Experiencing Workplace Stress Everyday Is Hard—3 Ways To Cope

Do you dread the workday? Perhaps you come home from work feeling drained every day. By the time you wake up the next morning, you’re just not ready to do it all over again.

You’re unhappy when you’re on the clock, and you feel you’re under too much pressure. Maybe you’ve grown to dislike your manager, or perhaps you’ve been anxious because you’ve been given more responsibility than you feel you can handle. Or maybe you can’t quite pinpoint what’s been stressing you out, but you’re tired of leaving work every day feeling exhausted and irritated.

Dealing with workplace stress can be demoralizing. However, you do not have to resign yourself to feeling stressed at work. You can start taking steps to identify what’s bothering you and then addressing the issues.

Here are a few tips to help you cope with workplace stress and improve your situation.

Assess Your Stressors

First, it’s important to figure out why you’re feeling stressed at work. Keep a journal for a week or two and note how you feel at work each day and what made you feel that way. Maybe you noticed your mood soured after you had to meet with your manager.

Or perhaps you felt the most stressed during your commute to and from work. Alternatively, you might have become anxious when you were reminded of the deadline for a pressing project.

Once you’ve identified the sources of your stress, you can start figuring out solutions. For instance, if you know that your commute makes you anxious, you could think about asking to work from home at least a few days per week.

If the projects you’ve been working on are becoming tedious, could you look into opportunities for upward advancement at your company or talk to your manager about working on different projects in the future? You might be worried that you’ll hear “No,” but you’ll never know if you don’t ask!

Set Healthy Boundaries

Today, it can be difficult to draw a line between your personal and professional life. You might check emails after work or answer calls from your manager after you clock out. But by setting a boundary between home and the office, you can reclaim your time and allow yourself to relax fully when you’re not working.

Turning off notifications on your phone and laptop after your working hours are over can help you step away from your to-do list for a while. You may need to discuss this change with your manager or coworkers if they’re used to contacting you after hours. Even if you’re a bit nervous about the conversation, your mental health is worth it!

Delegate When Possible

Do you feel you’ve taken on a workload that you can’t realistically handle anymore? It can be hard to avoid the urge to be productive at all times. If this is the case, it might be time to figure out which tasks you can delegate to others.

You may be able to onboard someone new on to your team or shift certain responsibilities to another employee who is looking to take on some new projects. 

Would you be able to hire a freelancer or contractor to take on certain tasks? You can also evaluate which tasks you could automate. Automating minor tasks can free up more time in your day and eliminate work that can often seem tedious.

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Are you struggling in a stressful workplace? Talking to a therapist can help. Reach out to me today to discuss your options for scheduling your first session.

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