15 Strategies To Manage Workplace Stress


Stress at the workplace is something people go through every single day. Workplaces can be very stressful and distracting environments. There are constant distractions, messengers alerts, email notifications, keyboards, printers, traffic, and rather loud co-workers can make it really hard to focus on the tasks we need to do. Luckily, you can manage all of that stress by following the rather simple strategies listed below. 

15 Strategies To Manage Workplace Stress

  • 1. Creating Multiple Work Environments
  • 2. Designing Collaborative Meeting Spaces
  • 3. Promoting Self-Development
  • 4. Encouraging Exercise And Outside Activities
  • 5. Allowing Personalized Spaces
  • 6. Creating Opportunities For Social Interactions
  • 7. Bringing In More Plants
  • 8. Offering A Flexible Work Environment
  • 9. Saying ‘’No’’ To Workplace Discrimination
  • 10. Keeping Your Workplace Tidy At All Times
  • 11. Promoting Healthy Eating Habits
  • 12. Bringing Colors Into Your Office
  • 13. Prioritizing Natural Light
  • 14. Investing In Decent Equipment
  • 15. Investing In Workplace Ergonomics

 

Most would say it is all about investing a lot of money into their workplace, but most of these strategies require no money at all, just a decent amount of effort and good will. Of course, if you are able to invest in great workplace ergonomics and high-quality equipment, you should. That does not mean without investing in those, you cannot do anything to reduce workplace stress. Please continue reading to know more about the strategies you can use to manage your workplace stress. 

Creating Multiple Work Environments

We all remember those boring offices we used to see back in the days, today it is all changing and it is changing for good! People hate feeling chained to their desks all day and it often makes them feel very stressed out. Giving your employees a chance to move around and creating different working environments can turn out to be an amazing way to reduce stress at your workplace.

There are offices that feature a section of standing desks, couch rooms, break rooms, conversation rooms and much more. These spaces are important to the people who work there, these spaces allow them to conversate or take a break without having to worry about whether they are allowed to or not. Creating multiple working environments means your employees will be thinking of new business solutions in the different areas of your office, sometimes that may be their desk, but sometimes, the best solutions might actually come from the kitchen! Our environment is not supposed to hold us back, ever, and having enough freedom to move around also removes the feeling of isolation and insane amounts of pressure.

Multiple work environments are not only great for your business, but they are also great for your staff as well, these people will be communicating a lot more, they will be doing different things together no matter what their tasks require them to do. The more communication goes around in your workplace, the better your employees will work as a team, and that is something we all love to see at work!

Designing Collaborative Meeting Spaces

You may not have a massive workplace area to actually create and build multiple rooms featuring different ambients, but you can surely create a common area! A common area is basically a collaborative meeting space – an area where your employees can interact and even work together if they please.

A lot of stress actually comes from isolation, lack of communication, lack of breaks and bad organization. Designing a collaborative meeting space is a great way to prevent all of these issues, and it is something you can do today. Collaborative meeting space does not have to be anything fancy looking, it can be designed to look extremely simple and it will still serve its purpose. These spaces often become one of the most popular spaces in the workplaces, people love them and they know the benefits they have.

Common areas inspire people to be open-minded, these areas will provide your employees with great flexibility, freedom and great amounts of communication. As your employees keep on meeting up in the area, they will share their different perspectives, skills, knowledge and sometimes even find solutions to problems they never would before. Collaborative meeting spaces make workplaces feel like home, they are all about people and sharing!

Promoting Self-Development

We all wish to develop and know more about things we are interested in. Encouraging and promoting self-development of your team is an important step to the stress-free environment at your workplace. We all find motivation when it comes to self-development, we will do amazing things in order to show off our skills and get appreciated for it – this is why it is so important to actually promote and assist your employees with it.

There are many companies out there who promote self-development, some even give their employees the freedom to do their own projects. Giving your employees the freedom to work on a project of their wish will most likely turn to be a success. People enjoy working on the things they want! Ask and talk about development plans, use all of the opportunities to share them and watch all of your employees come up with their own unique ways.

Self-development often leads to more communication as well, as your employees talk about their projects and ideas, they will also be sharing their skills one with another. Self-development brings great benefits to everyone; it means new skills, knowledge and many fresh ideas!

Encouraging Exercise And Outside Activities

Everyone already knows the importance of exercise and physical activity in general. Physical activity not only makes us look better, but it also helps us prevent and reduce stress levels. Encourage your workers to exercise, come up with outside activities and create a friendly environment for everyone to enjoy. You might not be able to make your entire office exercise every morning, but let them know about the idea, make them aware of how important it is to keep on moving!

Well-nourished bodies can handle stress a lot better, they keep our mind well-balanced and on top of all that, we just seem to be a lot more productive when we live healthier lives. When your employees start to exercise and get themselves involved in outside activities, they will have less sleeping problems, they will feel well-rested and their minds will be filled with new ideas.

