LONDON:
A human being struggles with one thing or another at any given time. What are you struggling with? Do you have someone at work who is going out of his or her way to make your life hell? Is it a tattletale? Maybe they’re taking credit for your work? Perhaps they are using pressure tactics to get you to do what you really don’t want to do?
Are you letting work get to you? If work is ruining your life, then you need to regain control before your health and happiness are totally stripped away.
Let’s explore some ways to combat stress at work so you can do your job and keep your sanity as well.
Leave work at work
Think back to the last time you took your work stress home with you. Did you yell at someone at home, or maybe fall sick? If you’re dealing with a negative work environment, you will need to devise a strategy to de-stress before you reach home, otherwise work will swallow up your life. Easier said than done, but consider it a necessity.
Once you exit work, sit down, take five minutes to scribble down everything you are feeling and rip up the piece of paper. Enter your house only after you’ve done this. Try it for a month and see if it helps you leave the work stuff behind.
Another possible strategy is to ensure you get some physical exercise as soon as you leave work. Both these strategies are simple yet effective ways to release the negative thoughts, and the stress hormones that are surging through your system.
Avoid the ‘I’m awful’ trap
Being picked on at work can really affect our self-confidence. A big trap one can fall into is thinking that the criticism is aimed at you, because there is something wrong with you. If someone is singling you out to tell you everything that you do wrong, then be brave and check if there is anything that really does need changing. Feel free to ask a few colleagues, or even your boss, to make sure you get an accurate assessment. If you figure out that it isn’t your performance, then you need to avoid making the situation about you. You will need to accept that this is how this person is, and it has nothing to do with you.
This will help you in staying calm when you deal with them. By accepting this, you can stop blaming yourself and get on with you work. In time, you may find other strategies on how to interact with them, and perhaps even laugh about it.
Be judicious
Are you fed-up of having to work in what feels like a battleground? Are you tempted to make this person’s life hell in return? This approach is no doubt, appealing but it may cause further damage in the long run. You may find yourself crying wolf so often that people stop taking you seriously.
You will need to choose which situations need to be addressed, and which are better left as-is. There will be times when you will feel tempted to go to the boss, but use restraint and walk away. Sometimes, behaving calmly is the most appropriate way to de-escalate a situation. In time, your lack of response will give this person the message that you will not fall for their behaviour. In time, they will change their ways. If you find something occurring that’s affecting your work performance, then deal with that through appropriate channels.
Sayeda Habib is a life coach who empowers her clients to create a fulfilling, happier life. To find out more on coaching, or to work with Sayeda, log on to www.makelifehappen.com or email sayeda@makelifehappen.com
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2012.
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