Today’s work environments are getting faster and faster-paced and more complex.
Between tight deadlines, workplace politics, and the pressure to perform, it’s a miracle if you don’t feel overwhelmed.
It’s, therefore, no surprise that more workers are advocating for work-life balance and mental health in the workplace.
And while numerous structural changes to workplaces are needed to achieve this, how can you, as a worker, protect your mental health?
After all, your mental health is not just key to your overall well-being but also your effectiveness at work.
In this article, we’ll go through 10 strategies for avoiding burnout and keeping your mental health intact.
1. Understand Your Stressors
The first step to solving a problem is understanding it in the first place.
Ask yourself: What, exactly, causes me stress?
Common work stressors include things like:
- unclear expectations
- excessive workloads
- lack of support
- conflicts with colleagues
However, everyone reacts to things differently. What stresses another person out may be something easily dealt with for you.
After you pinpoint your specific stressors, you can now develop strategies to deal with them.
So, for example, if you feel like you’re always given unrealistic deadlines, having an honest conversation with your manager about workload distribution might help.
2. Prioritize Time Management
With how fast-paced and busy workplaces are now getting, time management is becoming even more important. It’s the main pillar of managing stress levels at work.
Being able to schedule everything you need to do properly can help prevent your mind from getting overwhelmed and cluttered.
Use calendars or task management apps and break your tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks—and tackle the hardest or most critical ones first.
The more organized your day is, the easier it is to accomplish everything you need to do. Additionally, it’s also easier to allow yourself room for flexibility should unexpected tasks arise.
3. Establish Boundaries
And part of time management is being able to have dedicated time for work and dedicated time for your personal life.
After all, for some people, the problem with achieving work-life balance isn’t that you don’t have enough time and energy for your personal life.
The problem is that there is no clear delineation between the two. This is because, in the age of near-constant connectivity, the line between work and your personal life can be blurry.
This is especially the case for those working from home, whose bedrooms are often also their offices.
So avoid answering emails, answering work calls, or working on projects outside of your regular working hours (unless during emergencies). Communicate these boundaries with your team—and respect their own boundaries as well.
This ensures that your “me time” is strictly your “me time”, leading to a more rested, recharged you once it’s time to work again.
4. Take Regular Breaks
Another thing you should prioritize with time management is ensuring you take sufficient and regular breaks.
Pushing yourself to work long hours or complete tasks in a hurry is a recipe for burnout! Make it a habit to step away from your desk regularly. Then, take a short walk or get a quick stretch in.
These small moments of calm can have large effects on your energy levels throughout the day.
5. Cultivate a Supportive Network
Human beings are social creatures—and a strong social network can be a game-changer for your mental health.
Make sure to build strong relationships with your colleagues, especially ones who share your values and can offer support during challenging times.
You don’t have to be best friends with them—you just need to provide each other with a warm, supportive presence when things get tough!
But if your workplace culture is more competitive than collaborative, consider finding a mentor from outside your organization who can provide guidance and encouragement.
6. Maintain Physical Health
As the adage goes, “A sound mind in a sound body.”
But the opposite is also true: it’s difficult to have a sound mind if your body isn’t. After all, physical and mental health are deeply interconnected. It has been scientifically proven that mental stress has negative physical effects on our bodies.
The good thing is that maintaining your physical health isn’t complicated. You only really need to stick to the basics:
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet comprised mostly of whole foods;
- Exercise regularly;
- Get adequate and good-quality sleep.
7. Learn to Say No
It’s natural to want to please your team or superiors, but taking on too much work can lead to exhaustion and, in the long term, burnout.
While it can be hard, practice saying no to tasks that don’t align with your priorities or stretch you out too thinly.
Remember: politely declining additional work is almost always better than delivering subpar work due to being overburdened.
But what if you have no choice? What if they don’t let you say no?
Well, the choice of staying or leaving your workplace is always up to you.
8. Seek Professional Help When Needed
However, sometimes, we can’t manage things all on our own.
Whether your workplace stress has escalated to a level that requires intervention, are facing other mental health problems, or simply want professional guidance—getting therapy or counseling is never a bad idea.
9. Leverage Technology to Manage Stress
If you feel lost about managing your mental health on your own, another option is to use technology!
There are now many apps that help with stress management and mental wellness.
From those that offer guided meditation to task organizers to focus tools, these apps can help you maintain a better sense of control and calm.
Just make sure to use a VPN to protect your privacy when using them, as you’ll often need to input personal data into these apps.
10. Advocate for Your Needs
However, there’s only so much you can do if your workplace has structural flaws that deeply affect your mental health.
No amount of time management or meditation will alleviate extreme amounts of tasks or unethical treatment from your bosses and co-workers.
In such cases, it’s imperative to speak up. Voice out your needs and concerns.
If they are not heard, then, as we’ve said before: the choice of staying or leaving is always up to you.
Conclusion
Protecting your mental health requires proactive effort and a supportive work environment. But, at the same time, your personal efforts alone can only take you so far.
So, if needed, advocate for your needs! And if your employer cannot meet them… then, well, remember that health is quite literally wealth.
No amount of money, prestige, or success is worth sacrificing the entirety of your mental health for.
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