Stress at work is a very influential topic, since, indeed, the pandemic has led to a remarkable increase in cases . Among the main reasons for this problem are the pressure to achieve goals, authoritarian leadership, overwork, low pay, changes in the company’s structure and policy, lack of measures to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of the team, among others.
As it is a disease that provokes a row of physical and mental effects, it is very important to know about its effects, how to recognize it, and what should be done to prevent this wear and tear that will affect your life in many ways not only on the job but also with family and social lives as well. Taking this all into consideration, we have developed the following content to clarify the primary doubts. Check it out!
What are the consequences of stress at work?
Stress can harm your professional performance , as it can demotivate you from carrying out your activities or even cause you to feel sad simply because you have to go to work. It can also cause feelings of irritability, fatigue, lack of creativity and unproductivity.
With the emergence of these signs, it is common to feel less concentrated and focused on what you need to produce, triggering internal and external conflicts.
In more severe cases, stress at work can turn into Burnout Syndrome , which is a psychosomatic state that leads to physical and mental collapse, in which symptoms such as complete exhaustion, dizziness, headaches, panic attacks, among others, appear. In this case, the sensations can be so intense that they require the employee to be completely absent from their duties.
What are the signs that work is causing stress?
Let it be clear that it’s normal to feel stressed at times. The problem starts when this state does not go away and does not get better when returning home. In other words, it turns into a permanent state wearing down your mental health as well as your body in the long run. The major symptoms are:
- difficulty concentrating;
- fatigue;
- discouragement;
- irritability;
- rapid heartbeat;
- gastrointestinal problems;
- memory lapse;
- anxiety and depression;
- social isolation.
These signs can lead to other simultaneous symptoms, such as sleep disorders , high blood pressure, weight gain and a weakened immune system.
All of these reactions impact decision-making capacity and productivity, leading to apathy, feelings of failure, and loss of self-confidence and self-esteem. This is why stress at work is directly linked to cases of anxiety and depression.
How to avoid stress at work?
There are good practices that can be implemented in your daily life to avoid triggering stress at work. Check out some of them!
Respect your limits
This is one of the primary points when we are talking about avoiding stress at work. That is because there is no point to take up 20 things to be done in a month, for example, knowing that your capacity is to do at maximum 10.
This amassment of work just makes you more anxious and irritated because you just can’t give the idea that was requested. Sometimes you’ll even be able to finish the task, but the quality will then be much lower than usual.
Therefore, it is essential to know when to say no or set a longer deadline to meet the demand. This way, you will be able to avoid stress and do a good job.
Set priorities
Defining what is urgent and what is important among tasks is a good way to avoid stress at work. In many situations, you end up exhausted and have to make a huge effort to solve a problem that could have been solved in a simple way.
Therefore, it is necessary for you and your manager to separate what is really urgent and what its order of priority is in relation to the other tasks in the sector.
This advice also applies outside work, since sometimes your body will ask for rest and that needs to be listened to. Exactly at this moment, you may take the chance to do something which really interests you, such as reading a book, watching a series or going for a walk with your family, but it’s precisely that you haven’t got time for because of work.
Never take your work home
Staying well organized will help you to complete your tasks within your working day. This is important because outside the workplace you need to disconnect a little from your professional routine and take advantage of your time in order to rest and enjoy some leisure time.
Try to leave the office, and do something that will just take your mind off things such as spending time with loved ones, playing sports, and other activities that will help you forget at least work for a while. Remember that in order not to be overwhelmed with stress, it is necessary to dedicate a little bit of your time solely to yourself.
Plan your activities
You can create a calendar with everything you need to deliver. By organizing your activities, planning demands, creating an efficient schedule and dividing responsibilities, it becomes much easier to create a calm routine and avoid work overload.
Take care of your health
Another essential issue is to maintain healthy habits, such as:
- maintain a healthy diet ;
- sleep well ;
- practice physical exercises;
- try to see the positive side of things;
- invest in relaxation practices, such as yoga, meditation and breathing techniques;
- have regular check-ups to make sure your health is okay.
When to seek help?
As you can see, stress is a normal component of everyday life, but when the symptoms become more severe, impacting your physical and mental health, it’s best to seek help from specialists . This way, the professional will assess your condition and recommend the most appropriate treatment to avoid suffering in the future.
Now that you have known about the impact of stress in the workplace and how it may affect one’s life, it is advisable to become aware of the inception of symptoms, as well as adopt healthy habits in your routine and, thus, try to maintain a balanced routine, away from this type of problem, which can hinder the success of your career.