{"id":1443,"date":"2020-02-11T10:50:14","date_gmt":"2020-02-11T10:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/?p=1443"},"modified":"2020-02-11T10:50:16","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T10:50:16","slug":"reduce-stress-at-work-and-prevent-burnout-a-psychologist-explains-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/2020\/02\/reduce-stress-at-work-and-prevent-burnout-a-psychologist-explains-how\/","title":{"rendered":"Reduce stress at work and prevent burnout \u2013 a psychologist explains how"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How did those new year\u2019s resolutions work out for you? Old\nhabits will have already returned for many \u2013 you\u2019re not alone if you\u2019ve already\nstopped using that\nnew gym membership<\/a>. Similarly, you\u2019re in good company if 2020 is already\nstressing you out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress, and more chronic exhaustion such as burnout,\nis commonplace\nwithin<\/a> the\nmodern workplace<\/a>. People are sinking under the pressure of an attendance\nculture that glorifies being present at work at the expense of their health.\nBut why exactly does this happen and what can you do to prevent it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenteeist cultures, which see employees working longer\nhours, have been linked to higher\nrates of burnout<\/a>. This is the opposite of absenteeism. People attend work\nwhen sick, or even overwork, and it is a habit that is more common than we\nthink. Employees feel they\u2019re unable to challenge this culture because they see\neveryone else doing the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

People that go to work when ill or work longer hours than\nexpected often work at less than their full\ncapacity<\/a>. Studies show this results<\/a> in\na decline\nin productivity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read more: Long\nhours at the office could be killing you \u2013 the case for a shorter working week<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

One study\nin the Netherlands<\/a> looking at a variety of jobs found that\npresenteeism may appear to be profitable for companies at first because of the\nreduced absence of employees. But in the long term, presenteeism resulted in\nhigher levels of sickness and absenteeism later on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other studies have found that presenteeism can cause a\ndecline in productivity in the individual employee by at least\none third<\/a> and is more costly to the employer than its\ncounterpart, absenteeism<\/a>. It is also what makes employees sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Health Organisation officially\nclassifies<\/a> burnout as an \u201coccupational phenomenon\u201d. It is defined as\n\u201ca syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has\nnot been successfully managed\u201d. And it is characterised by feelings of energy\ndepletion or exhaustion, negative and cynical feelings towards your job, and a\ndecline in performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting at the top<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tackling burnout is the responsibility of both organisations\nand their employees. If improving your health is a priority for you, your work\nhealth plays a crucial part in this \u2013 both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders need to lead by example. There is a trickle-down\neffect in leadership where subordinates copy\nthose above them<\/a>. They don\u2019t want to appear weak and feel they need to push\nthemselves more. If leaders start taking lunch breaks, going for a walk in the\nmiddle of the day, and leaving at a reasonable hour, that sets a good example\nto their team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a manager and you see more and more presenteeist\nbehaviour, shame culture could be affecting your organisation. Consider\ntackling this head on. Provide fruit, encourage walks outside and tell your\nstaff to leave on time. These are just some of the small changes you can make\nto help create a healthier, happier workplace. If you can, get workplace\nwellness consultants to run workshops for you and your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health starts at home<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re an employee, you shouldn\u2019t expect your boss to\nsolely be responsible for your workplace wellbeing. You also need to make\nchanges yourself. There\u2019s no shame in returning to those new year\u2019s resolutions\nyou set back in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tips to relieve your stress and lower your\nchances of burnout:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick a priority. Write down exactly what you want to\nhappen this year. Are you looking for a career change or a promotion? Do you\nwant to prioritise your life outside of work? Once you\u2019ve defined what you\nwant, you can start making small changes to work towards this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set some goals. Once you have established exactly what\nyou would like to achieve, set some monthly objectives. Work at a pace that\nsuits you. Achieving smaller goals can result in a dopamine boost that will\nincrease your sense of accomplishment\nand motivation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get better sleep. Prioritising rest and improving your\nsleep hygiene will boost\nyour immune system<\/a>. Getting disciplined about logging off electronic\ndevices one to two hours ahead of going to sleep at night will also improve the\nquality of your sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read more: How\na lack of sleep affects your brain \u2013 and personality<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Get more exercise. If you\u2019re in a sedentary job, get\nout more. Taking a lunch break can help get the mental clarity needed to be\nproductive and accomplish more challenging tasks. You will also avoid the\nafternoon slump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Help others around you. Research\nshows<\/a> that behaviour like supporting others and giving positive\nfeedback to colleagues can help reduce your own stress levels and the effect\nthat your stress has on your mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reducing stress at work and mitigating the effect it has on\nyou is down to a mix of physical and mental pursuits. It\u2019s everyone\u2019s\nresponsibility<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How did those new year\u2019s resolutions work out for you? Old habits will have already returned for many \u2013 you\u2019re not alone if you\u2019ve already stopped using that new gym membership. Similarly, you\u2019re in good company if 2020 is already stressing you out. Stress, and more chronic exhaustion such as burnout, is commonplace within the modern workplace. People are sinking under the pressure of an attendance culture that glorifies being present at work at the expense of their health. But why exactly does this happen and what can you do to prevent it? Presenteeist cultures, which see employees working longer hours, have been… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[104,204,102,103],"class_list":["post-1443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-job","tag-health-at-work","tag-mental-health-at-work","tag-recruitment-connection-ltd","tag-simon-bean"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1445,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1443\/revisions\/1445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruitment-connection.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}