You can't eliminate the stress that your employees bring to work - but you can offer them these guidelines to help manage workplace stressors on their own:
- Prioritize, streamline, delegate, and discard. When facing a task, ask if it's really necessary to do immediately.
- Break things up. Take two - to three - minute breaks every hour and commit to doing at least one fun thing every day.
- Make time. Build time into your schedule for creative expression, healthy eating, moderate daily exercise, hanging out with friends, and enjoying nature.
- Be on time. Build in cushion time between appointments to allow for traffic and the unexpected.
- Send negativity flying. If a co-worker is on the warpath, visualize an airplane with an ad banner over the person's head, with each negative word floating up into the banner and out of view.
- Relax and watch what happens. Do mini-meditations or mindful breathing while you're between tasks or in line at the cafeteria.
- Get essential nutrients. Go beyond vitamins and begin to think about daylight and laughter as integral parts of your daily life.
- Consider what you're consuming. Sugar, caffeine, and alcohol can increase stress levels.
- Watch your words. Don't let negative internal chatter and self-recrimination distract and demoralize you.
- Be kind. Do something nice for a different co-worker every day until it becomes second nature to reduce stress for others.
- Sleep on it. Sleep deprivation a major culprit in stress is Try to get restful, restorative slumber every night, and watch your stress level decline.