There are companies out there who promote healthy living and feature sports rooms; these rooms are often filled with workers who play table-tennis, basketball, badminton or other fun sports they enjoy!

Allowing Personalized Spaces

To be honest, many offices look rather boring, blank and not very creative at all. If you have one of those offices, do not be afraid to allow your employees to create their own personalized space.

Everyone likes to have something of their own nearby as they work and spend hours in front of their screens. Have your employees bring their family photos, souvenirs, drawings or art that makes them feel good about themselves and their life. Small things matter, and while you might really dislike seeing that ugly snake picture whenever you come to the workspace of your co-worker, that snake might actually bring a smile on their face whenever stress catches up to them. These things are part of their personalities and having your team show off their personality without any hesitation is an enormously huge step to the stress-free environment at your work.

Personalized spaces can show off literally anything your employees want, their fishing achievements, their artwork, their favorite inspirational quotes, favorite plushies and figurines of their favorite movie or gaming characters. Personalized spaces will make it all seem a little bit more lively, with a lot more spirit!

Creating Opportunities For Social Interactions

Social interactions at workplaces are an extremely important thing, you do not want your employees to only work and never talk to each other. You want your employees to create a bond, work together but also have a great time whenever they can. To achieve this, you might want to come up with events and ideas that will make them interact even if they are not really very social people. While some people might enjoy visits to nature, some will enjoy board games, gaming or movies.

If you have ever seen Google offices, you would have noticed their employees have access to various games and activities on the go. Google knows the importance of actually enjoying and having fun. You might not be able to create a different environment for all of the activities, but be creative! Every now and then, come up with a social event and give ideas to your employees, make them vote and do something that makes them have fun! Of course, finding something everyone likes is nearly impossible, so make sure you come up with different ideas each time.

Bringing In More Plants

Humans love the greenery, and it is no surprise it shows to have an amazing effect on our well-being. While someone might not be a huge fan of gardening and plants themselves, their presence can greatly impact our mood, stress levels, creativity, productivity, and motivation.

Plants have a very relaxing and calming effect on our mind, the shades of green are known to have this effect on us, which is why more and more offices decide to bring in the plants in their environment. Having plants in your office will also make the workspace a lot more attractive to the visitors and job applicants, it just gives that refreshing, welcoming feeling right away!

While plants will make your workplace feel a little bit more natural, they will also clean the air of your workplace. Knowing plants absorb carbon dioxide, combine it with water and light in order to produce energy, it is really easy to say that plants can remove bad chemicals out from the air. According to the researchers, indoor plants can reduce carbon dioxide levels by 25% in the areas with no air conditioning – this is huge and can have a great impact on your employees.

Offering A Flexible Work Environment

Back in the days, flexible work hours, casual dress codes, ping pong tables, and various fun events were not something people considered doing at all at their workplace. Luckily, that has changed. Flexible work environment has shown to be an amazing way to have a successful and productive staff.

Those employers who openly give flexibility to their employees, they actually manage to get a lot more out of their employees. When you offer a flexible work environment for your workers, you will offer them your trust, they will immediately feel valued and a lot happier. Employees who have the freedom to manage their work-life balance are often those who are appreciative of flexibility; they turn to be the most dedicated and loyal ones.

There are many people who simply end up stressed up having to go to work in rush hour traffic, people who rather stay home and do their work in peace without anyone bothering them. Those people can be great workers given flexible work environment, they will appreciate it, and probably do a lot better than those who are constantly at the office feeling stressed out.

Saying ‘’No’’ To Workplace Discrimination

Discrimination is never a good thing, especially not in the workplace. Diversity is something we should be happy about; it makes us all unique and helps us develop differently throughout life. In order to reduce the stress at your workplace, you should most likely educate all of your workers about discrimination. Let them know how important it is to respect the differences and always quickly respond to the evidence and complaints of people who feel discriminated in any kind of way.

Dealing with all of the complaints quickly means you actually care and you try to make everyone feel welcome. Your employees will feel safer and a lot more respected once you show how you deal with the situation right away. Come up with a strict workplace policy against discrimination and have it all properly enforced.

Keeping Your Workplace Tidy At All Times

Cluttered spaces have many negative effects on us as people, they can deter our promotions, increase stress levels, distract us from our daily tasks and even make us lose important files and documents at the worst possible times. Knowing we spend a lot of time at our workplace, keeping it clean and clutter-free should be a priority for everyone. Each day your employees arrive at work, remind them of how important it is that their workspaces are clean and clutter free. If possible, make everyone clean their desks every day before starting their work, or after work. Doing so will have them always work in a clean and distraction-free environment.

Clutter is often something employees overlook when getting things done, and clutter is actually one of the things that make them feel stressed out at work. A messy environment has shown to have a very negative effect on our health and our well-being. People who work in messy environments usually take a lot longer to complete their tasks, they feel pressured and lose their focus much easier than those who actually work in tidy areas.

