- Key Takeaways
- Identify Stress Triggers to Take Control
- Prioritize Tasks and Set Realistic Goals
- Practice
Time Management to Improve Focus - Take Regular Breaks to Recharge Your Mind
- Maintain Open Communication with Your
Team - Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques
- Stress Negatively Affects Your Performance
- Too Much to Do /
Time Management : - People Issues with Your Manager and Coworkers:
- Work-Life Balance:
- Job Security Related Stress:
- Your Stress Reduction
Plan - Further Guidance & Tools
- Next Steps
- Final Words
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Last updated: December 18, 2025
Key Takeaways
- Stress Awareness: Recognizing workplace stress early helps you regain control, prevent burnout, and protect both your health and long-term career progression.
- Trigger Identification: Identifying specific stress sources such as workload, management demands, or job insecurity allows for targeted, effective stress management strategies.
- Workload Control: Prioritizing tasks and setting realistic goals reduces overwhelm, improves
productivity , and helps maintain consistent performance under pressure. - Communication Matters: Open, professional communication with managers and coworkers can ease tension, clarify expectations, and prevent stress from escalating unnecessarily.
- Balance and Recovery: Managing stress through breaks, mindfulness, and work-life balance supports sustained performance and keeps stress from undermining career advancement.
We all get stressed at work. How often have you thought about quitting and walking out the door on the spot? Managing stress at work will improve your health and help you get that promotion you’ve earned.
If you’re trying to climb the corporate ladder to a high-level position or working towards a major promotion, make sure you keep your stress levels in check.
One of the greatest causes of on-the-job stress is managing the demands of your manager while keeping a good work-life balance. The more you stress about getting ahead in your job, the more it could hinder your success. The tips below will help you recognize key stress factors as well as help you manage them.
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Identify Stress Triggers to Take Control
Understanding what causes your stress is the first step toward managing it effectively. Work-related stress can come from various sources, including tight deadlines, excessive workloads, or difficult colleagues. By identifying your specific stress triggers, you can develop targeted strategies to address them. Start by keeping a journal to track moments of high stress, noting patterns in behavior, environments, or specific tasks. Awareness of these triggers will allow you to implement practical solutions and make informed adjustments to reduce stress at work and create a calmer day.
Prioritize Tasks and Set Realistic Goals
One of the most effective ways to reduce stress at work is by managing your workload more efficiently. Prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance can help prevent feeling overwhelmed. Break larger projects into smaller, more manageable steps and set realistic goals for each day. This approach ensures steady progress while avoiding burnout. Consider using
Practice Time Management to Improve Focus
Effective time management is crucial for reducing workplace stress and maintaining focus throughout the day. Begin by organizing your day into focused work intervals, such as the Pomodoro Technique, which uses 25-minute intervals followed by short breaks. This method improves concentration and prevents mental fatigue. Additionally, avoid multitasking, as it often reduces efficiency and increases stress. Instead, focus on completing one task at a time. With better
21 proven time management techniques you can use immediately to gain two or more productive hours every day.
Take Regular Breaks to Recharge Your Mind
Taking regular breaks throughout your workday is essential for reducing stress and maintaining mental clarity. Short breaks help you recharge, boost creativity, and reduce feelings of burnout. A five-minute walk, stretching, or stepping outside for fresh air can make a significant difference in lowering stress levels.
Maintain Open Communication with Your Team
Open communication with colleagues and managers can significantly reduce workplace stress. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by tasks or unclear about expectations, speak up. Discussing workload challenges and seeking feedback ensures that you’re aligned with your
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Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques
Incorporating mindfulness and relaxation techniques into your daily routine is an excellent way to reduce stress at work. Mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing exercises or short meditation sessions, can help you stay present and manage feelings of anxiety. These techniques lower stress hormones and promote a sense of calm, enabling you to handle challenging situations more effectively. By dedicating just a few minutes each day to mindfulness, you’ll create a more peaceful mindset, leading to improved focus, emotional resilience, and overall well-being at work.
Stress Negatively Affects Your Performance
Excellent job performance is key to getting ahead. You need to perform above and beyond expectations to improve your standing. But if you’re overly stressed out, your ability to work might be affected, which affects how your managers and coworkers view your status in the organization. Some of the key drivers of stress in the workplace are:
- Concerns about job security (downsizing, performance, etc.)
