Relaxed and Ready

A Simple Roadmap to Reducing Workplace Stress and Frustration

Dr. Deitrick L. Gorman

• Publisher: Purposely Created Publishing Group
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781644840252
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: General Health

No matter what industry we’re in or how much we may love our work, almost all of us experience workplace stress at some point or another. Whether it’s due to having too many impending deadlines, a coworker with whom you don’t quite mesh, or even your office being disorganized, work-related stress makes us less productive, not allowing us to perform at our best. What’s more, chronic, uncontrolled stress has negative effects on our health.

Relaxed and Ready: A Simple Roadmap to Reducing Workplace Stress and Frustration is a guide to countering our work-related stress. This book discusses how having uncontrolled stress has detrimental effects on you in all aspects of your health and includes techniques to incorporate mindfulness and relaxation into our everyday lives, both at work and outside of work. Implementing these techniques is crucial to allowing you to be your best self professionally and personally.

 

CHAPTER 1

Evaluating the Cause of Your Stress at Work

 

Before we combat your stress, you need to evaluate why you perceive you have stress at work. Right?

Workload and responsibilities placed on you at work can cause so much stress. You want to do a good job, but just the thought of what you need to accomplish can make you feel overwhelmed.

On the other hand, there are people out there who feel better if they are extra busy, and when there is down time, they feel very anxious because they want something to do. This can cause them stress.

Here are some things that are known to cause stress in the work environment.

Unrealistic Deadlines

What’s more stressful than having a task placed before you and then having it due yesterday? Having unrealistic deadlines is a setup for having extra stress on so many fronts. As you take the task on, you may have to work later, which is stressful. You may lose sleep trying to get it done, which decreases your capacity to handle stress. Finally, it may take calling others in to help or finding additional resources to get it done, which is stressful. Wow.

Unrealistic Expectations

Are you being asked to do something right now that you haven’t been trained to do? This can cause unnecessary stress.

Doing More Than What Is Expected

Joining extra committees, volunteering for activities, and offering to help a fellow co-worker can make things extra stressful, especially if you haven’t completed your own work yet. Overextending yourself can cause a lot of stress.

Idleness

You may be one of those people who is super organized and thrives when there is work to be done. You finish it, and then there is nothing left to do. This can make you feel very stressed just sitting there waiting for the next thing to come across your path.

Work Benefits

If your income isn’t meeting your living needs, this can place added pressures and stress on you, especially if you are living paycheck to paycheck and can’t even think about missing a day’s work. Sick days or personal days may be next to none. Is it difficult getting time to take a vacation? Do you not make enough money to save? Are you juggling bills? This can add stress to you. If you are fortunate enough to have health insurance, the coverage may not be enough. The copays and deductibles can be what determine if you buy groceries this week or not. What if you do work and are unable to be insured? The stress of  thinking “what if I get sick?” is unbearable, because that will mean more bills, which causes more stress, which can make you sicker. You understand this cycle?  How stressful is this?

Coworkers or Boss on Your Nerves

Is there one employee who has something to say about everything all the time, and it’s usually  negative?  Do you deal with sarcasm, pettiness, or poor work performance that impacts your ability to do your work? Do coworkers try and pass off their responsibilities on to you? Or try and act like your boss when they are not? Do you experience stress just in anticipating having an interaction with a particular coworker? Does your coworker do nothing but complain? What about coworkers who try and kiss up to the boss? Do your coworkers gossip about others or even you? These things can all be very stressful.

Poor Management or Leadership

Not having clear direction or instruction by the “higher ups” can lead to stress. Is your boss always looking for a fight? Maybe your boss shoots down any idea that you offer. Is there always a reason not to consider your point of view? Do you not feel valued? Is your boss unreasonable? Is there no give?

On the other hand, is your boss ambiguous on what is expected of you? Is she unable to make a decision on anything? Does she change her mind when challenged on an action?

Do you have more than one person you must report to? This can be confusing. Are you being micromanaged? Does your boss instruct you to do something and then hover at every point of the process? Is your boss always grumpy? Is she miserable at work and projecting that onto you?

