Pursuing a Business Management Diploma? How to Reduce Workplace Stress in Your Career

Over one-third of Canadians say that workplace stress is their main cause of mental health issues. Part of being a great leader is making sure that the health and productivity of your team isn’t compromised by stress. Project management, communication, and workplace health all suffer when stress isn’t dealt with effectively. A tense workplace can also lead to issues with employee retention, communication, and social dynamics. Though stress is a normal part of life, people can’t function to the best of their abilities when they are too stressed and great management can help with this. These tips for stress reducing in the workplace might help you safeguard you and others against burnout and illness.

Look After Yourself First, as a Business Management Diploma Grad

In a leadership role, you need to protect yourself from excessive stress to prevent exhaustion, reduced performance, and dangers to your health. As the saying goes, you must put on your oxygen mask first, before helping others. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, stress can produce symptoms such as memory problems, difficulty making decisions, and trouble concentrating or thinking. These make it tough for you to show your value and apply the skills and knowledge you’ve learned in business management courses.

Time blocking works wonders. To do this, schedule everything throughout your day, without limiting it to solely work-related activities. Meals, outdoor break time, exercise, and open work periods (where you can catch up on a project or task of your choice) should all be included. This way, you stay on track while keeping physiological factors under control.

Keep Environment in Mind After Your Business Management Courses

A workplace environment is directly tied to physical and mental stressors. Since you can usually control the physical factors of a space to some degree, this is an area where you can implement your management skills and lower stress on yourself and employees. Poor air quality can cause fatigue, headaches, and allergies. As these symptoms increase and comfort levels decrease, you may find yourself confronted with a sluggish and strained team. Open windows, install air purifiers for polluted locations, and encourage employees to take breaks outside. Light is also important, for what it does both during work hours and outside of work. Sunlight cues the release of serotonin, lifting mood. Plenty of natural light in a workplace will subtly help everyone stay happier and calmer. Proper exposure to sunlight maintains the body’s circadian rhythms, our sleeping and waking patterns in accordance to our “internal clocks”. Lack of sleep lowers our ability to deal with stress, so rough sleeping patterns translate into higher stress levels at work.

Use Active Design to Encourage Stress-Reducing Movement in a Workplace

Active design is a way of encouraging physical activity through layout and design. It began as a method applied to urban planning and architecture, to promote healthy living and activity in buildings and public spaces. With a business management diploma, you might work in a role where you can control some of the physical factors of a workplace to help with movement. Commonly dubbed “the new smoking,” sitting is one of the most detrimental health risks of our modern society. Encouraging employees to stand up and walk around can be done by placing office amenities in a central location separate from workstations. In addition, adjustable workstations or standing desks help reduce the time each employee spends sitting each day. Are you interested in what our business management program has to offer? Contact Canadian Business College for more information.