Your place of work may be chaotic and full of drama that is leaving you with a rollercoaster of emotions and affecting your daily life and productivity at work.
Your boss is worried over an unfinished project and everyone is walking on eggshells.
There are side sniggers about a colleague who’s the worst dressed he embarrasses everybody, the new project presentation was a mess and you just can't stand the HR, the company is going through tough times, there have been salary arrears going over several months and there are fears of a looming layoff.
The customers from the other end of the phone are getting on your nerves but you must wear that good customer service hat else you’re in for it.
According to the American Institute of Stress, 83% of workers in the US suffer from stress related to their work
While you cannot control all of the chaos in your work environment that is overwhelming and interfering with your productivity at work and personal life, that does not mean that you do not have the controls to put your life right back on track, regardless of whatever may be happening around you
Workplace stress is real and sometimes, people who suffer under its weight do not know the root of their emotional reactions, until they consciously sit down for deep reflections.
This was me for a much longer period when I was working as a customer service agent for a network marketing company
My job description had a lot to do with addressing customer complaints for long hours over the phone or responding to emails that were always laden with bitter complaints
All of that negativity was doing something to my psyche that I didn’t even know. I was always bitter and angry, impatient and snapping at everybody, especially after I get home from the office. Sometimes my breathing would become shallow and I will come down with headaches on the one side of my head due to a lot of thoughts running through my mind and struggling for attention at the same time, which are all ripple effects of stress and anxiety
I never even knew that I was becoming a repulsive, unapproachable and unfriendly person until I started to hear sniggers about me, behind my back at home and at work
At that point, I just knew I needed to do something about my emotional state, because deep down, I know I wasn’t that person they were perceiving me to be.
Because I started to think that I had anger issues, I read several articles online and discovered that anger in itself isn't a standalone behaviour. It is often triggered by stress. I also learned to identify the stressors in my life and how to react to them.
When I started to intentionally apply some of the strategies that I found, I started to see dramatic changes in my quality of life and work. I smiled more often and became more patient with customers over the phone and at home, with my siblings
My goal for writing this book is to help you recognize the stressors in your workplace, how to avoid them and what you should be doing to deal with the effect it is having on your mental health so that you can function at optimum levels of productivity and live a healthier, more positive life.
PS; The strategies will also work for you under any work condition you find yourself. Whether you are a business person or at the top executive level in your place of work
