Our jobs can be incredibly demanding at times but there are steps you and your employer can take to protect yourself from the damaging effects of stress, improve your job satisfaction, and elevate your well-being on and off the job.
Here, at La La Communications, our founder Abbie places huge importance on employee welfare. Having struggled in her previous employments with creating boundaries and not knowing when to switch off, Abbie has implemented a range of elements into her own company and our working lives so that our wellbeing is bolstered at and outside of work.
Giving us Wednesday afternoons off, ‘Wellness Wednesday’s” as we call it, so we can focus on something we want to do personally is just one of the ways La La Communications ensures we have our downtime, and once a month we even get to do team yoga! This is one of the reasons why I am proud to work for La La as mental health and wellbeing are made a priority, not a secondary ‘HR tick box’. Prioritising your wellbeing isn’t selfish, it’s smart! So, if you would like to learn some tips and tricks for managing stress at work, then read on!
A guide to understanding the causes of workplace stress
A recent study by Simplyhealth found that 79% of respondents had experienced work-related stress, despite this only 52% of people said their employers had implemented policies to help deal with it. As we move out of Covid times, more research has been done to investigate workplace stress and anxiety. Research has identified that primary causes are;
- Workload
- Factors outside of work i.e. issues at home
- Management styles
- Health issues
- Covid anxiety i.e. working in public spaces or using public transport to get to work
- New work arrangements following Covid
- Homeworking affecting the work/life balance after Covid
Our immediate goal is to complete the testing phase and achieve the certification, which will allow us to bring our product to market by the end of the year. We are actively engaging with waste to energy operators, concrete manufacturers, and the wider construction industry.
Why we prioritise wellbeing at La La?
Following firsthand experience with ‘burnout from jobs in the past’, our founder Abbie has implemented ‘Wellness Wednesdays” for the whole La La Team. Meaning, that every Wednesday we have the afternoon off to make sure we get time for ourselves, or sometimes we do group meditation or yoga together – a perfect team bonding session but also an unwinding afternoon in what is often a busy and fast-paced week. Wellness Wednesdays at La La are a perfect way to build routines that create healthy long-term habits.
I have pinpointed some tips I have learnt from working at La La and with Abbie that may help alleviate some of the anxiety and stress you are experiencing.
How to deal with workplace stress
Learn how to say no, and speak up when needed!
Recognising when you are overworked is important – make sure you feel empowered enough to know your limits. In the long-term overworking will negatively impact your wellbeing! At La La we are all about working as a team, so I know if I ever am feeling overwhelmed anyone would be more than happy to help – it’s as they say teamwork is dreamwork!
Make yourself a priority, know your limits!
At La La, we have Wellness Wednesdays which give us all a chance to take an afternoon for ourselves. This time can be used for anything from going for a walk to catching up on jobs around the house, essentially an afternoon to create long-term healthy habits that enhance our own mental and physical wellbeing.
I do appreciate, that this may not be as easy to implement if your employer is not as keen on giving you an afternoon off, however, carving out some time in the week, even for one hour, will help tremendously. This could be going to the gym, taking the dog for a walk or even listening to a podcast, find something that works for you!
Understand stress!
Do some research, talk to someone senior or even your pals and try and work out what may be triggering your stress. Sometimes a conversation can help you look at the situation from a different angle.
From chatting with Abbie, she reflected on her own experiences and why she wanted something different for La La and her employees – “‘I had no idea I was stressed or that I was experiencing an extreme case of burnout. I would work up to 70-80 hour weeks and not even flinch until it all came crashing down. Not talking about it the first time, or the second, led it to happen at every job in some capacity. Finally, I chose to speak to my close friends and family and they helped me identify what I was experiencing which assisted me in climbing out from a very dark place and being able to make long-term habitual changes going forward”.
Similarly, Cat who has been with Abbie and La La the longest shared her thoughts on work-related stress – “Wellness Wednesdays give me the chance to recharge and reset for the rest of the week. In other places I have worked, burnout, stress, and anxiety have been major issues. Wellness Wednesday plays a massive part in making sure that isn’t the case at La La”.
Keep active, your physical health impacts your mental!
It is proven that exercise helps ease anxiety and stress by releasing feel-good endorphins which instantly lift your mood. I know the gym can seem daunting for a lot of people, but there are plenty of other activities that stimulate these endorphins. Why not try swimming, gardening, hoovering your bedroom or even having a dance party in the kitchen with yourself or pals. The list of ways to move your body is endless, it doesn’t need to be complicated.
For me, working from home I make sure I go for a walk every day to get some fresh air and a break from staring at my laptop, I like to walk to my local coffee shop and grab a coffee – a combination of two things I love fresh air and caffeine!
Reward your achievements – WHO DOESN’T LOVE A LIST, RIGHT?!
To avoid feeling overwhelmed write down tasks and reward yourself for success. This can be both personally and professionally – taking the bins out is as much of an achievement as writing this blog! For me, I love writing lists – the sense of satisfaction when I can tick a few things off is the best – we love a good checklist at La La!
To summarise, we hope this article helps you with what you are experiencing. If you still feel you are unsure of where to start we would also suggest these amazing organisations or groups reach out to;
Mind – a charity focused on providing support and advice to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem (for more information visit https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/)
Mates in Mind – a charity organisation focused on removing the stigma from mental health and promoting positive mental wellbeing in the workplace (visit https://www.matesinmind.org)
A Stress Management Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/282631246595625
Positive Mind and Wellbeing Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/2125656974153129