Poor Communication

Isn’t it frustrating when there is poor communication? Do you find out about a meeting after it has already started? Or ended? Are you aware of any updated policies? Did the work schedule change and you were not informed? Is there a new deadline? Is there a particular event where attendance is mandatory and this wasn’t communicated to you in time? What about issues with coworkers? Isn’t it a horrible feeling to know that a coworker had an event in his family and you weren’t even given the opportunity to share?  I know I don’t like finding out things at the last minute or after it has already happened. This is stressful.

Coworkers with Bad Work Ethic

Are your coworkers there to just get a paycheck? Perhaps their attitude is bad, they complain about everything, and their work is of poor quality. Do they have others do their work for them? Do they brown nose? Do they lie? Are they cheating?  Do they have co-workers clock in/out for them? Are they having inappropriate work relationships? Do they come to work late and leave early?

All of these characteristics in a coworker can make anyone with whom they interact stressed.

Being in Management

If you are a boss, are you so busy micromanaging your employees? Isn’t that tiring? Is there a shortage of employees? Are there any particular employees who are disruptive to the others and thus bringing them all down? Do you have your own supervisor hovering over you imposing deadlines? Micromanaging is stressful for you, let alone your employees.

Being a Business Owner

Suppose you are fortunate enough to own your own business. You fully understand this is your “baby”. It’s on you. How successful you are depends on the blueprint you develop and strategies you implement. You have your vision and values that you want to make sure are carried out. This can be very exciting, energizing, and stressful.

Promotion/Transfer

Have you been promoted to a higher position or transferred to another department? Being placed in a new position where there is a big learning curve or more responsibility can be stressful. If you are in new surroundings with new faces, this can cause some anxiety.

Big Changes at Work

Is there new management? Are you learning a new computer system? In my work setting, we use EMRs or electronic medical records. Let me tell you, they are no joke. Remodeling can also be a source of stress.

Uncomfortable Surroundings

You may work in an office, but it really feels like a meat locker. At the other extreme, you may be sitting at your desk roasting because someone turned up the heat. Granted you can’t please everyone with the temperature, but there should be a happy medium. Either temperature extreme can cause stress because you are too uncomfortable to do your work efficiently.

Is there a lot of noise or loud music? Is the music is offensive to you? Is the lighting poor or too bright? Is there excessive dust because of remodeling? Is it flaring up your allergies? Has there not been a housekeeper in days? Having a dirty environment is not conducive to productive work and can be stressful.

Poor Support System

If you run into trouble, have questions, or have cause for concern, do you feel that you have a place you can go or a person with whom you can speak who can help you resolve this? If you do not, your stress may understandably be elevated.

Even if you actually really enjoy your job, you still cannot escape stress.

 

Write down five things that you feel cause you stress at work.

CHAPTER 2

Toxic Work Environments

What is a toxic work environment? Well, it’s actually exactly what it sounds like—an environment that is poisonous, dangerous, sickly, hurtful, apathetic, adversarial, and downright negative. Have you ever walked into a place of business or had a job interview at a potential employer and as soon as you walked in, your felt something more than your upset nerves? Have you walked in and felt that something isn’t right? That there is just a vibe of negativity, bad energy, or tension? Are you working in that place right now? In my opinion, work should not be a place where the dead go to gather—unless you work at a mortuary.

How you can tell if you are in a toxic work environment? Here are some clues:

You can’t be yourself at work or be permitted to have some individuality.

You can’t laugh, or if there is laughter, it’s at the expense of someone else, and maybe that someone is you (in a bad way).

You approach your boss with a concern or suggestion and you get shut down before you even get your sentence out.

Your boss is defensive.

You are not given the opportunity to voice your opinion when asked.

There is lack of communication in your workplace.

You don’t have support or resources to do your job.

There is mistreatment of workers.

There is no professionalism at the appropriate times.

You don’t have a clear understanding of your job description or adequate training to perform your job.

Indecisiveness from decision makers or no one knows what’s...

Table of contents

• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1
• CHAPTER 2
• CHAPTER 3
• CHAPTER 4
• CHAPTER 5
• CHAPTER 6
• CHAPTER 7
• CHAPTER 8
• CHAPTER 9
• CHAPTER 10
• CHAPTER 11
• CHAPTER 12
• CHAPTER 13
• CHAPTER 14
• CHAPTER 15
• Acknowledgments
• References
• About the Author