According to a survey conducted by Cigna TTK Health Insurance in 2018, about 89% of the population in India suffers from stress compared to the global average of 86%. The primary reasons cited for this stress are work and finances.
Fortunately, you can take a few precautionary steps to beat work-related stress before it spirals out of control. CoWrks Mumbai recently hosted Thrive Global’s India Leadership Summit where several eminent industry leaders and public influencers spoke about ending the stress and burnout epidemic for individuals and corporations.
Here are the key takeaways from the summit you can implement at work to effectively handle stress and be at your productive best.
Practise mindfulness
Often times, stress tends to get aggravated when you dwell in the past events, possible future scenarios, or on factors that you have little control on. Mindfulness helps you switch off from these hindering thoughts and come back to the present. Mindfulness is essentially the ability to stay in the present and pay attention to your thoughts and feelings without judging them. Mindfulness can be developed by practicing simple meditation techniques or informal exercises.
Relax and take a deep breath
Some times, you may feel that work stress is overwhelming and you cannot focus on anything else. The best thing to do is stop, sit back and take a few deep breaths.
If you are having a stressful day, sit quietly, loosen up your legs and hands. Close your eyes and take 11 deep breaths. It is simple and takes 2 minutes. The most important thing is, when you inhale, focus on the inhalation of the breath and when you exhale, focus on the exhalation of your breath. If you get thoughts, don’t worry. Just focus back on your breath.
Sarvesh Shashi, founder and CEO, Zorba
Breathing techniques like this help you calm your mind and restore balance.
Take care of yourself
It is easy to get caught up with things you “need to finish” and work deadlines. And the more you get involved, the more the stress gets onto you. What often adds to this stress is putting in extra hours to finish work and not spending enough time doing what you really enjoy doing. Not setting aside enough time for yourself not only hurts your health and personal life but also hinders your productivity in the long run.
Hence, it is necessary to set aside some ‘me time’ away from work where you can unwind and do what you really love to do. This not only helps you recover and rejuvenate but also prepares you to take on new responsibilities.
One of the most important projects of our lives is to care for ourselves. Every other project falls in place if you work on the most important project, that is you. I think when we are talking about self-care, the most crucial aspect of self-care is to start giving yourself time. Prioritise giving yourself time even if it is 10 minutes a day. Unwind from whatever you are going through, whether it is through meditation or whether it is through mindfulness.
Gaur Gopal Das, Life Coach
Develop positive habits
Dealing with work and life pressures can easily lead you to develop negative thoughts and conclusions. These can often lead to developing unhealthy habits and lifestyle. Hence, it is necessary to conquer your negative thoughts. To do it successfully, treat these thoughts as hypotheses and not facts. Simultaneously, try considering different possibilities and empathising with people.
Develop positive habits such as meditation and follow positive people. Be thankful for the little things you have and get to enjoy. Developing these positive habits can help you defeat negative thoughts and emotions triggered by stressors.
“Stay away from toxic positivity. Seeing everyone’s perfect life can be depressing sometimes. So, follow some social accounts like Thrive and positive quotes that make you happy. Even if you are online, it gives you a little bit of a break from the hecticness of it all”.
Malini Agarwal, Entrepreneur & Digital Influencer
Seek help
If you feel that the steps you have taken to handle work-related stress are not helping you, then it is time to seek help from a professional. Most physical, mental, emotional and behavioral disorders found in today’s working professionals are the direct result of unchecked work-related stress.
The Cigna TTK Health Insurance survey showed that about 75% of the survey respondents felt uncomfortable talking to a medical professional about their stress. Hence, it is absolutely necessary to seek professional help to combat work-related stress.
Fortunately, many organisations have recognised the growing levels of work-related stress and have started taking the necessary steps to help their employees destress. Some of these steps including implementing a flat, more open and more flexible work culture. Some of them have also implemented in-house employee support and counseling programs to help their employees destress.
“A lot will depend on the culture of the organisation. A culture which is highly autocratic, highly performance-oriented, that puts in a lot of pressure on performance and the need to achieve, and punishment if you are not achieving does not work out. There is a lot of fear there”.
Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico Limited
He continued further saying that to help employees combat work stress, Marico has setup in-house call centres where employees can call and seek help in dealing with stress in an anonymous way.
Parting words
A growing trend of coworking spaces plays a significant role in combating work-related stress. Coworking spaces provide the necessary infrastructure and atmosphere that allow organisations and their employees to relax and destress while still be at their creative and productive best. Organisations and employees can take advantage of the opportunities provided by these coworking spaces to improve their well being while unlocking their creativity and capacity for effective decision-making.
