Stress has always been present in human life, and at many times it has been a very important and advantageous human reaction to dangerous circumstances. Today however, stress is a very different thing altogether. In our prehistoric past stress would be for short intense periods, say when threatened by wild animals or rough weather. For the modern office worker though, stress has become ubiquitous and chronic condition present throughout most working days.
The global serviced and virtual office provider Regus, recently conducted a survey worldwide on stress in the workplace and the results showed that the causes of stress for the modern office worker were many and varied.
The top results were unreliable technology, staff shortages and job instability. It would be safe to say that every reader will have suffered one or more of the above at one point or another in their career and though conscientious employers do try to minimize the impacts of those issues, to some extent they are unavoidable.
Avoiding stress and staying healthy benefit both employer and employee, and even the general economy. So to that end, here are some tips on how you can keep stress at a minimum and keep your body as healthy as possible.
1. Take advantage of - With a busy day behind you and a long commute in front, it is no wonder that exercise is often the first thing to go. So take advantage of those times when exercise can be done at little time cost. Take the stairs rather than the elevator, park further away from work or even just taking a few minutes every hour to walk around the office can have a great impact on your health.
2. Revamp your diet - Takeaway and microwave dinners are all too tempting when you've just got home after a long day, and the bacon and egg roll on the way to work is even harder to resist. Take some time each weekend to cook a few healthy freezable meals, then when you get home each day all you have to do is pop it in the microwave and you’re good to go.
3. Learn to say no - It is very tempting to management to try and get the absolute most out of their workforce, and sometimes that can lead to individuals being overburdened with more work than they can reasonably handle. Learn what your capacity is and when you’re approaching it you have to be able to communicate that to your manager.
4. Have a chat - You'd be surprised at how much more enjoyable the day is if you’ve got a friend at work. Take the time and find out something about a few of the people you work with, and try and do that every day. It has the added benefit of giving you incentive not to eat at your desk, but to go out and grab some lunch with your office mates, which is going to refresh you and break up the day.
The global serviced and virtual office provider Regus, recently conducted a survey worldwide on stress in the workplace and the results showed that the causes of stress for the modern office worker were many and varied.
The top results were unreliable technology, staff shortages and job instability. It would be safe to say that every reader will have suffered one or more of the above at one point or another in their career and though conscientious employers do try to minimize the impacts of those issues, to some extent they are unavoidable.
Avoiding stress and staying healthy benefit both employer and employee, and even the general economy. So to that end, here are some tips on how you can keep stress at a minimum and keep your body as healthy as possible.
1. Take advantage of - With a busy day behind you and a long commute in front, it is no wonder that exercise is often the first thing to go. So take advantage of those times when exercise can be done at little time cost. Take the stairs rather than the elevator, park further away from work or even just taking a few minutes every hour to walk around the office can have a great impact on your health.
2. Revamp your diet - Takeaway and microwave dinners are all too tempting when you've just got home after a long day, and the bacon and egg roll on the way to work is even harder to resist. Take some time each weekend to cook a few healthy freezable meals, then when you get home each day all you have to do is pop it in the microwave and you’re good to go.
3. Learn to say no - It is very tempting to management to try and get the absolute most out of their workforce, and sometimes that can lead to individuals being overburdened with more work than they can reasonably handle. Learn what your capacity is and when you’re approaching it you have to be able to communicate that to your manager.
4. Have a chat - You'd be surprised at how much more enjoyable the day is if you’ve got a friend at work. Take the time and find out something about a few of the people you work with, and try and do that every day. It has the added benefit of giving you incentive not to eat at your desk, but to go out and grab some lunch with your office mates, which is going to refresh you and break up the day.