Managing Stress in the Work Place

The year is half way over. Where does the time go? Well, it goes into hard work, every day, 24/7, 365… We know how hard you’re working to make your business a success. It’s obvious because we’re working just as hard to keep up with your demand for our sanitation equipment. With the busy season, comes stress. It’s pretty much inevitable. No matter what position you hold in your company, managing stress is important. Staying profitable and productive, providing exceptional customer service, and managing daily interactions with fellow employees, all come down to managing stress in the work place. If you are stressed out at work, the business will suffer.

One of the big, 2018 PolyPortables initiatives is making our sure our staff operates at maximum efficiency. Our people have to be in peak condition to boost business. The same is true for your company. When your people perform, your business grows.

5 Tips for Managing Stress at Work

Were you ever sent to “time out” when you were young? If your like us, your punishments were WAY tougher than time… but at least once, we’re betting you got in just enough trouble for your parents to make you take a break. That brings us to our first tip – Take a Time Out. “Whenever we’re stressed and feeling as if our lives are out of our control, it’s critical we learn to take a mental and emotional “time out.” – entrepreneur.com Day to day pressures of life have a way of building up and bleeding over into the work place. Make sure you take a moment to back up, focus on the big picture of the company, and re-focus on what’s most important at the time
Re-scheduling your work and personal activities can also be very liberating! According to a recent work-life study, “Eliminate distracting activities such as visiting social media sites or taking personal calls. These activities may only take a few minutes, but these minutes can quickly add up. You should also determine if you are wasting too much time on low-value activities that could be outsourced.” The best way to maximize your schedule is to take a week, write down everything you do at work and home, then note how much time your daily activities take. You’ll be able to identify waste, get rid of activities that hold you back, and free up more time for your personal and work life.
One of our favorite tips, and one many of our employees practice on a regular basis, is to take a walk. Every day at PolyPortables HQ you’ll see various employees taking laps around the facility once or twice a day while on breaks. This is a great stress reliever for a few reasons. Spending time outdoors is proven to reduce stress. Also, walking with your work associates leads to natural, creative conversation. Moving around leads to creative thought. Spending time outside of the office together can build relationships. Both of these benefits can help your business dramatically.
“Intense concentration at the office can lead to something called “email apnea,” where you actually stop breathing as you work.” – Brian Sabin, Somina.com “Email apnea” is a term credited to former Apple exec Linda Stone. This is similar to its better-known bedtime counterpart, sleep apnea. The term describes prolonged periods where you go without breathing—you hold your breath without realizing it—while at your desk or at work. Consciously focusing on proper breathing will reduce stress and lead to an overall healthier lifestyle.
Our last tip has been proven time and time again – Seek Advice! There’s a reason why “standing on the shoulders of giants” is an expression that has stood the test time. Stress shuts our thinking process down. People (ourselves included) have a tendency to hold on to the “status quo” ways of doing things, then, we hold onto our expectations for outcomes. When we can’t get ourselves out of a painful rut into workable solutions, the best solution is to find outside help from someone who is more experienced. “We all need support. People want to help other people. All we have to do is put our ego down, ask for the help we need and remain open to new ways of thinking.“

Taking a Step Back

As hard workers, entrepreneurs and self-motivated individuals, we sanitation industry workers have a hard time letting go, and putting ourselves first. We constantly focus on improvement and ways we can better our businesses.

Putting our companies first is a good thing, but managing stress for ourselves, and our employees is a must. If we want to focus on the long term success on the industry, we have to practice stress management in the work place.

These simple tips can help.