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5 Scientifically Proven Ways to Reduce Stress in the Workplace

​ Stress is all around us. In everyday life, in family life but more commonly that not, within the work place. Not all stress is ...



Stress is all around us. In everyday life, in family life but more commonly that not, within the work place. Not all stress is bad – think of the thing that last propelled you to meet that almost impossible target – but there are some cases where stress becomes too much.

Such a heavy burden can slowly but surely eat away at your health, both physical and emotion. But there is help out there; the first step is to recognize when you are stressed and then, what you can do to deal with both the source and symptoms of it.  
There are many scientifically proven ways to help you reduce stress on a daily basis – why not try these…?

#1 Sit up straight

You may recall being told to sit up straight as a child, and this would have been for a variety of reasons but psychologists now believe that there is a basis to this and that is the influence it has on our behaviour.
Slouching and being slovenly produces a similar behaviour and attitude in us; sitting up straight can help us feel less stressed and tense, with various studies proving that this is the case. Some psychologists believe that sitting and standing up straight and erect give the physical and emotional mind a sense of power, a known buffer to stress. Feeling in control is important.

#2 Being organised

Some people seem to be naturally organised; they spend a portion of their day preparing for the next, clearing away one day's clutter, leaving the way free for productive work.
And studies have again shown that being surrounded by clutter can be stress-inducing. Hence, the time have come to do 2 things:
  1. Tackle that mountain of papers and files, along with other clutter – get rid of stuff you don't need, and find a place for the rest
  2. And stay organised – it literally takes only a few moments each day to get yourself organised for the following day but don't fall back in to old habits; if you no longer need something, get rid of it and if you are no longer going to use it but want to store it, then find it a home… and this is not creating a new pile next to your desk!
Again, being in control, being able to find things keeps you in control as well as keeping productivity levels high, hence you feel that you accomplish work during your day.

#3 Recognise when you accept unrealistic goals… and ditch them

Ambition is not to be sniffed at but, setting yourself goals that are simply unattainable is a too high a bar for you to reach. Failing to reach these lofty goals and ambitions simply crush your self-esteem… you feel out of control… you start to feel stressed… you set more goals… you fail at these… and so the downward spiral continues.
The key is flexibility and understanding that when you miss a goal, this is not necessarily a sign of failure.

#4 Avoid interruptions

Not being able to get on with your work is a common reason why some people begin to feel stressed and some of these interruptions we encourage and introduce into our working day; for example, constantly checking and immediately responding to emails… taking time to check out social media… finding an interesting article on the web… before you know it, the working day has passed and your productivity for the day is virtually zero.
Researchers in Germany found that interruptions from the phone ringing to the constant checking of emails creates stress ad our focus is broken. The suggestion to help maintain this flow that should you need to leave your work, make a note of where you are at so that when you return, you can pick up the mantle again.

#5 Embrace stress!

This might seem like the craziest suggestion but studies have shown that understanding there will be times when you are stressed and how this manifests itself, is an important part of dealing with stress. In some ways, this is our own doing for many courses talk about stress as being debilitating; some studies however, show that having a positive outlook on stress can be one way of reducing if effects for people are not so reticent in asking for help. You can use websites such as http://www.careeraddict.com/ to find ideas on how to cope with stress in the workplace.