workplace wellbeing tips for busy professionals

1 www.MyWorkPlaceWellbeing.net

65 Work Place Stress Tips

Enhance your career and Live your Life

Learn about stress relieving exercises and techniques

If you practice them often they will lessen the strain on your mind, body

and spirit. Any exercise which requires deep breathing is beneficial

because of the overall calming affects. Aerobic exercise is said to be

good for lowering high blood pressure.

Get advice about Long term exhaustion

Workers who work long hours and need to stay at work until they finish

with the emergency usually gather a lot of hours at work which can be

difficult to get back and they get exhausted especially if they do not stop

for regular breaks. See a medical practitioner if you seem to be

exhausted all of the time.

Take regular breaks from the computer

The body was not made to stay in a fixed state but was designed for

your muscle to make a pumping action. Get up and go for a walk, make

sure that you spend intervals of less than 15 minutes at a time sat in

your chair concentrating on one activity.

Make sure that your eat well

This is not about dieting it is about finding out what works for you. The

best people to see to talk about will offer you nutritional counselling and

will find the right diet for you based on your physical and emotional

needs.


Rekindle your interest in your job

Find out all you can about a “Hot” topic in your field: If you are to remain

in your job you need to stop your dwindling interest in your work and

revamp your awareness of why this is the job for you. Many

professionals have updated legislation regularly sent to them or look in

social work magazines. Surf the internet for the issues and talk about it

in team meeting. See what other teams or authorities are doing about

the subject. Write a summary about the key points and send them to

your colleagues

Have a health audit

Go see your doctor for a 6 monthly check up, if you feel unable to cope

with work due to a health concerns you should first discuss this with your

doctor before you discuss it with any managers at work. Ask your

manager for a referral to Occupational health, if you feel your job may be

affected

Take some time off

Some workers can find it hard to priorities appropriate breaks, ensure

you plan your breaks for a whole year, it doesn’t matter if you do not go

away but make sure you have a break from work.

Have a sabbatical

Sabbaticals are literally a holiday or time off from work. Some

companies and authorities will provide workers unpaid leave as part of

work life balance.

Go to bed early

Running on empty also means not having enough sleep to allow you

body to repair. Of you are routinely going to bed late and getting up early

you need to change your sleeping patterns.


Have a mentor

If you need to progress your career and it is not working consider a

mentor who can help you look at what skills and learning you need to

develop. You can model yourself on a mentor, they are supposed to

inspire you by their achievements and support you to get to place where

you want to get to. Ask them how they deal with their stress nad take

their advice.

Keep your desk uncluttered

Workers who have to spend a lot of time at their desks should bare in

mind the aspect of how a cluttered desk can create chaos in their

working day. Keep things available such as important manuals, pens

and a pad. Shred confidential work as you go. Have a clear out day and

regular administration days to complete work. Cleanliness on your desk

is important especially if you eat at your desk. Aim not to eat at your

desk.

Do not take your work home

Taking work home means that you do not have a break and work and

home boundaries become blurred. Your home should be a space which

makes you happy, if your work is not making you happy then this will

impact on your home live. If you have to take work home make sure that

you have a clean space to do it in and take everything back to work

including things which need to be shredded. Try doing work in the library

or some other place like an internet café. You can also do work in free

inspiring surroundings such as museums and parks.

Understand the difference between types of trauma and its effects

on you

Post traumatic stress disorder is known as a direct result of being

traumatised by something that happened to you, vicarious trauma is

what happens to people in the caring profession who are secondary

witness to other people’s trauma. It can creep up on workers insidiously.


Make sure you understand the affects, aim to contextualise what you are

hearing in relation to the world that you live in, seek appropriate support,

request debriefing sessions, managers should offer workers debriefing

sessions, group supervision and counselling especially when workers

are dealing with emotionally taxing abusive situations.

Have a hobby

Research suggests that having a hobby can release tension from a

stressful job. You do not need to worry if is taxing as the affect is to take

your mind of the work and rebalance and focus your attention on your

needs.

Carry a snack in your bag

If you keep having to miss meals because of your work load prioritise

carrying around snacks in your bag and cans of soup in your drawer at

work

Get your basic needs met

Take care of each other in your team to meet your basic needs for food.

Get together as a team to sort out cover for food breaks and even

buying food for each other.

Work together as a team to get your needs met

Pulling together to arrange a birthday cake, the lottery etc is good team

building if everyone wants to join in. If your team is not good at this then

ensure you make friendships with others in your organisation to go to

lunch with or have a chat.

