Workplace Stress: The Secret Word That Lowers Stress

Stress is the main reason for workplace negativity, lack of employee motivation, and employee conflict. Dealing with stress is a leadership skill that improves job satisfaction and improves productivity. The good news is that you can start lowering stress with just one key word.

Think about this quote:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

Ponder that for a second. That means that everything that causes you stress or fear only does so because of the way you see it.

What does that mean?

You have the power to lower your own stress by simply looking at situations differently. This is amazing.

The trick, of course, is the “how”. How do you start suddenly looking at things differently after all this time?

Here’s a stressful situation…

Frank is upset that he did not get chosen as the lead person on the latest teamwork project. He has been working hard to make a good impression, and he is trying to improve his position with his company, so he was very disappointed and angry when he was passed over.

In fact, Frank is so stressed over the fact that someone was chosen over him that he is having a hard time concentrating on the project.

Acceptance Is the Secret Key to Lowering Stress

“Wait,” you might say..“I thought you said I could change the way I look at things. Now you are asking me to accept it. What gives?”

Because it’s one of life’s little paradoxes…

You can’t change something until you accept it. You might not like the situation, but you have to accept it before you can change the way you look at it.

Accept the fact that life and work are full of people and situations that could cause you stress.

Accept the fact that you cannot change other people and most situations are also totally out of your control.

Accept the fact that the only things you can change are:

• your attitude
• your behavior
• your perception

Here’s how this works in lowering stress

In the example above, Frank is working in his department and a new project comes up. He wants to lead it, but someone else is chosen as leader.

It will be difficult for Frank to work on the project if he is stuck on the notion that he should be leading it.

However, on the advice of his supervisor, Frank decided to accept the fact that someone else was chosen as leader, and the possibility that if he does an outstanding job on this project, he may be the leader of the next project. He decided to let go of his anger and cooperate with the team member chosen over him.

As you can see, the key driver in Frank’s major change was acceptance. Without that, he would still be angry and not do his best work.

Acceptance is the crucial first step in lowering workplace stress. Therefore, “acceptance” is actually a leadership skill that should be practiced by workplace leaders and taught to in employee training sessions.

With proper training on lowering stress, supervisors and managers can help employees learn to accept and make changes to their attitudes and perceptions. As a result, there will be a lot less stress at work, and higher employee motivation and more cooperative teamwork.

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Dr. Ravindra Aher

Dr. Ravindra Aher is management theatrics stimulator and skills evangelist with rich corporate & academic experience of 25 years, having worked with multinational companies and academic institutions of repute. Always keen to share his knowledge and he is passionate about bridging the prevailing skill gap in students & corporate through structured value added programs. He is an avid blogger and twitter enthusiast. He previews books and promote good reading culture in young generation.

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