Taking care of yourself may be easier when you’re at home because you control your environment. However, when you’re at work, your managers and coworkers may set the tone for the entire office’s health and happiness. If you’re struggling to find joy at work, here are eight ways to help you improve your work life:
1. Focus on your breathing at work.
You don’t need to enjoy meditating to benefit from meditative breathing. There are numerous ways to use meditative breathing to reduce stress — even in a room full of people. Try belly breathing at your desk, and you’ll be able to center yourself without anyone noticing what you’re doing.
2. Try ergonomic furniture in the workplace.
The next time that work annoys you, reflect on how you feel physically. Are your muscles tight or sore? Your posture or your desk setup could contribute to your struggle in the workplace.
Research shows that companies that upgraded their chairs to ergonomic models reduced musculoskeletal disorders by 61% across their teams. Supporting your spine relieves muscle tension — which can make you happier overall. Speak with your manager if you need help changing your desk chair or office setup to better support your physical health.
3. Improve your workplace communication skills.
Sometimes it’s challenging to discuss workplace disagreements with your coworkers. If interpersonal conflicts are the main source of your job anxiety, work on your communication skills with a therapist. They can help you overcome self-doubt and other internal challenges that may prevent you from collaborating with your team members. You’ll be far happier and better able to work on team projects if you try seeing a professional.
4. Make new friends at work.
Isolation can really put a damper on a happy work experience — especially if you work remotely or part-time. If you go into the office regularly, invite a coworker to have lunch with you or make plans for after work. If you work remotely, set up a Zoom meeting or talk with your company about hosting more work events online. Getting to know your coworkers can help you look forward to your job every day.
5. Set mindfulness reminders during the workday.
Making time for mindfulness practice can seem impossible when you don’t do it daily. Set reminders to practice your new habits — like breathing through stressful periods or slowing down for the day before clocking out. Eventually, you won’t need extra prompts because staying mindful at work will be a natural part of your daily routine. Staying mindful will help you stay calm during the day and get through your workday with ease.
6. Do one task at a time at work.
Many workplaces prioritize multitasking, but taking on multiple tasks at y once isn’t always great for your health. Set up short time periods throughout the day for multitasking, and then spend the rest of your day focusing on one task at a time. You may be able to work your way back up to multitasking all day once you find yourself less anxious or unmotivated at work.
7. Snack to reduce stress at work.
Some workplaces are inherently more stressful than others — but you can bring healthy snacks to work to combat your overwhelm.
Food that keeps your blood sugar stable can reduce the physical effects of stress because high blood sugar levels can exacerbate anxiety on a cellular level. The next time you feel stressed, consider snacking on things like chickpea chips, dark chocolate almonds, veggie chips, or Greek yogurt. You can even bring in some chamomile tea for a little pick-me-up throughout the day. Healthy snacks can keep your blood sugar in check and help you stop worrying about what you eat at work.
8. Think about what makes you grateful about your job.
Dwelling on negativity can make it harder to climb out of depression or anxiety spirals. Therefore, pausing at least once a day to think about what makes you grateful can help you refocus.
Although positive thinking won’t change what’s happening around you, it can improve your mental resilience. Name one thing you appreciate about yourself, your coworkers, or your career. Focus on that one good thing for at least 30 seconds. With time, finding positive aspects of your life will become easier, and your mental health will better withstand any challenge your boss throws your way.
If you need to make peace with your career without switching jobs, try out these tips. With time, you’ll develop a well-rounded approach to improving your workplace health.
Featured Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash.
Thanks for the great article! Of course, it’s not enough for me to believe that work can be turned into a pleasant place, because work for me is a constant stress, problems within the team, problems that our clients come to us with! But your advice seems very affirmative and it seems to me that they can really help! Especially for people who do not work in such a stressful environment as I do!
Great article. Totally agree with the author. I used to think that only slackers could say that the workplace environment prevented them from working. How wrong I was. I recently moved into a new office which had someone else’s furniture, design, even some nice little things and it didn’t fit my nature. So I decided to completely replace the furniture, so as not to spend too much to take on sale https://www.pricebusters.com/ . Now it is much easier to breathe and even work.