Dealing With Stress In the Workplace

Stress can Kill us!

Believe it our not - Stress can kill us if it's not managed. I found this article from Deepak Chopra on how to both create stress in the workplace along with how to heal and release stress!

12 Ways to Create Stress
1. You are demanding, critical, and a perfectionist - the perfect recipe for stress!
2. You give erratic orders prone to unpredictable changes.
3. You show disrespect for others workers and / or their work.
4. You create an undignified work environment (e.g. a place where swearing, gossip, and sexual remarks are commonplace).
5. You don't give other people their own space.
6. You pass your own workload to others just because you can.
7. You burden others with personal issues you should deal with yourself.
8. You criticise a subordinate in public.
9. You make personal attacks.
10. You can't be trusted.
11. You indulge in casual betrayals.
12. You devalue another worker's experience and knowledge.

These are more than bad behaviours. They trigger the stress response in other people, which is easily recognised, because they would trigger the same in you if you were on the receiving end.
If you believe that a hard-boiled attitude, confrontational tactics, and constant pressure are good for productivity, studies in the workplace do not bear you out.

The best workplaces give people space, encourage creativity, allow workers to define their own work hours, assign tasks according to a worker's strengths, and create an atmosphere of general respect.

By reversing your stressful behaviour, you become a healer of stress.

12 Ways to Heal the Stress Around You in your workplace

Become a Healer of Stress

1. Back away from being demanding, critical, and a perfectionist.
2. Be more consistent and less changeable in what you ask of others.
3. Never show disrespect for other workers or their work.
4. Maintain a dignified work environment (e.g., a place where swearing, gossip, and sexual remarks are not condoned).
5. Give other people their own space.
6. Deal with your own stress instead of passing it down the line
7. Don’t burden others with your personal issues; keep it professional.
8. Never offer criticism in public.
9. Take a personal interest in others, offering appreciation and praise generously
10. Be loyal; show that you can be trusted.
11. When someone else is talking, pay attention and then follow through if they need something.
12. Ask for more input from others, showing that you value their experience and knowledge.

it's your responsibility to lead the way in lessening stress, not increasing it!

Source: Deepak Chopra