- Work-life balance
- People issues (don’t get along with their manager or coworkers)
- Too much to do, not enough time (long hours/ability to manage your time)
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Too Much to Do / Time Management :
While a low-level dose of stress might help motivate you to meet deadlines, taking on too much work to impress your manager (or fear of losing your job) can lead to frustration and you run the risk of not getting everything done on time or correctly. Some tips on managing your time and workload:
- Prioritize your work at the start of each day (most important tasks first). If you are unclear which tasks are more important, ask your manager, to help.
- Start one thing and finish it. Starting multiple tasks will cause you to lose focus and 5-started tasks are not as good as 1 or more completed tasks.
- Learn to say no to additional work if you feel overwhelmed. Again, ask your manager to help prioritize any new tasks that will interfere with you completing work already assigned.
People Issues with Your Manager and Coworkers:
Stress is a major contributor to strained interactions with coworkers and poor interactions with coworkers can cause stress (yes, a vicious cycle). There are things you can do to improve relationships with coworkers and managers (although not getting along with your manager is difficult to fix in terms of perception). Some tips:
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- Be helpful to others. Try to help your coworkers with business-related tasks. Offer to get them a coffee if you are getting one for yourself. Praising their work (especially to managers) can help as well.
- Don’t lose your “cool”. Count to 10 and take a deep breath when there is stress.
- Stay away from office politics to the extent possible. Don’t gossip and certainly don’t say negative things about coworkers
- To improve your relationship with your manager, follow through on what you say you will do (deliver on time). Produce good work, get in early, and stay late if necessary. If your manager knows you are a solid performer, things will improve.
Work-Life Balance:
Trying to do a good job at work where you are working long hours puts stress on your personal life. Short of getting a new job, there are other things you can do to improve your work/life balance and improve your stress levels.
- Schedule time for your loved ones in the same way you schedule tasks at work. Make “date nights” with your spouse and plan special events with your kids.
- Your time is important too. Schedule time for yourself in the same way you would schedule time with loved ones.
- Give yourself a break. Try not to be so hard on yourself. We all deserve “downtime” and time when we can do whatever we want (or nothing).
- Getting things done at work, as mentioned above, will improve your work/life balance as well.
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Job Security Related Stress:
There is not a lot you can do about a pending downsizing or the impact of a failed business other than look for another job. The tips above should cover most of your performance-related issues. If, however, your concerns are related to a downsizing where employees’ roles will be analyzed to determine which jobs are eliminated, there are a few things you can do to improve the chances of saving your job:
- Help improve the profitability of your department and organization. This can be through cost
savings recommendations or additional revenue (if you are insales or marketing). - Improve your visibility by networking within your organization
- Offer to take on new roles and tasks
- Keep a positive attitude
Your Stress Reduction Plan
Make an effort to
Further Guidance & Tools
- Work Stress Overview: Use APA guidance on work stress to understand common causes and practical ways to reduce workplace strain.
- Stress Risk Factors: Use CDC NIOSH stress resources to identify job stressors and understand how they affect health and performance.
- Workplace Coping Tips: Use NHS inform guidance to apply practical steps for workload planning, boundaries, and support at work.
- Mindful Breathing: Use this VA breathing script to practice a quick calming routine you can use before difficult
meetings or tight deadlines. - Workplace Stress Basics: Use OSHA’s workplace stress page to understand how stress impacts safety and what a healthier work design can look like.
Next Steps
- Track stress spikes for a week by noting the situation, people involved, workload level, and what happened right before symptoms started.
- Rewrite your daily task list into three priorities and three optional items, then focus on finishing one priority before starting another.
- Schedule brief reset breaks by stepping away from screens, stretching, and breathing slowly, then returning with an explicit following action.
- Prepare one short script to clarify expectations with your manager, including priorities, deadlines, and what tradeoffs are acceptable.
- Create a personal work life boundary rule that protects recovery time, then communicate it consistently through calendar blocks and availability.
Final Words
Work stress is everyday, but unmanaged stress quietly erodes health, focus, and career momentum. By identifying triggers, prioritizing realistically, and using time and communication
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Mark Fiebert is a former finance executive who hired and managed dozens of professionals during his 30-plus-year career. He now shares expert job search, resume, and career advice on CareerAlley.com.
