on our lives, and to find ways to reduce it. The purpose of Stress Awareness Month is to raise awareness about the importance of managing stress in our daily lives. It also provides an opportunity for people who experience high levels of stress to connect with others who share similar experiences.
The first Stress Awareness Month was celebrated in May 2012 by The American Institute of Stress (AIS), an organisation dedicated to helping individuals manage their own stress levels by teaching them how they can improve their health through proper nutrition and exercise habits, as well as learning techniques such as meditation or yoga that help calm them down when they feel overwhelmed by life’s challenges.

The Impact of Stress

Stress is a natural reaction to life’s challenges. It can help you perform better, but too much stress can harm your body and mind. The negative effects of stress include:

Increased blood pressure
Decreased immunity
Weight gain or weight loss (depending on whether you eat more or less)
Stress may also cause symptoms such as headaches and muscle tension. If you have any of these symptoms, it’s important to see your doctor right away so they can rule out other health problems that could be causing them!

What is Work-Related Stress?

Work-related stress is the result of feeling overwhelmed by your job. It’s not just about having a lot to do or being underpaid–it can also be caused by other factors, such as poor communication with your coworkers or managers, lack of recognition for good work, and long hours spent at the office.

Work-related stress can lead to burn-out and serious health problems like high blood pressure and heart disease if it goes unchecked for too long. You should take steps to reduce your own level of work-related stress as soon as possible so that you don’t end up suffering from these health issues down the road!

Recognise the signs of work-related stress.

It’s important to be able to recognise the signs of work-related stress so that you can take action to manage it. Some common signs include feeling overwhelmed, irritable, or anxious, having trouble sleeping, experiencing physical symptoms like headaches or stomachaches, and feeling disconnected from coworkers or loved ones. If you notice these signs, it’s important to take steps to address the underlying causes of your stress.

Identify the sources of stress in your work environment.

To effectively manage work-related stress, it’s important to identify the sources of stress in your work environment.

This could include factors such as a heavy workload, unrealistic deadlines, poor communication with coworkers or supervisors, lack of control over your work, or a toxic work culture.

Once you’ve identified these factors, try developing effective coping strategies for each one. For example, if your workload is overwhelming, consider delegating some tasks or hiring additional help; if an employee isn’t pulling their weight, talk with them about how they can improve their performance; if personal issues are affecting your ability to focus on work tasks during the day (or night), ask yourself whether there are ways in which those issues could be resolved outside of work hours so that they don’t interfere with productivity during business hours?

Take the “burn-out” prevention test

Develop coping mechanisms to manage stress

Coping mechanisms are essential for managing work-related stress and reducing the likelihood of burn-out. These can include physical activities like exercise, relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing, or seeking support from friends, family, or a mental health professional. It’s important to find what works best for you and to make time for these activities regularly. Additionally, setting realistic goals and prioritising tasks can help reduce stress and increase productivity.
Remember, managing work-related stress is a process and it’s okay to ask for help along the way.

Take the “burn-out” prevention test

Practice self-care to prevent burnout.

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. It can lead to feelings of detachment, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness at work. To prevent burnout, it’s important to practice self-care. This can include taking breaks throughout the day, setting boundaries between work and personal life, and engaging in activities that bring you joy and relaxation. Remember, taking care of yourself is not selfish, it’s necessary for your overall well-being.

Take the personalised “burn-out” prevention assessment.

The Benefits of Reducing Work-Related Stress

Reducing work-related stress can have a positive impact on your mental health and productivity, as well as your job satisfaction.

Improved mental health: Stress can lead to anxiety and depression, but reducing it will help you feel better about yourself and your life in general.

Enhanced productivity: When you’re less stressed out, you’ll be able to focus on getting things done instead of worrying about everything that needs doing. This can result in higher quality work being produced at a faster rate.

Increased job satisfaction: If you’re happier while working at home or at the office, then this will come across in both how much time goes into each project (because there’s no need for breaks) as well as how much enjoyment comes out of completing said projects (again because there’s no need for breaks).

How to Manage Stress in General

Exercise. It’s a well-known fact that exercise can help reduce stress and anxiety, but did you know it also helps us sleep better? If you’re not already incorporating physical activity into your daily routine, try adding in some light workouts.
Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or meditation are also effective ways to manage stress levels–and they don’t require any equipment! If these sound like things that would be helpful for you, look into taking a class or reading up on how others do it so that when the time comes for relaxation mode (which should be often), it’s easy for everyone involved.
Seek help if needed–many times we don’t realise how much our mental health affects our bodies until it’s too late! If this sounds like something worth exploring further with a professional therapist or counsellor who specialises in helping people manage their emotions through therapy sessions tailored specifically toward each client’s needs. Learn more about Mental Health first aid courses
Create a stress management plan. Take regular breaks from work and other responsibilities, even if it’s just for 10 minutes at a time. Learn to say “no” when necessary, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed out by an extra task or request that doesn’t fit into your schedule or workload.