Try not to get lost

Carry a pocket A-Z, route map on your person/ in your bag in case you

get lost when you start a new job or travelling. If you are new to an area

you should ensure that during your induction you obtain a good


orientation of the places you have to travel to. You also need to know

the areas that are not safe to wander into and where you maybe

vulnerable at certain times. Always let your colleagues know where you

are going

Be careful about your personal safety

Some workers have jobs which makes them susceptibly to harm. Agree

a code to alert people that you are in danger if you ring in or if they ring

you. Ensure the full address of where you are visiting is left and that you

know who will be responsible for finding out about your welfare. Let

people know if you have left the visit safely. Make sure all new members

of the team know the safety procedures.

Invest in a digital microphone

Immediately take down your notes following a complex or a long

interview. It is not easy to write contemporaneous notes however social

work requires them especially when the service user is in dispute with

the local authority. Do not use your microphone to tape any

conversations; this would break Human Rights law and data protection.

Write a list at the beginning of the day of not too many things to do

Long lists are frustrating especially if you have a job where you get many

interruptions. Tick them off as you go and make a game of achieving its

completion. Congratulate yourself on your achievements and make a

new list at the beginning of the next day.

Learn a new skill


Creativity will help you to remain vital at work and learning a new skill

either physical or one which takes aptitude will help you focus on your

needs and boost your self esteem. It offers balance to your life and

lessens the impact of stress.

Stay up to date with important information so that you will not be

caught out when the new law/ processes come in.

Once a week check out the government website or subscribe to a feed

on the internet.

Retrain

If this is not the job for you have a strategy to get out which could be

retraining. Take care not to provide your self with more stress whilst

undertaking retraining, however the challenge of starting a new career

for yourself may counterbalance the stress that you might feel in your

current job. Seek appropriate advice about retraining and see if you will

be allowed paid or unpaid study time.

Use a life coach

Go see a life coach to discuss your career plan if it is not going right

Training

Find out about free bursaries and free training. Contact the national or

local association and find out if they have training to prevent burn out


Report writing

Use concise language when writing reports, then under each point

expand on your argument using evidence from direct work with service

user / customers or other professionals

Incorporate research in your work

Keep a list of useable research on 5 main topics to do with your job and

service users, expand on these over time

Get some help with report writing

Agree with a colleague reciprocal proof reading but make sure that

personal details are not provided and documents are not mislaid.

Use the find key word tool in word documents

Most social workers have never been on Word Document training, ask to

go on one or get a good book. There are lots of useful tools which will

help you write your reports.

Communicate clearly

Clearly communicate your needs as a worker but be respectful and

considered. Practice public speaking and talk through any anxieties that

you may have about reporting information verbally.

Seek clarity from unclear communication


Request clarity of roles and responsibilities in writing from those who are

decision makers

Make good use of supervision

Keep your own notes and come to supervision prepared. Ensure you set

up a work plan and review it prior to supervision. Bring forms to

supervision which you may need signing immediately such as training

requests, timesheets, and annual leave requests, and make sure these

issues are put on the agenda so that they are covered.

Sort out your work permit

Ask for time off work to do this and get good legal advice if you have

problems

Reconnect to the reason why you became a worker in your

profession

Keep in mind the reason(s) you became a worker in your profession and

make a list when you seem not to be clear why you do the job you do.

Know that you make a difference. If you can not do this then consider if

this is the job for you.

Devise your own induction

If you are new to the organisation and no one has set up an induction for

you make sure you find out the key operational documents and the how

things work. Look on the internet and contact the Human Resource

department.


Get through your probation

Make sure you are aware of what you need to do at the outset and

request written in formation.

Celebrate your achievements

Undertake a time line of things you have achieved, make sure they are

in your CV or résumé

Know what you are entitled to and the procedures

Annual leave, dress code, equality issues, harassment, bullying,

violence, complaints policy, disciplinary procedure, grievances, whistle-

blowing procedures, these are all procedures which you need to be

aware of in your job.

Use Work plans

Devise work plans for yourself and for your cases/ customers/ projects. Managing your work by objectives is a key process in the achievement of coordination, control, completion of tasks, development, and clarity. Your plans should be flexible, and you should use them to chart progress or to problem solve specific areas. Review and evaluate work plans. They will lessen stress as it arises in your work.

Stop going on social network sites and do your work instead

You really have to consider if you want to spend all day on the internet in

social network groups or do you want to get your work done so that you

so not feel the pressure from service users, customers or managers.

You should be aware that some organisations monitor the use of the

internet and they can trace the hours you have spent accessing certain


sites. But you should use it to get good information from reputable

places and you can get good feedback to questions you pose.

Spend time with you family and friends even when you are work

This is essential not just physically but mentally. Have pictures and

visual reminders of your children, family and friends around you as your

happy thoughts to counterbalance the effect of working in a stressful

environment

Aim for a win- win situation with managers and service users.

