3 Ways to Reduce Stress at Work [Article by Dorie Clark in Harvard Business Review]

Greetings all!

Office stress is unfortunately a part of life for many of us but there are ways to alleviate it!

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A friend recommended a great article that suggests 3 strategies to keep work stress in check:

• Stop being vague

Vague messages along the lines “We need to talk. Let me know when you are available” create unnecessary stress. Did I mess up? Am I in trouble?

People might leave vague messages because they are in a rush or as a power play. I agree with Dorie, “Either way, it inflicts an inexcusable psychic toll. If you want to be a better colleague, stop doing it.” 

• Triage your responses [My note – PRIORITIZE!]

We are bombarded by messages and many of them are non-urgent. However, if you do not respond timely to a specific, time-sensitive inquiry (“Can you come to the meeting Friday at 4pm?”), you are being obstructionist. 

I love the author’s suggestion to “spend at least 15 minutes a day tagging the most important, time-sensitive messages that have come in, so that you can respond appropriately.”

• Stop watching the kettle boil

Dorie says it well, “…It’s just as bad to monitor them [your colleagues] relentlessly.”

Her advice is, “Monitor your own tendencies, instead [MY NOTE - good advice in all aspects of our lives!]. Recognize that responsible professionals thrive when they’re given autonomy, and work with them to establish a timeline and agreed-upon metrics of progress. That way, you can check in at appropriate intervals and they won’t feel blindsided. That takes the pressure off and allows them to do their best work.”

SUMMARY: “By limiting vague messages, responding to specific requests in a timely fashion, and giving your colleagues a bit more leeway, you can do your part to stop the contagion of workplace stress — because we each already have enough of our own.”

You can read the full article here:

https://hbr.org/2017/03/3-small-things-every-person-can-do-to-reduce-stress-in-their-office?utm_medium=social&utm_source=circ_newbusiness&utm_campaign=subscribetohbr_keywee_tra&hideIntromercial=true&kwp_0=858597

What did you think? Drop me a line!