Health/Wellness

Stressing and coping

The workplace is filled with stresses—from ambient office noise to threats by a bully. Coping techniques are just as varied, from sitting down and talking to full-on resigning.

By the Jobboom Publishing team
[ 2009-04-30 ]

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Have you lost your sense of humour? Overwhelmed by the simplest tasks? Stopped enjoying life’s little things? If your current job doesn’t energize you, then it may be time to reassess your career choices.

In order to diagnose your situation accurately, a couple days off should do the trick. If your existentialist funk continues, your workplace fatigue may in fact be a case of burnout.

Whatever the source of your problem, one thing is for sure: No one needs more drama. So, avoid an office meltdown at all costs. Don’t be afraid to inject some silence into the clamour.

Rather than escalating the situation, adjourn and reconvene the following day, once everyone’s cool, calm and collected. Or, excuse yourself from a meeting and regroup privately. Speaking slowly and quietly will also help calm your nerves on the spot.


Dealing with difficult colleagues

Over 75 per cent of unionized employees surveyed reported incidents of workplace bullying. Apparently, this insidious workplace evil is four times more prevalent than sexual harassment or other forms of conflict. The World Health Organization even declared the stress caused by bullying a global pandemic.

With or without a bully in your office, interpersonal conflicts will arise from time to time. Depending on your workplace and corporate culture, hugging may not be the best way to resolve this particular conflict. Instead, good, old-fashioned, hard-nosed talking may just do the trick. Good communication is important in order to keep things running smoothly. As counterintuitive as it may seem, “talking” may require periods of “listening” too.



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