25% of European workers* say they feel stressed at work all or most of the time. Tight deadlines, long hours and intense workloads are all negatively impacting many people’s health and wellbeing. Regain control and feel happier and relaxed - with our top 10 tips for reducing stress at work.

1. Top tips for reducing stress
at work
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27/10/2014

2. Top tips for reducing stress
25% of European workers* say they feel
stressed at work all or most of the time. Tight
deadlines, long hours and intense workloads
are all negatively impacting many people’s
health and wellbeing.
Over 55%** of us believe that life is more
stressful than it was 10 years ago, and over
10 million working days are lost in the UK
each year due to stress.
Regain control and feel happier and
relaxed - with our top 10 tips for
reducing stress at work.
*Source European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and
Eurofound **Source: Nurofen
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3. 1. Recognise the signs
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Learn to read your own ‘stress signals’ –
the first step to reducing stress is being
able to recognise the signs that you’re
experiencing it, and responding to these.
Typically people experience both physical
signs and mental ones, from tense
shoulders to tiredness and anxiety.
By learning to recognise when your body
is suffering from stress, you’ll be able to
combat it more effectively.

4. 2. Manage your time efficiently
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Modern professionals typically juggle at
least 30 projects* and it can be easy to
feel overwhelmed and under pressure.
Learning to manage your time efficiently
will help reduce stress and increase
confidence. Write a ‘To Do list’ and focus
on getting those tasks done.
This will enable you to prioritise the
projects that are most important, and
serves a useful reminder of what you’ve
achieved each day. By setting
reasonable deadlines for yourself, you’ll
feel more in control.
*Source: Forbes

5. 3. Take a deep breath
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If you’re feeling stressed after a difficult
meeting or a challenging situation, stop
juggling for a few minutes.
Find a quiet place and focus on your
breathing – it’s a great way to restore
balance and feel calmer.
Simply inhale for five seconds, hold your
breath and then and exhale for five
seconds through the nose.

6. 4. Exercise
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Exercising every day can reduce your
stress levels up to 40%*, with high energy
sports that induce breathlessness having
the greatest impact.
Even a brisk walk can help though, so try
and build regular exercise into your day.
Activities such as yoga can have a positive
impact on reducing your stress levels too.
*Source: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University
College London

7. 5. Reduce interruptions.
For most of us working life is punctuated
by emails, phone calls and urgent
requests.
Whilst you might not be able to change
this, you can influence the way you react to
this. So you can accept the interruption,
ignore or it or review it and decide when
you’ll deal with it.
If you’re in the middle of an urgent project,
set your voicemail and ‘out of office’ to say
you’re unavailable, and focus on getting it
completed. Remember, it’s ok to switch off.
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8. 6. Learn to let go…
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Learning to let go is key to reducing stress;
you need to accept that there are some
things you just can’t change.
The reality is that there is much in our
working lives beyond our control including
how other people behave.
Focus on the things you can change, like
your own thoughts and actions.

9. 7. Take 5...
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Spending all day at your desk is not the
best way to be productive - you may feel
you haven’t got time to take a break but it
will actually help you work more efficiently
across the working day.
Make taking 5 minutes out to have a cuppa
in the breakroom or a catch-up with a
colleague part of your daily routine.

10. 8. Learn to say no
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Obviously you don’t want to say no all the
time, but if you’re already overloaded have
the confidence to explain you can’t take on
another project right now.
Taking on yet another tricky project when
you’re already struggling just isn’t sensible.
If you really want to say yes to an extra
responsibility or project, see if you can
delegate or get rid of another task to free
up time.

11. 9. Drink more water
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Drinking water is proven to increase your
energy levels, improve cognitive abilities
and boost mental functions – so make sure
you’re getting enough H20.
The European Food Safety Authority
recommends that women should drink
about 1.6 litres of fluid and men should
drink about 2.0 litres of fluid per day - that's
about eight 200ml glasses for a woman
and ten 200ml glasses for a man.

12. 10. Take a lunch break
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Over half of employees (54%) regularly
work through their lunch hour, but
remember taking a break can actually up
your productivity levels.
Make the effort to leave the office at lunch
time at least a couple of times a week; it
can really make a difference to your health
and wellbeing.
Eating healthily and not skipping meals is
essential to your wellbeing, so look after
yourself.

13. because with Baner you can
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