How to manage stressful situations at work.
Even if you truly love your job, work-related stress is pretty much unavoidable. Unfortunately, failing to deal with workplace pressures can negatively impact your mental state and can take a toll on your physical health as well. To help you manage stressful situations at work, here’s what you should do when faced with these common high-pressure problems.
- Last-Minute Deadlines
Typically, the first response we have to a last-minute assignment is being frustrated by the lack of notice. However, rather than wasting time stewing over the unfairness of your situation, you need to calm down and create an action plan for getting the assignment done. Since you probably won’t have enough work hours to meet the deadline, block out the time you will spend at home working on the assignment. While this cuts into your precious personal time, creating a schedule will ensure that you do not spend your whole weekend working. If you feel that you cannot make the deadline, then it’s a good idea to request an extension. When asking your boss, focus your argument on the benefits of rescheduling your deadline. When they see the advantages of moving a project back, they will be more likely to give you more time.
- Conflicts with a Co-Worker
Having a conflict with a co-worker is stressful because they are often embarrassing and made public in a close-knit office environment. If you feel that your co-worker is being unfair, then it’s easy to become heated and attempt to defend yourself. However, if you act inappropriately, it doesn’t matter if you are right or wrong. All anyone will remember is what you said or did. So, if you feel yourself starting to lose control, it’s important that you remove yourself from the situation until you can calm down and think about things more rationally. Once you have cooled off, think of more productive ways to discuss the situation. Once you have prepared a game plan and know what you will say, then you can try to talk to your co-worker again and sort through the issue.
- Managing an Event
Being put in charge of a company event is one of the most stressful positions to be in. However, rather than stressing about everything that could go wrong, channel this energy into preparing for such disasters. Assess past company events and determine where they went wrong. Once you identify the problems, make a plan that will help you address them if they pop up this time around. If you are worried about managing all the moving parts, then see if you can get a co-worker to help with your planning. Being able to share responsibilities (and stress) with another person will make the whole ordeal much more palatable.
Take these steps to manage stressful situations at work. Want a way to alleviate some of the stress that you feel in your personal life? Then make sure you have the right insurance to give you peace of mind. For assistance with all your auto and home insurance needs, contact the experts at Mike Leonard Insurance Agency. Our dedicated team is eager to find you the right coverage from one of our many carriers including: Kemper, MetLife, Nationwide, Travelers, The Hartford, Safeco Insurance, Progressive, and American Strategic Insurance.