In this blog, I will give you 8 strategies if you feel overwhelmed at work. These strategies will help you reduce stress and unlock your potential to the best at your workplace!

Stress is the most common issue faced by people in the current times. However, what people don’t realize is that being over-stressed and overwhelmed can reduce your efficiency multifold, affect your health to a great extent and is a catalyst for numerous long-term diseases. The issue of overwhelming stress was dealt with by Yerkes and Dodson in 1908, where they came up with a bell curve to depict how motivation is directly connected to feeling overwhelmed. According to them, extreme high and extreme low motivation are the bearers of inefficiency, which in turn makes us feel overwhelmed. A balance is necessary! Let us discuss how you can inculcate certain good habits to reduce stress and anxiety at work and maintain a balanced mindset to completely ward off the ‘Monday Blues!’.

1) Planning Always Helps!

Look in your drawer and take out the sticky notes you haven’t been paying attention to for so long! Write about every task that is due, and sort them out under urgent and important. Urgent is what requires you to deliver something at your best speed; it often makes you panic. Less thought goes into it and hence work efficiency reduces. The important tasks, on the other hand require proper planning, thought and action.

Do you know why is it necessary to know the difference between what is urgent and important? According to Eisenhower’s Principle, what is urgent is seldom important, and what is important is seldom urgent. Divide your work and prioritize it! Your time and attention are precious, use them wisely.

2) Focus on ‘Now’ & ‘Here’:

As I have said in my previous blogs, your universe resonates with you. Ask yourselves from time to time, ‘Are my surroundings comfortable enough for me to work efficiently? Can I change something that is amiss?’

If the answer is yes, make that change, first! Be it, cleaning your workstation, or resolving an argument with a colleague that is making your mind unstable.

3) As Yourself: “Is My Subject of Worry Worthy Enough”?

As I said previously, your mental peace is precious. Do not lose it over trifles. Think about the situation you’re so worried about, and let it go until it is something that concerns your life. As Dean Smith says,

4) Switch Your Work-Mode ‘Off’ and Take a Break

American author Douglas Rushkoff correctly describes the present condition of human beings as “Always On!” More than using technology to our advantage, we have slowly turned into its slaves. Being ‘online’, and ‘alert’ all the time has become a prerequisite today; and this greatly affects our physical and mental health.

What do you do when you suddenly feel overburdened and overwhelmed? Most of us get stuck further in the trap. Consider leaving your workstation, and take a walk somewhere in the fresh air to release the traffic in your mind. This helps in viewing at a situation from a bigger and a better perspective. Everything needs to be recharged, distance yourselves from technology in the break, and let nature recharge you!

5) Embrace the Reality

‘I have made a grave error! What will happen now?’ Each one of us in our lives, has had this experience of making an error and being scared about the outcome. However, in the end, we’ve always been able to manage the situation. Embrace your circumstances and focus on the present! It is  always wise to move on, rather than being stuck in the clock. Motivate yourself to take responsibility and do best in the next task at hand!

6) Monitor your Motivational Energy

Sticking to reality is essential. As I said in the beginning, balanced motivation is the best catalyst for efficient work. If you’re over-motivated, you might want to become an over-achiever, and you end up wanting to do everything at once! Ask yourself, ‘Is this possible for me to do? Or will it be stressful for me?’ Realistic goals help you ward off stress.

7) When Overwhelmed, Communicate and Put the Weights Down

Have you ever considered talking to your colleague or your manager when you feel overburdened? Build conversations over small coffee breaks, and get to know your colleagues. At times, a broad perspective is required to tackle a situation!

Your manager could be your mentor, talking to them and requesting solutions is always a good way of building positivity in your work environment and team-work.

8) Keep that Weekend to Yourself!

What do you do on weekends? When was the last time you prioritized yourself and your health over work? Ideally, weekends are not meant for work. However, in case the deadlines are close and working on weekends or holidays is the need of the hour, remember to prioritize! Day-offs are meant for a recharge. Hence, if you forget to rejuvenate yourself on the weekends or day-offs, you might end up feeling over-worked for the entire next week. Indulge in  constructive activities which concern you as a person! Grow in your life, to grow in your work!

Use these eight strategies to feel lighter at work and say goodbye to work-stress. Stay tuned and know more about our Stress Masters Programme to deal better with stress at workplace.

Till Then Stay Positive, Healthy and Stress-free!

