3 Ways to Combat Workplace Stress and Anxiety

In the past year, our workspaces have changed a lot. Many of you have gone from having a dedicated office to working entirely remotely to switching back and forth in a hybrid model. No matter where you do your work, though, a lot of the stresses are the same. Deadlines, high-pressure clients, and complicated tasks are perpetual concerns—so you need skills and techniques to manage stress and anxiety that are effective no matter where and how you work. 

Luckily, managing stress doesn’t require enterprise-level internet speeds or a private garden in your backyard. In fact, you don’t even need a backyard. What you do need, however, is the tools to identify and alleviate a particular kind of worry. Stress comes in countless forms: short and long term, small and large scale, etc. There’s no single cure-all I can prescribe that will make your work life a breeze. Instead, I can offer a suite of tools that will help in various situations and help you find balance at the times you need it most. 

In the Moment: Controlled Breathing

Everyone knows what it’s like to feel completely overwhelmed in a situation. Maybe you’ve just received bad news or you have to think on your feet to solve a problem quickly. Whatever the case, these experiences only go worse when you’re not able to get a hold of yourself in the middle of a storm. Often, the best remedy is to take a second to slow things down and gain perspective. This process is often referred to as “taking a breather,” and that’s exactly what you should do. More specifically, you should consider practicing controlled breathing. 

“Take a deep breath, expanding your belly. Pause. Exhale slowly to the count of five. Repeat four times,” writes Lesley Alderman. “Congratulations. You’ve just calmed your nervous system.” The beauty of controlled breathing is that it requires no equipment and almost no time, making it perfect for spur-of-the-moment stress that you can’t plan or prepare for. The next time you find yourself in a foggy or frenzied mindstate, just remember to take a controlled breather.

Day-to-day: Good Habits and Mindfulness Apps

In addition to alleviating stress as it arises, it’s good to engage in behaviors that provide the foundation for mental clarity and emotional control. Practices like eating well, getting a regular eight hours of sleep, and engaging in regular exercise aren’t just valuable in and of themselves; they also help you perform better at work. When we’re frazzled, it’s all too easy to cut corners when it comes to our wellness, but doing that only makes matters worse. It’s important to maintain healthy habits even and maybe even especially when you’re stressed. 

Beyond regular strong habits, I recommend adding some mindfulness apps to your routine. Platforms like Calm and Headspace allow users to get the benefits of a clear head in a way that suits the modern business environment. Through guided meditations on your phone, you can find time to treat your psyche the same way that a good meal and a sound night’s sleep treat your body. 

Always: Keeping an Open Mind

It may seem simple, but I can’t stress enough how crucial it is to be open and amenable to change in order to keep from feeling under constant stress. If you are unwilling to deal with any variation from the norm, you put yourself in a losing position from the start. Those who are open to change are less likely to find triggers for stress, as well as being less able to cope with it. As the past year has shown, anything and everything about our lives are subject to change at the drop of a hat. Unless you’re able to reckon with that fact, you’re going to struggle to find any sense of tranquility.

Whether we’re talking about our personal or professional lives, or about the ways those two intersect, all of us have to deal with stress. What matters is how we deal with that stress. It’s not always easy but knowing how to manage feelings of frustration, anger, anxiety, and all the other emotions we associate with extra pressure can make the difference between a few seconds of panic and a week or more of misery.