How to reduce the effects of stress at work?
The fact that we are all stressed is not a discovery. In turn, the fact that more and more of us suffer from so-called Professional stress is still a taboo subject in many organizations! Forecasts suggest that the number of people suffering from stress at work or caused by work will grow significantly every year. So instead of avoiding the topic, better understand its causes and arm yourself with tools that will help in preventing stressful situations or at least neutralizing its effects.
Why are we stressed?
The creator of the concept of stress is Hans Hugon Selye, who over 50 years of scientific work published over 1,400 articles and 30 books on the subject, earning the nickname of Dr. Stress. In his publications the term stress has been discussed very extensively and in detail. Conclusions from the conducted research can be reduced to the definition in which the term stress defines a group of factors that influence the state of emotional tension on the human being. This is the body’s response to the relationship between its capabilities and the requirements of the situation, or stressors. Undertaking an attempt to deal with stressors, and hence adaptation to such a new situation, is very costly – it disturbs the organism’s well-known order, affects its psychological and physical balance.
Our body and brain cannot distinguish the stress caused by genuine danger (such as a fire or a dangerous animal attack) from stress caused by a situation we perceive as a threat (for example – high expectations of the superior, which in our opinion do not meet or a difficult project for which we are responsible). Research shows that work-related stress affects almost all of us and is a universal phenomenon throughout the world, which is why it is called the civilization disease of the 21st century. It arises in our head, but it affects the whole body and often we cannot cope with it on our own.
Constant tension and often repetitive stressful situations contribute to the reduction of immunity, permanent fatigue, distraction and to reduce our efficiency. Changes in behavior that we observe as a result of a stressful situation may be permanent or temporary, temporary. Regardless of the duration of the stress-generating situation itself, its effects are negative and undesirable for the body. They can cause anxiety, restlessness and other mental disorders as well as several somatic disorders, later manifesting themselves as long-lasting discomforts and diseases – theoretically – unknown ground.
Stress and its effects can be controlled!
Stress, which does not result from real danger to our lives, only other types of threats, can be controlled! It is worth learning to recognize and avoid stressors (e.g. by changing work or other organization or changing the way of communication with the boss), practicing a more calm response to stressful situations (breath control, taking care of your resources – sleep, regular meals), but also consistently eliminating the effects of stressful situations. This is necessary because the increasing number of problems and stress that we have not recovered will have a bad effect on our health.
After a full tension day, our body needs regeneration and peace. We can provide it, for example, by turning off the work phone after leaving the office and allowing ourselves to break away from the thoughts about projects and professional problems to be solved. Specialists recommend also turning off all screens (smartphone, laptop, TV) already an hour before falling asleep – their light suppresses melatonin, which is responsible for the correct regulation of the daily rhythm of the day and ensures a healthy, restful sleep.
Home ways to deal with stress are known to most of us – we must test them on our own to check which ones are best for us. However, the employer can also suggest solutions that will help us restore inner peace.
Massage – at the office or after work
The state of relaxation can be achieved very quickly with the help of a massage. Employers more and more often decide to propose this form of relaxation as part of non-wage benefits. Massager appointments in the office are very popular on specific days of the month – employees can use the service at work hours and at work. This is a good idea, though not perfect – a massage that requires peace and intimacy, performed in the company of colleagues, in an uncomfortable, kneeling position, will not be comfortable for everyone. In addition, such an office massage is done in clothes and usually takes about 20 minutes. It’s not enough to really relax.
An excellent solution is to use the massage outside the office after working hours. It also gives you the opportunity to choose a massage with a much wider range of treatments for the whole body. In order to make such a service available to employees, but not to decide for an employee – where, when and from what kind of massage is to be used – employers decide to propose open value vouchers for massages. To facilitate the management of such a service, it is worth choosing the MyBenefit Cafeteria, in which such an offer is ready and includes more than 500 massage proposals in showrooms throughout Poland. Employees can opt for a holistic massage or specific body parts and have a choice of different types – classic, anti-cellulite, anti-wrinkle, regenerating, lymphatic drainage, glass balls, paraffin and many more.
Own recipe for stress
Just as the causes of our stress are different, we can use different ways to deal with it. Massage is just one of the proposals! It is worth looking for your recipe for peace in interesting forms of spending time, in developing your passions or in sports activities. It is important that the head rests from the daily routine and for a moment forget about the reasons for professional stress. If we can still count on the support of our employer, who supports this type of activity and suggests it in the form of benefits, the situation is almost perfect!