Do not think of compromising as backing down, a win- win situation is

something that you should aim for even if you do not know how to

achieve it. It is a mind set that if practiced will leave you and the person

you are negotiating with feeling positive from your interaction with each

other. You will begin to use language which reflects win- win. Examples

of this are agreeing to disagree, understanding a perspective which has

merits but does not fit into the context you are working in, respecting

difference.

Do not get caught up in Office gossip

This type of communication is destructive and can take a toll on

your wellbeing and even affect your career. Stay clear of gossiping

and do not take sides in a dispute

Reminders

Put up cards to remind yourself of relevant new legislation and say

them several times a day. They will seek into your subconscious


and act as a reminder about outcomes, keeping you focussed on

the outcome of the job so that if you have a tendency to go on

assessing you have a reminder in front of you.


Understand how you react to certain situation

Acknowledge for yourself that this is a stressful time for you. Seek

appropriate counselling if your feelings impact on your work or

your daily living.

Build up your self esteem

The impact of the issues you are dealing with might knock your

self esteem and this might affect your work as well as your coping

mechanisms. You may benefit from getting “re-grounded” and

doing simple and effective exercises either with support or on your

own.

Get the support you need

Try creating structures around you that help to look after you; this

can be especially important of you are not able to discuss the

issues with your peers or you are not getting appropriate support

from your manager. Such structures would include support groups

were you can speak with people who may be going through the

same or similar issues as you; friends who are supportive and can

be considered about the issues.

Make use of work based wellbeing assistance

Counselling if appropriate for you some short term therapeutic

work could be offered to get you through the situation. Many

organisations offer work based employment counselling schemes

which are confidential or you could ask you medical practitioner to

suggest an appropriate counsellor for you


Do more than take a deep breathe

Stress relieving techniques in work are beneficial especially if you

have to go into meetings to discuss difficult matters or if you have

conflict with someone who you still have to have some kind of

contact with, consider self administered techniques which will

create immediate relief if practiced such as acupressure,

affirmations, deep breathing and office yoga.

Develop goals

By setting goals and devising an action plan to achieve your goals,

you can actively reduce stress levels and move forward in your life

in areas where you may be stuck.

Consider alternative therapy

There are wealth of alternative therapies which can help you with

your taking care of stress, what is important is that you find the

right one for you and you evaluate if it is working. DO not spend

lots of time and money on something that is not right for you.

Sort out your attitude to money

Sometimes people get stressed by their financial situation not just

because they are in debt but because they have attitudes about

money which creates conflict in their lives. Get effective debt

counselling and sign up for money saving tips. Have a discussion

with a money expert about how you can become more relaxed

about money. If you are not getting the right pay at work seek good

legal advice.

Have humour in your life

Research indicates that happy hormones are released when

people are laughing. If you have difficulty remembering to have

humour and therefore release tension in the work place then get


reminders emailed to you or subscribe to an appropriate

magazine. Take regular readings of your sense of humour.

Join a support group

Deal with work place bullying and harassment

Have regular pampers

Practice conflict mediation techniques

Always approach a conflict situation calmly. If you do not have the

experience in dealing with conflict situations and it arises often in your

job find out what training you can go on to develop your skills.

Do not let emails run your life

Deal with emails by checking less often, reply to urgent ones, at the end

of the day try to clear your inbox. Do not forget to turn your out of office

message on and leave a message asking people not to put emails in

your inbox whilst you are away. When you return to work start with the

latest one or see if you can deal with themes or threads before you deal

with individual emails

Play a game of completing your action list

Making things a game means that you take things more light heartedly. If

you find yourself in competition you should re evaluate the usefulness of

the game


Manage your time effectively

This also means factoring into your day breaks and time to yourself. If

you have time management problems you should seek support and let

people know if you will not meet deadlines. If you do not communicate

that you are going to be late not much can be done about it and you will

get into trouble and be anxious.

Try keeping a month to a view diary

Map out your month not your week

An overview of what you will be doing for the month is much better than

a short sighted view of a week. It takes the desperation away from

making it through until Friday night and gives you a sense of control and

a sense of living instead of just surviving.

Turn your mobile off when you are driving

Try spending longer and longer periods with your mobile off outside of

office hours

Stay inspired

The dictionary defines inspiration as "The process of being

mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do

something creative."

When someone inspires you, you're moved to take creative action.

Take 15- 20 minutes exercise in the morning

There is a belief that this is more beneficial than exercises at the end of

the day as it helps you let go of excess weight and relaxes you, making


you happier and starts off your day with you spending time on your

wellbeing.

Stay focused

Stay present and focused to what you are doing at anyone moment and

give 100%. You will make fewer mistakes. People who are anxious

about what will happen constantly live in the future build in ongoing

anxiety which whittles away their wellbeing