“Everyday at work I need to use the computer for a long time; it hurts my eyes and makes my near-sight problem worse. Also, sitting all day long in the office without exercise makes me tired and have sore muscle. On top of that, constantly working overtime gives me huge pressure.”
——Most working class repeat the same routine work day after day, some even have to keep the same posture for a long time which can cause muscle strain and other illness. In addition, long-term work pressure may result in unhealthy lifestyle and other related health problems. How can the office workers reduce stress?
1. Use schedule book/agenda planner/diary app to make arrangements
Office workers have to deal with all sorts of little things every day and it seems they can never be finished; if you have procrastination problem or don’t know how to set priorities, your stress will increase tremendously. Recently a schedule planner called Chronodex starts to gain popularity among the office clerks as it can help them manage the time and do things more effectively. Just write down the everyday chaos in the Chronodex chart according to the time and importance, you will find it easier to know the priority and do things in the right order without feeling stressful. The handwritten diary or agenda planner app can also help the busy ones to schedule their daily work and reduce pressure.
2. Learn to turn off the mobile device and avoid disturbed rest
For most working class, there’s no obvious boundary between work and home life, so sometimes even after work, office clerks will receive whatsapp messages and other notifications about work and it makes them hard to relax; what’s more, too much pressure can lead to bad memory and impaired concentration and affect the work efficiency. Try to turn off your mobile or tablet devices some time during the day, find a quiet place to have a few minutes’ daze to free your brain from thinking and then you are able to have better mood and more creative ideas later.
3. “Create” more time for yourself
As we know that time is fair to everyone, no matter who we are, we only have 24 hours a day. Therefore, we have to admit our time limitation and set reasonable goals when arranging our agendas. Sometimes if the things are not urgent or do not necessarily need to be finished on your own, you don’t have to put them in your schedule with other must-do items; at the same time, do the more important things first, then you will have extra time to finish the less important items. Besides, record the time you use for each plan, eliminate the interruption and use the 80/20 principle to handle your everyday work without stress.
4. Place fresh flowers, green plants and precious items in the workplace
To decorate your work desk with floral arrangements or greenery can not only relax yourself and be inspiring, they can also bring you positive attitude and joyful mood and help you work more effectively. If the decoration is something you love and cherish, like a photo frame from a close friend, a preserved flower gift from your husband or a customized thermos cup from family, you will by no means feel warm and relaxed every time you see them because you know that someone is always thinking about you. These gifts are long-lasting and bring you happiness at work, they are also nice complement as the table decoration.
What can friends and family do for the office workers?
• Talk with them, do sports, shopping, watch movie, travel, cook a meal
The working class comes across different unfair situations at work almost every day, but most of them don’t have a way to speak out their feelings. As friends and family, we can be a supportive listener and listen to them carefully without too much advice, then they won’t hide their innermost feelings and become negative and eventually cause depression. In addition to that, we can accompany the stressful office workers to the park or take part in some relaxing activities together in order to bring more positive energy to them. Last but not least, a meal cook with love is another medicine to reduce stress. The home cook meal not only express your love and concern to the working class, it can also ease their anxiety and tension so that they become more positive in life.
• Send the office clerks Give Gift Boutique health stress-free gift box
Everyone loves receiving gifts, including the office workers who work days and nights. Although they didn’t mention it, deep down in their heart they really hope that someone will understand them and help them. Family and friends might not be very helpful regarding the office work, but they could show support from another perspective, that is, to send the working class a healthy gift set that can help them soothe the pressure.
The office clerks often need to work overtime, so very often they get exhausted when they get back home. To send them a relax gift hamper with Bird’s Nest and Herbs Sweet Sleeping Drink is able to help them beat the tiredness and improve sleep quality so that they work more effectively in their everyday schedule.
The office workers usually don’t have a regular eating habit, at times the snack and unhealthy food will add burden to their body. To give them a relaxing gift with biscuit, chocolate and sparking wine, and let them have a chance to slow down and relax.
Because of the work environment, most working class have kidney pain and back problems. Sending them a healthcare gift with negative Ion bracelet, body lotion gift set and Aromatherapy candle can help them to boost metabolism and have better blood circulation.
Other articles about how to relief stress
Stress Relief SeriesⅠ•Students Preparing for Exams
Stress Relief SeriesⅢ•Housewives
This is a Hong Kong GGB original 'Stress Relief SeriesⅡ·The Working Class' blogpost.