Stress Management Tips for Thriving in a Busy Workday

Stress is an inevitable part of the working life in our fast-paced and hyper-stressed business world. However, for business executives, managing stress is vital for your health and for creating a healthy, happy workplace. Here are some real-life stress management tips and how leaders can incorporate them into their organizations:

Practice Self-Care
Practicing what you preach is the best way to deal with stress in the workplace. When leaders take care of themselves—by exercising, sleeping and taking time for themselves—they communicate to employees that self-care is a priority. When leaders talk about taking breaks, distributing tasks and managing stress effectively, it motivates their staff to do the same.

Leaders can implement mini wellness breaks throughout the day or simply teach employees personal stress reduction techniques. Even simple exercises—five minutes of morning meditation or a walk at lunch can help to alleviate stress. 

Open Communication
Workplace stress is usually caused by poor communication. When employees do not understand expectations, timeframes or their place in a project, they feel overwhelmed. The key to fostering a culture of transparency is open communication.

Managers should ensure regular check-ins or team sessions are conducted where people can voice their concerns, provide feedback and discuss issues. Such openness builds trust and gives employees a voice, helping minimize stress and anxiety.

Work-Life Balance
Long hours under pressure is what causes burnout, which negatively affects not only productivity but also staff retention. Leaders need to stress work-life balance and devise policies that encourage it. This might mean work-from-home days or allowing workers to take time off.
Managers should not encourage an environment in which excess effort indicates dedication. Instead, focus on quality over quantity, allowing employees to recharge. This will, in turn, generate higher engagement and long-term performance. 

Positive Environment
A good work environment will decrease stress significantly. Feeling appreciated and valued helps employees stay engaged and less stressed. Leaders can recognize and applaud achievements, large and small, through formal awards programs or verbal acknowledgments.

Empower Employees
Micro-managing can create stress on both the leader and the team. Effective leaders know how to delegate and allow their team members to own the projects. Delegation balances workloads, prevents leaders from becoming overwhelmed and creates trust and independence in the team.

Managers should fit activities around the employee’s strengths, provide clear direction and offer resources when needed—but they should not hover. Strong employees have greater self-assurance and don’t have to stress out about ambiguous expectations.

Encourage Mindfulness
A mindfulness exercise, like deep breathing or guided meditation, has been shown to help relieve stress. It’s possible for business leaders to incorporate mindfulness practices into their workday schedule or to provide tools, such as apps, that support mental health. Leaders can even hold stress-reduction workshops or hire experts to teach staff the strategies for dealing with stress. Introducing mindfulness into the team meeting or workday routine (such as having a little breathing time before key presentations) can help employees remain calm and focused.

Create Growth Opportunities
Leaders can alleviate stress by allowing employees to grow and develop their skills to make them more confident in their abilities and contribution to the organization. CEOs need to foster ongoing learning, mentorship and clear career paths. It reduces stress by providing employees with a sense of meaning and enhancing productivity and engagement.

Workplace stress is inevitable, but it can be mitigated. When managers demonstrate by example, promote a healthy culture, promote work-life balance and encourage open communication, they set the stage for their employees to succeed under pressure instead of falling under it. These stress reduction tips improve the quality of your life and team performance and happiness—making for a positive and high-functioning workplace.

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This article was originally published on diversitycomm.net.