Looking for work can be stressful enough, but once you actually find a job, that stress can actually get worse. The people you work with, deadlines, your environment, and the type of work you do can all be contributing factors to a stressful day at the office. Fortunately, being conscious of your workplace mindset is something millennial professionals are focusing on in order to promote well-being and productivity.
High levels of stress can cause overeating, depression, an increase in blood pressure, and a number of other symptoms that are bad for your overall health and well-being. In an effort to combat such negative side effects, millennials can incorporate the following effective yet simple steps to make work environments healthy and stress-fee (okay, so work might always be a little stressful, but these steps to manage stress will definitely help!).
Leave Extra Time To Get Ready
Rushing to work at the last minute gets you stressed out before you’ve even started your work day. Allow more time than you need to get ready and get to work on time. If you happen to be early, then you’re giving yourself a few extra minutes to adjust and get in the proper mindset to start your day. It also looks good to your company that you can manage your time efficiently.
Plan Small Breaks
Whether you have one massive project to work on all day or have to jump around from one task to the next, break up your work day with small “intermissions.” Give yourself three minutes or so take a breath, stretch, get up and walk around, or chat with a coworker. You’re not taking an actual lunch break, but you’re taking a quick mental break to regroup before getting back into it.
Bring healthy snacks
When we get stressed out, we tend to go for the junk food. While it can feel satisfying in the moment, it’s not so satisfying when you discovered you ate a whole large bag of candy in an hour. Instead, stock your workspace with healthier options like bananas, tea, pretzels, and other snacks that are actually shown to reduce stress while also promoting health and nutrition.
Play Music
Sometimes having something pleasant going on in the background can have a calming and soothing effect while you work. Find out what your company’s policy is on playing music and be sure to follow their rules. You may not be allowed to wear headphones, but if you keep the volume low and it doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s work, playing music is generally fine. Some millennials actually find that working to music makes them more energized and productive by helping them to focus (for many, it was a great studying technique discovered while in college). If listening to songs with lyrics gets distracting, trying listening to instrumental tracks.
If you’re unable to take breaks, snack throughout the day, or play music at work, there are still other things you can do to reduce stress.
Take It One Day At A Time
You may have a lot coming up this week. Maybe you have a few double shifts coming up back to back. Take a deep breath and remember to take it one day at a time. There’s no need to focus on the next few shifts coming up when they haven’t arrived yet.
Exercise Before or After Work
Exercise is a great way to reduce stress while developing a healthy routine. Exercising before work can help get you pumped up and energized for the day ahead. Choosing to exercise after work can be an outlet to let go of the stresses of the day so they don’t carry over into your sleep and the following day.
Remind Yourself Why You’re There
This is an important one. Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, like you want to walk out and quit, remember why you’re there. This could be your first post-college salaried job. You may already know you don’t plan on staying there long-term, but you’re there to gain experience to get your next job at a better pay rate. Stick through it. Or you could have already found your dream job, which is more stressful than you thought. Just think about why this is your dream job and what you get to accomplish. If it’s still worth it, keep going.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to manage your stress level. You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it. Work with the mindset that you’ve got this and know when to take a step back when you may be taking on too much at once.
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