Stress Relief: 10 Highly Effective Strategies for Relieving Stress

by

Stress Management Techniques

Well, it’s not flexible when it comes to eliminating stress at work, but that doesn’t mean companies should not invest in stress management.

Stress management is a key that leads to a prosperous and productive life. However, to understand how to manage stress in an effective way, it’s important to find the root. 

The same goes for the workplace; as a manager, you should know what causes stress and how you are managing employee stress management among the employees. 

Here are what you should know about it and the techniques of employee stress management in the workplace. 

Impact Of Stress: what to do when you are stressed

To understand why employee stress management is important, the first thing you need to understand is why it’s needed. 

Regardless of the job title, industry, or job responsibilities, there are more than 80% of workers get stressed at their job. 

According to a study conducted by CDC’s National Institute of Occupational Safety And Health, it’s reported that more than 40% of American professionals are extremely stressed at their work. 

Also, it’s a reason that costs billions of dollars per year in business and organization in medical bills as well as lost working hours. 

Stress affects physical and mental health, and it’s a real crux that has impacted the organization in today’s time. 

How It Effects On Physical Health 

Having uncontrollable tension, anxiety, and worry at work can end up wreaking havoc on the quality of life and health of the employee. 

It also welcomes stress-induced cases of flu and colds and conditions like metabolic and heart disease. 

When a person has long-term stress which is a related job, there are some major physical changes such as : 

  • Heightened breathing
  • Chest pain and increased heart rate
  • Headaches
  • Low energy
  • Muscle tension, pain, and aches
  • Insomnia 
  • Upset stomach 
  • Repetitive digestive issue
  • Frequent colds and infections
  • Dry mouth
  • Nervousness and shaking
  • Obesity
  • Clenched jaw 

How It Effects On Mental Health 

Studies done so far, it suggested there is a biochemical link between mental illness and stress. 

When the long-term, job-related stress the person has can impact the emotions, behavioral, cognitive, and mental changes such as : negatively 

  • Feeling easily overwhelmed
  • Becoming frustrated and agitated easily
  • Procrastinating
  • Avoiding responsibilities
  • Constant worrying 
  • Racing thoughts
  • Avoiding people
  • Forgetful and disorganization
  • Developing low self-esteem
  • Being pessimistic
  • Developing anxiety and depression
  • Increased use of cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol 

How Its Effect On Performance 

Employee stress can also impact their work performance. It’s a consistent challenge that organizations have to face. 

It includes : 

  • High error rate
  • Decrease performance of organizational 
  • Decreased the overall performance of the employee
  • Poor quality of work 
  • Absenteeism 
  • High staff turnover 

Causes of Stress at Work

Employees tend to experience stress which is unhelpful as it impacts overall performance and organization too. 

To find the solution, the first thing is important to know what is causing it. 

Without knowing the root of the problem,  there are high chances of getting the same case again. 

reasons of why your employees are streesed

According to the list revealed by The Workplace Health Report in 2022,  here are some of the common sources that cause stress for employees. 

Excessive Workload 

According to CIPD,  among all reasons, workload is one of the most common causes that creates stress. 

If the work volume and deadline are something that is out of capability, this can lead to a major source of pressure.  Having too much work leads to more stress and also it’s a reason why more people leave their job and look for better companies. 

Having a Lack Of Control 

Stress is strongly linked to the perception of control. And also, it’s the second-largest drive. 

Work-related stress can make you feel worse, especially when there is only little control. 

Some of the areas which are beyond control when its work are : 

  • Work processes
  • Performance target 
  • Decision making 

Lack Of The Support 

Work-related stress can also make employees feel worse as they are not receiving enough support from their managers and colleagues’ supervisors. 

Senior Staff 

It’s important to understand that managers play a crucial role when it comes to employees and their mental health. 

If the managers are too critical, overbearing, demanding, bullying, or unsupportive, it’s inevitable that they will cause a lot of stress. 

Peers 

According to the research, peer support can help in increasing the resilience of employees. So when they don’t have one, it can also be the reason for the stress. 

Not Enough Training 

Having not enough training can cause stress, too as employees are not properly trained to get work done and how to handle the situation. 

Working From Home 

Since the pandemic happened, most of companies across countries have adapted their working policies to hybrid models. 

This is not easy, especially for the employees who don’t know how to manage the new changes. 

Others Factors 

Well apart from these, there are some other reasons too. It includes factors such as : 

  • Working In Poor Condition: Employees can stress if they don’t have comfortable and healthy behavior in the work environment. 
  • Work Relationships: having colleagues who are not supportive can also lead to the pressure of stress at work.
  • Work-Life Balance: Enjoying a good quality of life outside of work is important for understanding to build against work-related stress.
  • Organizational culture: Your organizational culture which plays an important role when it comes to well-being in a team, and people will feel. 

What To Know About Stress Management? 

Well, this is where organizations need to use employee stress management.

To understand what stress management is, well, it’s a broad spectrum of different techniques that can help the person in controlling stress levels. 

The purpose of introducing stress management is to make sure the employee has better job satisfaction and functioning. 

It’s common to feel stressed from time to time, but if it stays stuck on a daily basis, it can end up causing some serious damage. 

