Stress is a part of everyday life. Managing stress in the workplace is a top concern for all companies worldwide. Stress has an impact on motivation and productivity at work. Stress is becoming "commonplace" because Covid19 appears and impacts every company line. The pandemic has also created new work environment models: hybrid, remote working and Work From Home (WFH).
While some prefer remote work, many have struggled to cope with social isolation. At the same time, the older generation has difficulty adjusting to working with project management tools. Both generations must deal with priorities, pressures in a new work environment and daily routines.
Then stress management has finally become a top priority for many companies. 80% of workers in the United States experience stress at work.
A right and effective time and stress management can help revolutionise a stressful work environment. This will improve quality and productivity in the workplace.
But before learning about time management to deal with stress, let's get acquainted with stress management in the workplace and the things that trigger it.
Workplace Stress Management
Workplace stress management consists of all activities and initiatives undertaken to find and prevent work-related stress. APA's annual stress in America survey consistently finds that work is a significant source of stress for most Americans. This fact is concerning, and the company should not ignore it.
Top 7 Causes of Stress in the Workplace
Many things cause stress in the workplace. However, we have summarised the seven main causes of stress for employees:
1. Low salary
Compensation and benefits have a high impact on employees. When the salary is lower than the workload, it will impact productivity and stress levels. But you need to understand that a high salary will carry a more significant burden and responsibility.
2. Poor workplace communication
In terms of remote work, employee communication plays an important role. Communication is one of the biggest struggles for companies. The inability to communicate makes employees miss and miss some vital information.
Some have difficulty collaborating and brainstorming efficiently, and this problem can cause stress in the workplace.
3. Work overload and long working hours
21% of employees feel that long working hours are the main cause of stress. Especially when coupled with a high workload and long working hours. This is the reason why productivity continuously decreases every week.
4. Job insecurity
We live in a highly competitive, unpredictable and unstable environment. Many things can happen in seconds, including employee layoffs. Situations like this result in high stress in the workplace.
5. Lack of autonomy and empowerment
Imagine you work in an environment that does not respect each other. Your idea is not appreciated, and the company will not listen to your voice. In a workplace with such characteristics, employees tend to feel stressed.
6. Poor leadership and management
As the description implies, a leader is someone who inspires and encourages a team to work together to achieve goals.
The leader or manager is responsible for building good relationships with team members and motivating them to work. Therefore, when management and leadership are poor, the chances for higher stress at work are much bigger.
7. Inappropriate/insufficient workplace technology
Almost all companies are already dependent on technology. In a sea of project management tools, zoom meetings to the process of sharing documents sometimes frustrate the team. Companies need to integrate and communicate tools so they don't become a source of stress.
What is Time Management and Why is it Important?
We have discussed stress in the workplace and its triggers. Now let's talk about solutions to overcome these problems.
Time management is planning and organising to perform certain activities. Learning time management techniques helps keep you sane, healthy, happy and productive even when you are under stress. When you manage your time, your work-life balance and mental health will improve.
The Connection
don't go well. Or you are too overwhelmed by too much workload. Eventually, stress starts eating you up, affecting your life and mental health.
The connection between time management and stress is learning how to manage your time correctly to be more productive and stress less. When you manage your time properly, tasks seem to be easier and stress-free.
You will have some free time on weekends, attending birthday parties or just monthly shopping.
Negative Health Effects of Stress
Stress affects not only the quality of one's happiness but also health. It is also discussed in the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Sciences that stress affects a person's physical and mental health. For example, stress can affect decreased cognition and memory, lack of focus, and poor decision-making.
Some of the health effects of stress at work will affect:
- changes in appetite
- higher blood pressure
- decreased immunity
- decreased learning ability
How to Reduce Stress Levels with Time Management in 5 Steps
There are many time management techniques, but if you're still confused about how to combine them, try these five steps!
1. Find the biggest sources of stress
First thing first, understand the primary sources of stress in the workplace. If you are a manager, do a short survey about the sources of stress. Surveys should be intuitive and confidential between employees.
But if you are a worker, list all the activities that suddenly change your mood for one week. You will find the same activity within a few days. Activities with the highest number are the primary sources of stress in the workplace.
2. Raise internal awareness
This step is crucial. Internal awareness about stress needs to be instilled in employees, managers and companies. Clear, consistent and frequent communication is the most powerful way to make each individual aware of stress in the workplace.
HR can create employee welfare programs to provide helpful information related to stress management.
3. Reassess your company culture and provide more flexibility
Please review the culture of the company in the last three years. Is the culture still relevant to current conditions? If not, then propose management changes.
For example, if there is no flexibility in working hours and work, please add it. Today, almost every employee expects more flexibility in the workplace.
4. Stay competitive!
There are benefits and compensation in the seven causes of stress in the workplace. Therefore, ensure HR and management analyse the market frequently and stay competitive. Learn the points and benefits employees care most about and ensure the company has that compensation plan.
5. Provide the right workplace technology
The last tip is to provide the right technology. Ensure the company has proper workplace project management and time management tools. Also, make sure that this technology is well-integrated.
A project management tool using VirtualSpace offers features such as a project board to help you track your progress with the timeline.
Wrapping up
Stress has now become a common problem in the workplace. The increasing workload makes it increasingly difficult for everyone to manage time, resulting in stress. So in this situation, it is essential to start learning time management at work to deal with stress.