My question to you is “Are you stressed in your job? Is it due to Accountability?” Stress is most common in the workplace today. With the increasing advancements in technology and economies developing at a fast pace,  the world seems to run against time. From a time in the early 1900s when corporate sector jobs were considered atypical, to the present day where a major share of the employed finds itself working in a corporate setup, workplace issues have always been a point of concern. Stress, fatigue, anger issues, time management and energy management problems are a few in the long list of issues faced by the employees in the day today.  Lack of Accountability may be the issue which is creating stress in you.

What is Meant by Accountability at the Workplace?

 Accountability refers to taking initiative and having a sense of ownership for the work you do. It directly affects your work efficiency and approaches towards every little contribution you make at your workplace.

Do you feel in charge of the job you’re supposed to do? If not, this might create a problem.

A lot can go wrong in case there’s an imbalance in your perception of your accountability towards your job. The major issue resulting from the same is stress. An adult in the corporate sector spends approximately 8 to 9 hours a day in office. This number can go much higher, depending upon the nature of their job. This directly means, that, on an average one-third of their lives is being spent in the office.

This is reason enough for us to be immensely affected, physically as well as mentally, by our life at our jobs. If there’s a disbalance with respect to ‘taking charge’ at the workplaces, personality issues are likely to emerge in personal lives.

Stress and frustration, unfortunately, tend to be a part of your daily life, whether you are a manager or an associate or both. The causes, in general always come down to the factor of accountability. Let us see, how.

Major Causes of Accountability issues

As a Team Manager:

You end up feeling stressed, if:

• You are not able to make your team accountable for their work because there are staff members who are not pulling their weight and are relying on others to pick up their task
• You feel that the efficiency of your team is half as some of your staff is shouldering others work
• Your team shows signs of disharmony; members with varying opinions are affecting the work quality
• Your team is not open to feedback

As a Team Member

You end up feeling stressed, if:

• You are shouldering someone’s else work because he/she is not pulling their weight
• You’re scared of being held accountable for your job as your team’s slackness thrives
• You do not really recognize the importance of your work in your firm
• You’ve failed once and fear handling new projects

Accountability plays a major role in the above issues.

How to tackle these issues?

1. Creating Trust through Constructive Feedback: Constructive Feedback is a skill which can be used to create trust in the team. Constructive feedback is where you not only provide feedback on areas of improvement but also appreciate examples where the staff has displayed their strength. This type of feedback is taken positively by the employees and creates trust in their manager or team lead. Research studies have shown that most of Gen Z and Millennials consider a growth on the basis of feedback as important as financial growth opportunities. Meetings, further, are building blocks of unity, trust and developing a sense of accountability in the team. Being open to feedback by initiating one-on-one meetings with the manager towards building a better relationship at the workplace is a step towards recognizing your importance.
2. Know Your Worth: As employees, you or your team members have to believe that they are in the team for a reason. You are there to play a professional role. To play this role you and your team members need to speak their mind and provide their professional concerns in the team meetings. This will create the importance of self and will enhance productivity and confidence.
3. Internal Over External Accountability:
   • What is Internal accountability? Internal accountability is when a person entirely accepts responsibility for their job, believing it to be their task, and gets motivated to take charge. Internal accountability directly elevates you and your team's mindset from being a Victim to a Creator. This further reduces stress levels and fills the workplace life with positivity.
   • What is External accountability? External accountability, however, refers to forced accountability, when you feel you are working for someone else. This is a major cause behind constantly feeling stressed. Stress, in turn, reduces work efficiency.
4. You’re Much More Than a Mistake: One mistake can never decide your worth. Do not be afraid of mistakes - they are just learnings if you do not repeat them. The better way out is to take note of the mistake, own up to it, learn from it and step up. Taking charge of your work through accepting your mistakes is a stepping stone towards success.

If you feel accountable to yourself, are open to constructive feedback, you know your worth and you are not afraid of owning your mistakes, then you will be less stressed and you will not waste your time and energy in blame-game. People will recognize your work and your contribution to the team, instead of your manager taking charge as you yourself review your performance from time to time.

In this series of blogs, I will be sharing more about wellness in the corporate sector where I will provide some useful insights and tips to help you enrich your time at your workplace. The Stress Masters Programme created by me can further guide you through the ways to de-stress yourself at work and achieve immense success.

Till then, Stay Healthy and Stress-free!