Conclusion

Work-related stress is a serious issue, and it contributes to more than half of all physician visits. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to reduce your level of stress at work. These suggestions should provide you with some help as you try to handle your own stressful situations at work.

Take the personalised “burn-out” prevention assessment

Dedicated to your business and personal wellbeing.

John

Time, How Important is it to You?

by Red/Marketer with a Soul | Mar 6, 2022 | Time Management

How bad do you really want it?

Here’s the thing – each day has a finite number of minutes. And how you spend each one determines if or if not you achieve your goal.

Think about that.

If you focus for 1/2 your time on things that are not in line with your goal….it will take you twice as long to achieve your goal.

But it’s worse than that. “Because goals feed on momentum”

Meaning that the faster you gain traction for achieving your goal, the faster you achieve your goal, and the better the chance that actually do achieve it.

I often hear people say things like, “I really want to achieve (whatever, income, a fitness goal, whatever)” but there are things I can’t control that get in the way. They are things like emails, texts, phone ringing, wife needs something, husband needs something, kids need something, kids have no boundaries so they scream incessantly if they don’t get their way…and on and on.

But here’s what I think:

If your goal is more important than those interruptions, then you would do anything to avoid those interruptions. You see, what you spend your time on is what is important to you. If you are continuing to allow the ding of a new email or text coming in to stand in the way of your success, what you are really doing is making responding to emails more important than your goal.

Which is actually ok. Because it’s your life.

And at the end of your life, if you would rather say “I answered 29,487,890 emails within 2 minutes each” than “I wrote 3 books, coached 387 people to success, and empowered thousands to greater peace through my trainings” then that’s your choice.

Hey, I GET that if you are an emergency responder that you have to answer your texts when on call. But you probably aren’t. And if you are, you have off time. And I GET when you say, well I have to spend time with my kids, with my wife or husband. I GET that.

But wouldn’t it be better to spend 2 quality hours with them where your head is in the game, than to spend 8 hours telling them to go away because they are interrupting you?

Wouldn’t it better to find ways to develop boundaries with your children or spouse and end up spending MORE quality time and less “interruption time”?

Look, I know you might be thinking, “John, you just don’t know my situation”. And you are right, I don’t. But I do know this…success is your choice. And if whatever you are currently spending time on is more important than success…keep doing it.

But if you really want success, and it’s really important to you, wouldn’t it pay to figure out how to deal with all the things that hold you back from success? Here’s the thing…that’s what I’ve done in my life.

“One challenge at a time”. I learned how to make a fulltime income online.

Then I learned how to make a fulltime income online showing people how to make a fulltime living online. I’ve struggled with answering each email as soon as it comes in. Because I really want to. But when I consider the cost…answering every email that comes in is holding me back from being able to reach literally millions of people and help them achieve their goals.

Because the distraction of answering every email when it comes in keeps me from scaling operations to generate hundreds of thousands of subscribers instead of hundreds. The distraction of answering every email that comes in keeps me from starting new businesses, new websites, writing new emails, writing new books, creating new trainings.

So the question is…how important is it to me?

How important is success to me?

Is it important enough to choose to spend my time on things that matter?

(It is)

What about you?

What is holding you back?

What is eating your time?

Are you willing to go through the rest of your life allowing that “time eater” to control you, or are you going to make a change and choose what you focus on?

Are you willing to come to the end of your life and say “I answered texts, I answered emails, I let the kids scream,

I let my family control me” or do you want to come to the end of your life and say “I changed lives, I spent quality time with my children and taught them to respect my time, I spent quality time with my wife and husband, and we had a great life together because of the deep respect we have for each other, I had the financial success that enabled me to provide better for my family, and it allowed me to help others less fortunate?”

Look, I know this has been…long and winded. But I don’t know any other way to fully expose to you my deep thought on this issue. You see, it’s about more than just “time management” or “writing a to-do list” or “eliminating distractions” it’s about choosing what you succeed it, and simply achieving your dreams – YOUR dreams, not the consequences of your decision to just keep allowing the that detract and distract to continue to run your life.

Do you want to be in control of your life and accomplish your dreams? Or do you want to allow other things, and other people, to rule you and accept their domination by…just letting them rule you?

Or do you want to take to task the challenge…how important is it to you?

How important is your dream? And are you man or woman enough to make the hard choices – and follow through – to accomplish that dream?

John

I wish to acknowledge “Sean Minze Life Coach and Entrepreneur of Note” for some of his valuable insights..