Originally posted on https://www.masterexecutiveexcellence.com/2018/12/12/5-strategies-relieve-stress-deal-pressure/

CEOs are not strangers to stress and pressure. They work to manage it. Learn these 5 business leader strategies on how to deal with pressure and stress.

Did you know 61% of U.S. workers report that work causes them a significant amount of stress? Or that businesses lose $300 billion dollars every year due to productivity loss, illness, and absenteeism caused by stressed-out employees?

Knowing how to deal with pressure at will help you and your employees cope with or even beat work-related stress and enjoy increased productivity.

In this article, we’re sharing some tips on how to manage pressure at work. Read on!

1. Know Yourself and Your Stress Response

People respond to stress differently. Some experience increased heart rate or sweating palms, and others clench their jaw or get a stomachache. Knowing how your body responds to stress can help you do something about it beyond experiencing it.

If you recognize when you start to feel stressed, you have a chance to stop it before it takes hold and causes your harm. Pay attention to your stress response patterns and how they affect you and the people are you. When stress starts creeping in, you can try different coping mechanisms to get it under control.

2. Incorporate Regular Exercise

Taking care of your body through regular exercise increases its ability to fight off stress. It gives you a sense of control over your life, helps regulate your emotions, and boosts your self-esteem. Exercise gives you a healthy distraction while triggering your body to eliminate the build-up of stress hormones.

3. Take a Stress Break

Schedule time in your day to step away from your desk and take a quick break. Even a 10-minute break every 90 minutes greatly decreases stress hormones in your body.

Try doing shoulder shrugs or deep breathing exercises if you cannot go walk around, or close your eyes and clear your mind for a full minute.

4. Rethink How You Work

Rethinking how you organize your work tasks for the day can help eliminate stress as well. Learn how to prioritize tasks so you do not end up rushing to complete a project. As a leader, clearly defining employee roles and clarifying your expectations can help minimize the amount of time you spend guiding your employees.

5. Learn the Art of Recovery

Pushing yourself to perform at 100% effort for 100% of the time quickly leads to burn out. Take a page out of the professional athlete’s handbook and learn the art of recovery. You need to take time to recharge and recover your mind, just like an athlete needs to allow their body enough time to rest.

To make this effective, you must take the time to know yourself and how you best recover. Can you listen to music on your way home to decompress before you arrive or do you do better with an audiobook? Would joining a local sports team give you a place to relax or simply add on more stress and responsibility?

Learn about yourself and identify how you best recharge.

How to Deal with Pressure: Hire an Executive Coach

Still feeling the stress and not sure how to deal with pressure in your executive position? Don’t worry. You’re not alone.

Most CEOs hide their stresses from their employees, their peers, and even their loved ones. That doesn’t mean other CEOs are not struggling with the same worries and fears that you have; they just find different ways to deal with them.

Hiring an executive coach to guide you through a professional rough patch may be the solution you need to move past your mental roadblock. Connect with Jane Covington Beaudry today to learn how an elite strategic advisor can keep you stress-free and help you maximize your potential at work!