Recognize the Signs of Work Stress

Last week I was talking to my mother and catching her up on my life, and in the middle of the conversation she says “I just wish there was some way you could take a little stress off your workload.” The funniest part was, I hadn’t even realized that I was stressed about work. Maybe it was the confession of late nights and little sleep, or the shaky, nervous tone in my voice that tipped off her mother’s intuition. Either way, at that moment the glass case was broken - and all my stress came rushing to the surface.

I did exactly what you CANNOT do in PR or any career path (but especially PR) – waited until the last moment when I had reached full throttle stressed out. Now I’m working hard on reeling it in when I could have been working the past several weeks on avoiding this moment and achieved a balanced workload.

So you can do exactly what I didn’t do, here are a few signs that you’ve reached your limit:

You’re not sleeping well - The first sign that something should be wrong. Your head won’t turn off, even when you’re exhausted

You’re not seeing the light of day - You come in before the sun is up, and you leave after it is long gone

You’re turning in sub-par work – You’ve noticed the past few things you’ve written are not to your full potential, or you’re being sloppy to get work off your plate

You’re nervous about other things - Whether it’s your dishwasher flooding, your eating habits, or your boyfriend (or lack there of), everything has become a problem

You’re snapping at co-workers - You have no time to help out on other things, and the thought that you COULD have time makes you angry and frustrated

…and here is how to take steps to solve it:

Breathe - That’s the first thing my managers always tell me to do. DEEP breaths, you got this

Talk - You need to flag that you have too much on your plate. Even if you’re behind, make a meeting with your supervisor and delegate some of your workload NOW. Not tomorrow, not after you finish this one thing… NOW

Forget - Any mistakes you made while you were stressed are LEARNINGS. Take them for that. This is not the time to beat yourself up more and add guilt on top of stress (the worst, cancer-inducing, emotional madness you can curse yourself with)

Apologize - If the mistakes are eating at you, apologize (don’t make excuses), and tell your managers/peers how you are fixing the situation

Take it slow - Stress does not lift off your shoulders over night. Make sure you are taking care of yourself at home and in the office, and SLOW DOWN. Make time for yoga at night or a run in the morning. Eat well. Try to leave at a reasonable hour. Be quiet and take your time

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