It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? Well, not for everyone. Even if you typically enjoy winter festivities, workplace holiday stress can make you feel especially pressured. To avoid feeling the weight of additional responsibilities and expectations at work, use these five strategies to alleviate workplace holiday stress.
Exercise & Eat Right
Make time for exercise and eat well. With the gathering of family and friends, plus work parties and gift exchanges, you’ll probably end up with many tempting dishes or gifts of gourmet cookies and candies. To balance the extra indulgences and the holiday stress simultaneously, why not eat well during your regular meals and snacks? You can also battle the extra calories by moving that body! A quick 20-minute workout will make you feel less stressed as you get those endorphins pumping.
Plan Ahead & Prioritize
Prioritize your to-do list and plan ahead. We often make daunting lists of work tasks, but that certainly doesn’t make the workplace holiday stress any better. Instead of an insurmountable list, take the time to reflect and prioritize what needs to be completed first. Creating more focused tasks and planning ahead will surely ease the anxiety.
Be Aware of Due Dates
Be mindful of deadlines. As you prioritize and plan ahead, it’s a good idea to keep your deadlines in mind. Keeping yourself on track with a calendar is a great way to stay organized. Plug in your deadlines, then break down tasks and projects into smaller deadlines across the course of a week so that procrastination doesn’t sneak up on you.
Take a Deep Breath
Try not to take anything personally; it’s common for everyone to be stressed at this time of year. We all have a lot going on during the holidays, so it’s normal for people to express some of that stress and anxiety. If someone makes a quick comment that doesn’t sit right with you, it could be that they are just feeling overloaded. Take a step back before taking something to heart.
Turn To Others
Lean on your team for support and pace yourself. It’s the time of year for togetherness, so use those around you to vent your frustrations, delegate tasks to your team, and collaborate on ways to balance your work.
You don’t have to experience workplace holiday stress alone. For very serious cases of stress or anxiety during this crazy time of year, Critical Incidents Employer Services offers one-on-one crisis management. Sometimes it can be helpful to work through the stress with an objective ear, and CIES is there to do exactly that for you! Reach out to our team today for help in your time of need.
