Work-life balance and workload are the biggest drivers of stress

Half of today’s workers are stressed by their job with one in five (17 percent) finding their work very stressful, according to new global research from LinkedIn. The research showed that millennial workers are more concerned than their seniors about having a sense of purpose and belonging in the workplace, but overall they’re the generation that’s least stressed at work. Both Gen X and the Baby Boomer generation proved to be more stressed at work, with a fifth (19 percent) of Gen X finding work very stressful. The data showed that the top five cause of stress at work are work/life balance and workload; confidence in job future; a sense of purpose and direction; colleagues and work politics; and access to tools to do your job.

To help workers manage their stress, Darain Faraz, Careers Expert at LinkedIn, provides some advice on how to reduce stress in the workplace.

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1. It may not be an easy task, but try and set some clear boundaries between your work and home life. Your brain and body need time to refresh at the end of the day so block out time in your diary that’s just for you and try to fill it with fun plans so you’re not tempted to check emails. Don’t do this alone either – find a colleague or friend that will keep you in check and hold you accountable for staying offline outside of office hours.
2. Talk about it. Have an open conversation with your manager or mentor at work around what’s causing you the most stress. Whatever the issue, it’s probably more common than you think! Try arranging a chat in a space where you feel comfortable and away from the thing causing you stress – maybe in a breakout area or go out for a coffee. Being in a space where you feel at ease will help you to start the discussion and communicate your feelings in a calm and effective way.
3. Use your network to help you find new ways to deal with any day-to-day stresses or specific difficult situations. Reach out to those around you, both in person and on LinkedIn, and find out how they handle stress at work. You have a whole community of people around you that will be full of advice – all you need to do is reach out and ask! Everyone will have different tips and ideas, so you can then try them out and see what works best for you.
4. Learn to say no at work. If you’re ambitious it’s tempting to bite off more than you can chew but be realistic with what you can get through in a day or week. Is saying yes to that extra task going to mean you need to stay late again? Will you be able to do it as well as you would like? Your time is important so speak to your colleagues about how you can share the load or move deadlines if you need to.
5. Set yourself achievable daily goals at work and create a list of tasks for each day. Do you work better in the morning or afternoon? Prioritise the difficult tasks during those hours when your brain is at its best. Remember that unexpected things may pop up so some tasks may need to be moved or delegated to other colleagues. This is only natural so try not to dwell on the things you didn’t manage to finish but focus on everything you did manage to achieve that day instead.

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