The official anti-stress guide in the office

Our fast-paced society and high demands can cause many people to take on increasingly high stress loads. When you have large amounts of stress it can lead to a number of health concerns and other problems. There are a lot of different job stresses that can make your life hectic not to mention the stress you are dealing with at home. How can you learn to cope with office stress and to start improving your health?

You need to start by first recognizing the signs and symptoms of office stress. It usually starts with employees displaying symptoms of irritability, reduced productivity, anxiety, fatigue, lack of sleep, social withdrawal, headaches, and alcohol abuse. There are other things that can happen with these symptoms but these tend to be the most noticeable when it comes to dealing with stress.

What makes office stress occur? It depends on what is happening in your office. Have there been rumors of layoffs going around? How about increased demands on your employees because you have laid off other staff members? When people feel like their job is in jeopardy everyday, it leads to high levels of stress. The employees will place large standards on themselves because they are worried about losing their job but they will also feel pressure from you as well to meet the high expectations for the job.

Identifying the cause of stress is one of the best ways to figure out how you can try and treat it properly. Meet with your employees if you see signs of stress. You need to help them learn how to pay attention to their physical health and emotional health in order to start caring for their bodies and their minds. For many people that are suffering from stress the smallest thing like getting a half day off to go to the movies or getting a gym pass can really uplift their spirits. You have to discover what motivates your employees and gets them excited.

Create better work schedules for your employees that will work with their personal lives. A lot of stress on employees is caused by their home lives and demands to leave work early or to adjust their work schedule to pick up their kids and to be there for them. As an employer you can reduce this stress by offering flexible work hours that will fit better with their personal lives.

A great way to manage stress is through exercise. Encourage your employees to start exercising each day. Help them do this by offering yoga classes during work hours or do them before or after work. You should also consider giving them a gym pass or setting up an on-site exercise center for your staff so they can go and workout for a few minutes if they are beginning to feel stressed.

Not only does exercise help your employees they can also cut their stress level by eating healthier. Healthier eating habits will be able to reduce irritability and anxiety. Many time when you start to experience stress your blood sugars will drop and this can cause the irritability and anxiety to occur. By eating healthier meals and proteins that will extend your blood sugar levels for longer durations you can easily avoid these dips in your blood sugar.

Employees that think they can handle everything will often take on a lot more than they can really handle. It is very important to have your employees evaluate their workloads and to examine what they can actually handle and give the rest back to you. This way you can assign it out so the work can get done on time and you don't end up losing an employee to stress.