We all need a boost of inspiration and moments of happiness to live by. In these chaotic modern times we are living in, often we mess up and lose control over our lives; mostly when we fail to develop an equilibrium with the surrounding environment and begin stressing over things that could have been easily resolved, simply by means of effective communication.
Stress is not always bad, in fact, at times it keeps us on our toes, helping us to put all our focus on achieving the objective. The problem comes when we stress over wrong things or say things that are beyond our control. But most of the times, we can avoid stress by taking an effective step towards reducing it.
Prolonged stress can have damaging effects on our overall mental and physical well-being, and so it is essential that we follow necessary stress management techniques to cope up with the stress.
But before we do so, let us first analyze the common causes of stress in the workplace that often becomes too much to handle, making the workplace seems like an emotional rollercoaster.
Common Reasons for Workplace Stress That Drain Us Inside
- Long working hours or overtime due to staff cutbacks
- Ever-increasing demands of clients and rising expectations of managers
- Mismatch between pay and work
- Working at an optimum level throughout
- Unhelpful colleagues
- Bad office culture
If we carefully analyze these common causes of office stress, we will find that through effective communication, we can deal with stress strongly.
Communication forms an integral part of our office environment, regardless of our roles and responsibilities in the office. By effectively communicating our requirements or how we feel, we can find the solution to most of our problems.
5 Rules of Communication to Reduce Stress in the Workplace
Here are the 5 rules of communication which, if followed diligently, could help us deal with people and our overall surrounding in a better way, therefore, leading to reduced stress.
1. Convey Message in a Loud and Clear Manner
Voicing your problem on the right platform with the right person is the first step of solving it and in line reducing the stress. Often, people keep their problems to themselves in office, as they feel discussing them would mean complaining or at times they fear embarrassment.
But it is not true.
If you are facing any problems in the workplace, it is better that you first list out the cause of the problem and convey your message effectively in a loud and clear manner.
You can also discuss your issues with your friend in the office or outside the office and seek their advice on ways of dealing with the issue. This way you will feel more confident knowing that you are not alone.
2. Use the Non-Verbal Method of Communication Effectively
Communication is a two-way process, and so the chances of miscommunication will always be there. Besides, it is possible that other person in the communication process may not have comprehended with all what you have said.
By using the non-verbal method of communication, you can actually keep a record of the things you have communicated and can use the same for reference purposes.
For example, if you have frequently complained to your manager regarding late working hours, but in key meetings, the manager fails to acknowledge the same, you can show the record as proof.
3. Listen Attentively
Listening is integral to communication, however, when stressed, it is difficult to listen attentively. Although to convey your message effectively, you need to be able to receive and interpret messages accurately in the communication process.
So, in the moment of stress, make sure you don’t lose your ability to listen attentively. Good listening skills can help you in understanding the job requirement better, share information properly, and increase productivity with fewer mistakes.
4. Use Repetition
Each person in the office is assigned with multiple tasks. Most of them sort their priorities right, but since each person in the office performs a particular chunk of task based on his/her role and responsibility, there is a possibility of conflict. To avoid this kind of conflict, which could delay the task and later lead to stress, it is better that you repeat the important elements of the task to the concerned person.
5. Check Understanding
It is possible in the office that the other person has not interpreted your message correctly. Each person processes the information differently. However, when it comes to office’s task, the result should be exactly as per the set expectations. To avoid any kind of miscommunication, which in turn cause stress, you should always check and confirm what the person has understood.