Health Expert Tips: How to Manage Stress In a High-Pressured Work Environment

Virtually everyone has experienced stress at work at some point in their careers. Indeed, you’d be hard-pushed to find anyone who hasn’t struggled in the course of their job.

 While stress at work can be a problem for everyone, for those who work in high-pressure environments, the risk is even greater. Consequently, it’s important to learn how to manage stress in order to avoid burnout in the long term.

 Read on for some health expert tips to help you manage stress in a high-pressured work environment.

Consider medication for physical stress

Stress often manifests as physical ailments. Beyond simply feeling tense, some individuals might experience other physical symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, and other conditions.

One of the most common physical manifestations of stress is migraines. These are intense headaches that can last from a few minutes to several hours — even days, in some cases.

Naturally, these can be severely debilitating. Consequently, it’s worth looking to medication in order to quickly and effectively treat such headaches.

If you’re considering taking medication to combat stress-induced migraines, it helps you do your research to know more about migraine medication. For instance, sumatriptan is a common medication that is effective at treating migraines — if you’re considering this route, first understand what is sumatriptan and how it affects the body

If you work with heavy machinery, for example, you should avoid using this medication until you know how it affects you.

Medication should only be considered in extreme cases of stress when it causes migraines and other physical symptoms.

Take little breaks throughout the day

Your environment plays an important role in stress. Loud noises, poor lighting, tense phone conversations — these all form part of our work environment and can trigger stress.

Working from home during the lockdown might have eased this somewhat. Removed from a high-pressure office, we can take a walk or find a quiet five minutes away from our desk.

But as the lockdown eases, many of us will be returning to our place of work and back into such a stressful environment. For many, simply getting up and walking out of the office for the rest of the day is not a feasible option.

But getting away from your desk and walking around the block, even for a few minutes, is a beneficial action that will help you manage stress. It gives your mind a moment to recharge and reset, ready to return to your desk and continue working.

Make exercise an essential part of your day

It should come as no surprise to anyone that exercise is a powerful stress management technique, especially if you work in a high-pressured work environment.

Beyond these benefits, exercising also helps you physically work out your stress. An intense gym session or demanding run helps express pent up tension, rather than keeping it bottled up inside.

If you exercise at lunch, it also gets you out of the office, removing you from a high-pressure environment and providing some mental respite. The added endorphin rush afforded by exercise also spurs you on mentally, helping you hit the ground running and continuing working on a high.

Set clear boundaries between work and home

With the plethora of digital technology available to us today, it’s easy to let the boundaries between work and home slide. Many businesses create an “always-on” culture in which staff are reachable at all times, even after they have gone home.

Naturally, this increases stress levels by preventing you from relaxing or unwinding completely if you’re not working. Consequently, it’s important that you establish clear boundaries between work and the rest of your life.

Switch off any work devices when you leave work, for instance, or avoid working overtime at weekends. These are not unreasonable stipulations, and your manager should be understanding of your boundaries.

Of course, everyone has different expectations for boundaries — working overtime might be an essential part of your role, for instance. But set boundaries that work for you and allow space for much-needed leisure time as much as possible.

Speak to your supervisor and assess your situation

When our workload becomes too much or we are struggling with new responsibilities, we simply keep a stiff upper lip and struggle on in silence.

Many of us labor under the notion that if we complain about our workload, we are seen as a weak member of the team. We fear that this acts as a mark against us in performance reviews and promotions, so we keep quiet.

But this stoicism is not sustainable. In the long-term, it increases stress levels and stretches you to breaking point, eventually leading to burnout.

If you’re struggling to cope at work, don’t suffer in silence. Speak to your supervisor and let them know you are finding it difficult. It is not unreasonable to ask for tasks to be shared with colleagues or to receive extra guidance on a project.

A good supervisor is willing to help. They might also direct you to wellness resources offered by your company, such as third-party counseling services or reading material. It is in your employer’s best interests to ensure you are not stressed, so don’t be afraid to speak up if you need help.

The tips above are just a few ways you can manage stress when working in a high-pressure environment. But self-care is crucial in any role, and it’s worth bearing the points listed here in mind, regardless of your role.