Women are more prone to workplace stress due to the many roles they play in life: as a career woman, wife, mother, daughter, and friend. Women often work beyond the 9-5 shift, having to rush home to cook dinner, help the kids with homework, and prepare the next day’s office attire for the hubby. The stress and anxiety caused by endless tasks and impossible deadlines in a high-speed, high-tech world have made women’s lives a living web of complexity.
So how can women cope with stress and anxiety? The first step is to understand how these psychological and emotional conditions make women’s lives more difficult. Stress is a combination of fatigue, restlessness, depression, over-focusing, and over-all gloominess that is a consequence of overwork and other personal problems. Trying to balance time between work and home has caused many women to suffer from stress. Personal or relationship issues like divorce or separation have also been the cause of anxiety and panic attacks among women. Women who own and manage their own businesses are also prone to stress. Their high drive for business success cannot always protect them from times of depression and overwork. Career women, on the other hand, have to confront office politics, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and the fear of being laid-off.
But there’s hope for overworked, stressed women. Here are ten practical tips for women to reduce and manage work-related stress:
- Create a Relaxing Environment – Put up relaxing scenes, like posters or small paintings with beautiful scenery. You can even download screen savers of beaches, waterfalls, and other scenes that help create a serene mood.
- Use a To-Do List – Color-code your notes, put up an “alarm” on your computer to remind you of priority tasks, and know what to do first.
- Take Time Out – Take a break from reading emails and do stimulating activities like Sudoku, brainteasers, or read some inspirational books like Chicken Soup for the Soul.
- Rearrange Your Workstation – Add a “homey” look to your workstation by putting up photo frames of your family or favorite pet. When you feel stressed, glance at their happy faces or cuteness and find yourself smiling back.
- Bring Plants to Work – Having a plant around your workplace is good stress relief. Studies show that looking at something green like a plant helps soothe your eyes after facing the computer monitor all day or after reading for a long time. Focusing on a green plant will have a soothing effect.
- Exercise – Physical activity helps get rid of tension. During a workout, your body releases endorphins which help your body relax. Endorphins also act as natural painkillers. There are a lot of exercise videos that you can use ranging from standard aerobics to Pilates, Tae-Bo, and other fitness programs.
- Declutter – Organize your things and throw away things you no longer need to make your work environment more appealing.
- Set Boundaries – Communicate and assert yourself, let your co-workers know when you are more available for chit chat.
- Go Easy on Caffeine – Too much caffeine adds to stress and can even lead to depression.
- Eat a Good Breakfast – Studies show that if you make it a practice to eat breakfast every day, your body gets the needed proteins to give you an energy boost to face the working day.
