Dear BEM Readers,

After exploring motivation, leadership, marketing and innovation it’s time to kick back a little. But don’t get that excited yet Have you ever tried to stop, rest and rethink the way you work? Probably not, as you are lacking the time to do it, right? Don’t worry you are not the first, nor last business person having this issue. As our  modern World gets more and more interconnected, global, innovative, motivated and full of leaders, it impacts our work schedules. That „to-do” list of tasks just gets longer and more unrealistic, doesn’t it?

So what can we do to finally stir a breath of fresh air into our careers? We need to take stress seriously. What do you mean? I thought stress was serious? Well, it may seem so, but we don’t think of stress as being serious and omittable. So as you are reading now take a deep breath and concentrate on these words: YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF HOW YOU FEEL. PERIOD.

Firstly, let’s properly define stress:

„Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.” (MindTools)

There are 3 types of stress symptoms:

• Physiological (headache, high blood pressure, hear disease)
• Psychological (anxiety, depression, decrease in job satisfaction)
• Behavioral (productivity, absenteeism, turnover)

Through various studies and an array of research there are several stress management approaches:

Individual:

• Time Management
• Physical exercise
• Relaxation (yoga. meditation etc.)
• Social suport (family, circle of friends, work colleagues)

Organizational:

• Selection and placement
• Goal setting
• Job redesign
• Participative decision making
• Organizational communication
• Wellness programs

(Explore HR.org; Stephen Robbins, Organizational Behavior, Prentice Hall)

There a lot of coaches, schools, organisations that offer stress management help. Here is one of them from the UK – JustBeWell.com

JustBeWell: „Stress Management the Easy Way”

The common denominator of success is to define what causes stress in your life and how do you respond to emotional stimuli (unhappy boss/client, layoffs, missed report deadline etc.) and see what works for you to change your reaction in a stressful situation. It is hard, but not unachievable.

What you can do when you are at work:

• Work environment: look around your office desk/room to see if you can make some room and ensure you have enough of space. Get rid of that pile of old email print outs etc.
• To-do List: prioritize what are the really important tasks for today
• Delegate: Once you have an idea of what needs to be done, distribute the tasks among team members
• Activity Log: keep a separate diary and make notes on went wrong (what stressed you out and why) and think how it can be avoided next time
• Team Diagnostics: who is creating the push back? Can you assign a leader who ensures things get done more effectively? This way some tasks will be taken off your shoulders.

The above techniques are just a sample of what you can do to reduce your stress levels. However, it is up to you to define what bothers you most and how to overcome it.There is no magic formula for that.

Take the first step of identifying the key problem areas,change old habits, measure results and kick back as the workflow improves.

Have a possibly stress free week!

Krzysztof „Chris” Dargiewicz

USEFUL VOCABULARY:

1.  to kick back – zrelaksować się

2.  to lack – brakować

3.  to impact – mieć wpływ na

4.  to stir a breath of fresh air – powiew nowości/świeżego powietrza

5.  to omitt –  ominąć

6.  to perceive – postrzegać

7.  to exceed – przekraczać

8.  the key denominator – wspólny mianownik

9.  to define – zdefiniować; określić

10.  to respond – reagować

11.  stimuli – bodziec

12.  to lay off – zwolnić kogoś z pracy

13.  unachievable – nieosiągalny

14.  to make some room – zrobić miejsce

15. to get rid of – pozbyć się

16.  to distribute – oddzielić; rozmieścić

17.  push back – opóźnienie

18.  to take sthg off somebody’s shoulders – przejąć czyjeś obowiązki; zdjąć ciężar z barków

19.  to bother – drażnić kogoś

20.  to overcome – przezwyciężyć

21.  magic formula – magiczna sztuczka, formuła

22. key problem area – źródło problemu

23. habit – przyzwyczajenie, nawyk

24. workflow – plan/tok pracy

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