Written by Britt-Mari Sykes, Career Counsellor
Britt-Mari Sykes, Ph.D., CDP, is a career counsellor and founder of CANVAS Career Counselling, working remotely with clients across Canada.
Work-related stress and challenging work environments are frequent topics of conversation with my clients. Both seem to be increasing. Understandably, we often want quick remedies to remove the stress we are experiencing, or at the very least, we want solutions to manage stress.
But before we attempt to manage the stress we are experiencing, how can we better understand it? How can we learn from, process, and integrate the stressors that accompany life and our work?
Stress is a natural part of life and human functioning
We are never completely immune to stress. Stress is a natural part of life and human functioning. Stress can be motivating and demanding, stimulating and challenging. But at times, the stress we experience can be so heightened as to feel unmanageable. Difficult career transitions, complex work, disappointments, mistakes, periods of exhaustion, interpersonal conflicts, and especially a demanding or toxic work environment that we cannot change any one or combination of these can be highly stressful.
How can we better understand the stress we experience? And what can we do within our sphere of control and our day-to-day realities?
Taking time and making space for reflective practice
We can start by taking the time and making the space each day to reflect on how we experienced our work and the day’s activities.
Daily reflection takes practice and is a radical shift towards learning from and accepting the stress we are experiencing and not trying to evade it, escape it, or search for some quick resolution.
Integrating reflective practice into our daily lives, even for a few minutes at the end of each workday, helps us to:
Intentionally shift pace and slow down.
Separate the workday, emotionally and cognitively, from other areas of our lives.
Regulate our nervous system.
Ground ourselves in the present moment and deepen our awareness of what is happening around us and what we are experiencing.
Gain perspective on the day.
Open space for possibilities.
With regular reflective practice and acceptance, we can become more open to learning from our experiences of stress. This enables us to start designing personally manageable and realistic approaches to stress.
Creating personal approaches to stress
Giving ourselves the time and space for reflection, calming our nervous system, and accepting the stress we are experiencing helps us to process and integrate our experiences more effectively. The information we gather helps us create personal approaches to stress that we can access during challenging periods. Our approach to stress can include:
We identify specific interests and/or activities we enjoy outside work and where we experience physical, emotional, and cognitive changes.
Examining the boundaries we have, or don’t have, between work and the rest of our lives.
Reflecting on the attitudes we hold, the assumptions, and the expectations we have about work and career and the role they may play in how we experience stress.
Gaining clarity and perspective on our work environments, even highly toxic ones, and identifying choices, resources for help, or any possibilities for change.
Acknowledging where we need additional support and seeking out that support.
Maintaining and engaging in our relationships with family and friends.
Taking a daily walk or some other form of regular physical activity.
Being in nature.
We should monitor and make necessary adjustments to our sleeping and eating habits and ensure we are well-hydrated.
Designate a period of quiet time for reflection or meditation.
Think about your own life and your experiences of stress. What immediately comes to mind? What resources, both internal and external, can you access to start building a personal approach?
Accepting stress is not resignation
It may seem counterintuitive to accept the stress we are experiencing.
But acceptance is not resignation.
Acceptance opens space to understand and learn from our experiences.
Acceptance helps us work with and navigate both the realities and the possibilities within our lives.
Acceptance gives us a greater landscape of possibilities for adjustment or change.
Start your reflective practice with the following 10 questions
How do I experience stress? What do I notice? How does stress impact my workday? How does stress impact the other areas of my life?
What is my work environment like? What is challenging? What is working well?
When do I notice increases in my stress? What am I experiencing? What is happening around me?
When I experience stress, am I aware of any shifts or changes in the way I am reacting and/or engaging with my work, colleagues, or the work environment? What are those shifts or changes?
Do I have clear boundaries between work and the rest of my life?
Are boundaries a struggle in my life? If so, why?
How would a boundary enhance my life? Which areas of my life could I develop and practice maintaining boundaries?
What can I change or modify in my work or my life? What is possible?
What resources can I access within myself and my life when I experience stress? Where do I need additional support?
What have I learned from my experiences of stress? What is the meaning of my stress?
Career Counselling can help at any stage of your career life. Start a conversation. Contact here for more information or to book a consultation call. I look forward to hearing from you.
Britt-Mari Sykes, Career Counsellor
Britt-Mari Sykes Ph.D. is a Career Counsellor and founder of CANVAS Career Counselling working remotely with clients across Canada. Britt-Mari offers a reflective and strategic process to clients, one that integrates their lived experiences, values, and aspirations. This experiential approach to career counselling helps clients gain greater clarity and perspective and design practical steps towards a more meaningful relationship with work and career.