Chronic stress can also lead to serious health complications. To tackle the issue, it’s important to understand the signs and how they can be resolved. 

benefit of stress management for employee

Techniques to Manage Stress

To understand what can help in managing employee stress and what techniques that can help in knowing more about it. 

Here are some of the techniques for employee stress management. 

A Culture Of Rewards And The Recognition 

Remember, learning about the toxic work culture is always important in understanding the high-level stress in the workplace.

57% of people report that leaving work feeling much more exhausted and toxic the atmosphere leads to stress. 

A toxic work environment leads to : 

  • Unrest
  • Low morale
  • Workplace bullying
  • Harming the peer relationships 

A telltale sign of having a toxic culture which is competition and unhealthy along with a lack of appreciation among others. 

Here using rewards and recognition is an excellent technique for cultivating a healthy atmosphere at work. 

It’s not enough recognition when it comes to the top-down. It’s vital, which is appreciating, and it should be 360 in nature. 

This will help in evaluating the employee experience and elevating the process of recognition.

Make The Room For The Surveys On Regular Ways

Understanding the needs as well as requirements of the workforce and it’s also a crucial aspect when it comes to stress management. 

As a manager, you need to get the picture that is clear, including  : 

  • What does your employee have that can help in improving the work efficiency?
  • What are the areas for improvement in the organizational structure?
  • What is the performance level of the employee?
  • What personal as well as professional goals of your employees?

And for this,  it’s important that you need to conduct surveys from time to time which can help in generating honest feedback.

It will give much clear insight and understanding of what your employees think and feel. 

  • It does not stop from getting feedback, this can also be important for working on their concerns as well as solving what is needed. 
  • This can help in reducing the level of frustration and keeping the stress to the bare minimum. 

Adding The Benefits And Perks For Being a Good Employee 

Employee job satisfaction can help in understanding the scenario. 

If your employees are satisfied with what they do, it will end up negatively impacting customer satisfaction. 

As a result, it can also affect customer retention, which also decreases the revenue on an annual term. 

As the manager, it’s important that you keep in mind what helps an employee feel satisfaction with various perks and benefits. 

It can include : 

  • Paid holidays
  • Flexible working hours
  • Good work-life balance
  • Employee discount programs 

One advantage of having the benefits program is that it can help in saving money because of the offers.

Also, employees get the freedom to choose the details for themselves. 

Focus On The Well Being And Health Of Employees 

There are lots of reasons that lead to stress, but since the pandemic happened, it has skyrocketed.

With no opportunities for socializing and de-stressing from work, it also has made life also tend to get difficult. 

And to make it even worse, there is a survey which found 58% of employees experienced systems of depression as compared to last year.

But this also helps in bringing the opportunities for better focus on the well-being and health of employees. 

The policies for working from home are still active around the world, so it’s important to promote and prioritize the health of employees. 

As a leader, you can use a different approach for promoting as well as prioritizing; here are some of those ideas : 

  • Introducing the virtual fitness activities
  • Encouraging the employee to do the daily express
  • Scheduling the sessions of yoga
  • Improving the intake of diet.’

Promoting The Self Management 

Well, one of the most crucial techniques that you can find is self-management; this is important for stress management in employees. 

Self-management is the ability that helps in managing behavior, thoughts, and emotions regardless of what the situation is. 

The primary goal of self-management is to improve performance and boost work efficiency. 

But how do you do self-management when it comes to stress management? Well, to start it, self-management can help: 

  • It can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses. 
  • It helps you understand the emotions and what are the triggers.
  • With self-management, the individual understands where they need to improve and where they are doing good. 
  • It helps in creating the sense of being in control and helps in relaxing and understanding the situation. 

When the employee, individuals acknowledge their own flaws and give opportunities to improve. 

With this encouragement, the employees can : 

  • Learn and motivate to be the better version of themselves.
  • Elevating performance and doing a better job in the workplace.
  • Experiment with new thoughts and ideas. 

Resolving The Conflicts And Issues With Employees 

One of the driving factors that also contribute to causing stress in the workplace is the conflict and unattained issues between team members. 

There is no way to ignore conflicts when it comes to organization. It’s bound to happen no matter how good the management works. 

But it’s important to resolve the conflict before it turns into something big and leads to stress. 

As a manager,  it’s important to have the skills that can help in the resolution of conflicts and follow the steps which are needed. 

When you are playing the role of moderator, it’s important you need : 

  • Understanding the perspective of the parties who are involved.
  • Bring them to find common ground. 
  • Conducting conversations one-to-one. 
  • Get the root of the issue, conflict, and problem. 

Well, the main focus should be focusing on maintaining team harmony and reducing the tension among the parties. 

It’s advisable to take some time off and let them contemplate the whole situation. 

Setting Goals Which Are Realistic 

Imagine being in a situation where the goal that you have to accomplish is impossible. 

This not just creates chaos but frustration and leads to increasing stress.

It is the same for the employees if they cannot achieve their set goals. It might raise doubts about their ability.  Leading to a high level of stress and burnout. Also, it demotivates them. 

For this, it’s important to set goals that are elastic and something that can be possible yet challenging. 

Here is what goal setting should include: 

  • SMART goal setting
  • Balance objectives between personal and professional
  • Alignment of objectives with management performance
  • Improving the collaboration as well as communication between the team members. 

More To Explore:

Was this article helpful?