Managing work stress
You can pick your friends but you can't pick your work colleagues, as many of us know.
Whether it's your workload, or the people you spend 38 hours a week with, work can be a source of stress. Perhaps you are stuck in the cycle of dreading going in, procrastinating over certain tasks and then feeling anxiety for not being organised enough. Either way, there are things you can do to make the working week more pleasant
Reevulate - Is this a rough patch or am I genuinely unhappy in my role? What changes would need to happen for me to be happy? This can look like an internal reflection or perhaps a chat with a trusted manager or colleague.
Boundaries - With both colleagues and workload. If you're particularly efficient and reliable, some managers will give more work to the person they know will get it done. Setting reasonable boundaries such as not taking on too much, finishing and starting work at appropriate times, and asking for help when required can manage the pressure.
Performance - If you've been feeling that you're not up to scratch recently, or you might have even been spoken to about your performance then you may need to look at what is going wrong. Granted not all of the times this is the employees fault, for example, unsupportive managers, poor onboarding and training can also be the cause. But if you are not fulfilling your key performance measures and your attitude is not where your manager needs it to be, then it may be time to change your approach
Resilience - Ask yourself, how do I handle workplace stress? Almost everyone will face challenges in the workplace from time to time, and while we can't avoid these, we can manage our feelings. If you're not doing too well every time something goes wrong, then it could be time to seek out some support. Having resilience is an important life skill.
All in all, your solution might look like a change of job or it may be a quick fix in how you approaching situations. Most workplaces now offer a Employee Assistance Program (EAP) service in which you can contact for free, confidential advice. Alternatively, there are counsellors/psychotherapists (such as Remedy Therapy Canberra) that work with career assistance, as well as career coaching services available.