Promoting Healthy Eating Habits

Processed meats, sugary snacks, packaged meals, and fast foods are all strongly linked to high stress, depression and anxiety levels. Eating unhealthy foods is a terrible thing to do, but especially if it is done every single day. We are what we eat, and if you want your employees to be energetic, happy and fuel themselves with good vibes, you will need to encourage them to eat healthier foods.

You might not be able to bring them all of the healthy food and have them eat 100% healthy foods, but you can give them a chance to at least make their own meals. Today, there are many offices featuring a kitchen. Kitchens are great areas where your employees will come up and try out new recipes, they will be eating home-made food, and that is a lot better than any fast food they can order.

While you will be promoting healthy eating habits, your employees will surely give it a try and see a great change in their behavior and stress levels. Eating healthier foods will make your employees a lot more focused, have them experience fewer mood swings and boost up their energy levels.

Bringing Colors Into Your Office

Colors are all around us, they make our world feel and look a lot more lively, without colors, we would probably be extremely bored and dull. Understanding the importance of colors in our lives is important, and that is why bringing colors in your workplace might be a great choice if you wish to manage some of the stress. The psychology of colors does not only affect you and your staff, but it also affects the visitors who come and see your office. It is often colors that help people evaluate your business and it is of great importance to know how to choose the appropriate colors to present your business and your staff behind it.

Each color brings a different emotion to the environment, depending on your office/workplace environment, you should consider picking the colors that will benefit your business and your team of employees. White is all about cleanliness and purity, but it can sometimes seem like an uninspiring and boring option. If your office features a lot of white, why not combine it with a color or combination of colors that will make it feel a little bit more alive?

I have already mentioned how green has a relaxing and very calming effect on our mind; the same thing goes for other colors; they all provide us with a different effect! Keep in mind though, having too many colors in your office is also a very bad idea too – make sure you keep it all well-balanced and plan ahead before rushing with decisions that are related to colors.

Prioritizing Natural Light

No one likes sitting in dark places or places featuring annoying artificial light that makes our eyes suffer. Natural light is the best light we can have, and it seems to be extremely important even at our work. We spend a lot of our time indoors, we are constantly exposed to very little natural light and that alone makes us feel a lot more stress than it should. Making sure everyone in the office has access to natural light is another great way of reducing stress at the workplace. Natural light is not only very healthy for our eyes, it actually keeps us healthier, well-rested, happier, more productive and even makes our utility costs drop down!

In today’s world, people seek for workplaces featuring natural light, we much rather sit and have a huge window next to us than some boring, artificial light that makes our eyes burn and make us feel exhausted much faster than we naturally do. People who work under natural light have shown to be more engaged in the work activities; they are a lot more creative, open-minded, happier and less stressed.

Investing In Decent Equipment

Not everyone can afford to buy high-quality equipment for their workplace, but it is also a great way of reducing stress at your workplace. As much as this is one of the pricey options, this option is simply because of old outdated devices such as printers, computers, and projectors. No one at your workplace appreciates having to wait half an hour to print a single paper; no one enjoys staring at old monitors that are very unhealthy for our vision.

A lot of stress at the workplace comes simply from all of the broken or outdated equipment. Some offices still feature printers that are 15 years old; some offices feature terrible computers with even worse systems and offices with barely any technology at all. Investing in a decent security system, proper computers, screens, and other devices will make your employees very thankful. Old and broken devices can truly make people go mad, make them be late with their tasks and have them feel pressured at all times. Having good equipment will make it all go a lot smoother, less dramatic and also make your business a lot easier.

Investing In Workplace Ergonomics

Ergonomics are important and beneficial for employees and employers. Good chairs and desks improve our healthOpens in a new tab., they keep us safe from the injuries and make us feel a lot better at our work. Investing in ergonomics has a great impact on your employees, but it also reduces any costs associated with injuries at your workplace.

When you have your employees sit on ergonomically good chairs, the chance of them experiencing back pain is a lot lower, which means they will not be taking days off and pay for their treatments. Good ergonomics increase productivity levels in your employees, make them more loyal and engaged in the daily tasks. You can work on your workplace ergonomics and start with little things such as gel wrist pads, foot rests, document holders and anti-fatigue mats.

While workplace ergonomics are mainly about desks and chairs, it is really not just about that at all. Behavioral changes will also have a great impact on business and your employee’s well-being.

Related Questions

Do ergonomics increase business profits? Yes, ergonomics can greatly increase your business profits. When your employees notice you invest in their health and work environment, they will do their best to show you their appreciation. Investing in ergonomics might cost a little bit, but it eventually ends up as business savings!

Should I encourage or discourage multitasking at the workplace? Recent studies claim multitasking can drain the energy reserves in our brain. Multitasking is known for using the oxygenated glucose in our brains, and that same glucose is actually used by our brain to focus. Discourage multitasking whenever you hold meetings or wish to have the full focus of your employees.

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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