Coping with Office Stress
Tips for Women

As a professional woman, are you experiencing increased amounts of office stress?   We know the economic climate is not great for business right now, but in many cases this is contributing to tension and anxiety in the workforce. People are worrying about keeping their jobs. Anxiety levels also increase when a company tries to get more production out of fewer employees--refusing to replace workers who have left the company or laying off workers because of financial downturns.  Have you taken the time to check your stress levels lately?  The levels may have crept up without you realizing.

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When job opportunities are limited or if there is job insecurity at your company, notice who is keeping jobs or being promoted.  Women don't like to consider gender discrimination, but beware that if this is the case, you need to take action.  Women have protection through Human Resource policies that detail exactly how employees are to be treated equally.  Employee policies are enacted to ensure that women are not penalized in their ability to maximize their career potential.  Every employee should have access to an Employee Personal Policy Manual.  If you have questions, check with your Human Resources Department.

To successfully survive in a difficult work environment, create your own stress management strategies to employ in the workplace.  Start by identifying the work stressors that are affecting you the most and then, designing a comfortable and effective way of reducing this office stress. 

Here is the strategy to follow.

Identify Your Stressors at Work

Here is a list of things that contribute to office stress. Notice which apply to you.

• Have you been given more responsibilities and no resources to complete the additional work in the given time you have available?
• Do you find that you have no say in defining your work demands and responsibilities?
• Are there increasing and unattainable performance demands?
• Is communication a problem?
• Are you afraid that you may lose your job?
• Are you spending more hours at work trying to get your increased amounts of work completed and less time with family?

How Are You Reacting to Office Stress

Stress can creep into your life and increase without you noticing.

Your body tries to absorb the increased tension and anxiety but over time this can harm your health.  With the many contributors to office stress, you may start to feel overwhelmed. Watch for warning signals that indicate that office stress is becoming a challenge to handle.  Check this checklist of symptoms  to see if you have too much stress.

Techniques to Reduce Stress

When stress at work surrounds you, try these simple stress management techniques to lower the negative effects.

1. Take care of your health by eating healthy.
2. Exercise regularly, and get up from you desk to stretch.
3. Use your time wisely with good time management techniques.  Make certain that you prioritize your tasks and be realistic about what you can accomplish in any given amount of time.  Sometimes, you may take on more work that you should, but delegate when you can.
4. Leave work in the office and make certain that you enjoy the rest of the hours in the day.  Check out the wheel of life exercise for more advice on life balance.
5. Avoid the conflicts and drama that can occur in the office.  If there are people that like to gossip or raise controversies, steer clear.  It is best to avoid people who do not "play well with others" whenever possible.

Read the articles below for more information we have compiled to help you reduce the effects of stress in the workplace.

A Stress Management Program: On Your Computer

Job Stress and Burnout: Learn How to Cope

Organize Your Workspace to Reduce Stress

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