Tips for Managing

Workplace Stress
By Mary G. White, SPHR
Provided by LoveToKnow.com
Managing Workplace Stress
• It’s not realistic to eliminate all stress from work, as stress is a
fact of life.

• Every job involves stress to some degree

• Some stress is positive and some is negative

• There is not a one-size-fits all solution to managing workplace

stress.
Managing Workplace Stress
• Learning how to manage stress begins with:

• Recognizing situations that lead to stress

• Separating positive stress from negative
• Accepting the reality of unavoidable negative stressors
• Implement strategies to minimize the impact of unavoidable stressors
• Take steps to eliminate unnecessary negative stressors
Identifying Work-Related Stressors
• Learning to managing stress starts with recognizing what
causes you to feel stressed.

• To identify your primary sources of stress (i.e., stressors), you’ll

need to identify the work-related situations that lead to feelings
of negative stress.

• Certain situations? _________________________________________

• Certain people? ___________________________________________
• Certain types of tasks? ______________________________________
Identifying Work-Related Stressors
• Pay attention to when you feel the most stressed over a period
of time to determine your primary stressors.

• Keeping a stress journal may be helpful:

• http://cf.ltkcdn.net/stress/files/2002-Stress-Journal-Page.pdf
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Looming deadlines

• Set and follow pre-deadlines for yourself (i.e., trick yourself into thinking
it’s due sooner than it really is)

• Establish and keep up with project milestones

• Avoid putting off projects until the last minute

Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Keeping track of tasks with a lot of steps

• Make yourself a checklist and follow it

• Come up with an acronym to make it easier to remember the steps

• For example – “RACE to fire safety!” is an acronym that stands for Rescue,
Alarm, Contain, Extinguish)

• Practice the task until you start to feel comfortable with it

Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Discovering that co-workers haven’t done what you
need when it’s too late to find an alternative

• Review progress with co-workers periodically, actually looking at work-

to-date rather than just asking how things are going

• Have a contingency plan in mind from the beginning of the project, just
in case someone doesn’t meet obligations
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Feeling like circumstances are beyond your control

• Recognize that you cannot control everything

• Don’t spend effort and energy trying to change what you cannot
control; accept what you can’t control and move on

• Focus instead on accomplishing your goals in light of whatever

limitations you must work within
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Co-workers handling situations different from the way
you would handle them

• Accept that there is more than one right way to accomplish a task

• Realize that trying to get everyone to do things your way will make you
seem like a micromanager

• Focus on the goal or objective rather than the method; if their approach
works, don’t stress over it
Proactive Workplace Stress Solutions
• Stressor: Participation in professional associations, community
organizations and company task forces or committees is taking
too much time.

• Make a list of which “extra-curricular activities” are the most valuable

and meaningful to you at this time in your life

• Step away from the activities that don’t make the list, realizing that you
can always go back later if circumstances change

• Remember: It’s better to do a few things well than to try to spread

yourself to thin and end up stressed out or making a negative
impression on others
Individual Solutions
These are just a tiny portion of the many types of workplace
stress paired with a few potential solutions; use these ideas to
brainstorm a list that meets your individual needs.
Ongoing Process
Learning how to manage stress is an ongoing process, but it
requires a solution-focused mindset.

Remember:

• Identify the stressors you experience at work

• Try to eliminate the ones that are unnecessary

• Come up with workable solutions for the ones that are inevitable