It is almost the end of the year which means company budget targets are looming, deadlines and year-end reviews are on the horizon and heaven forbid you get sick at this time of year. It goes without saying that employee stress levels are on the rise as the festive season draws near.
In order to reach the end of the year without pulling your hair out, we have put together some useful tips to help you deal with end-of-year stress at the office:
Last minute Larry
Don’t leave everything to the last minute. Too often we spend the end of the year stressing about last minute deadlines. Sit down and draw up a plan, prioritise tasks and delegate where needed. This will help avoid unnecessary stressing come the end of the year.
Regular breaks
Take regular breaks throughout the day to help you feel more relaxed in both body and mind. A few moments away from your desk not only helps you to feel more at ease, it also improves your productivity and wellbeing.
Feature furniture – Workplace Wellbeing: Thinking about an office refurbishment, try Humanscale’s new Ballo chair designed by Don Chadwick for active sitting
Active Adam
Get up and go! And if you aren’t a morning person, don’t despair, there are an abundance of gyms open till late. So no excuses. Physical exercise is an indulgence, don’t view it as a chore. It helps get your mind off work, it contributes to effective blood circulation, keeps you fit and healthy and don’t forget about those happy endorphins.
Work hard
Hard work pays off, as the saying goes. Work hard and reap the rewards. If it is that push towards the end of the year, give it your all whilst being mindful of your family, health, peers and colleagues.
Employer workspace consultancy tip: If it is a regular occurrence that employees are working long and late hours, with your next office move or office refurbishment you might want to consider some interactive break out spaces where employees can go for a change of scenery.
Forward thinking
With the year-end drawing close, we often go into short term thinking mode. Break away from this and set some long term goals for the year ahead. Draw up a realistic timescale of what you want to achieve and how this will help you keep your long term goals in sight.
Optimistic Oliver
Nothing good comes from negative thinking. An optimistic approach to work can increase productivity, strengthen performance and help make your job more enjoyable. When a project goes bad towards the end of the year, a positive “solution thinking” attitude is best instead of focusing on the problem itself. Start to work on the solution immediately instead of pointing fingers or whining about why it went wrong.
Live up to the challenge and don’t get caught up in unproductive activities. Put these into practice now, if you haven’t already, to help create a healthy and stress-free next couple of weeks.