Ways of Coping with Overwhelming Feelings at Work

When our plate gets too full with deadlines, projects and other deliverables, we easily feel trapped and loaded.

The feeling of overwhelm starts to creep in and we don’t really have much options but to simply go through that long to-do list and successfully accomplish each one. Though it seems like it’s the best way to go, forcing yourself to grind through day and night can do more damage than help.

Employee burnout have become a pressing problem in today’s work industry that it already reached epidemic proportions.

Vice President of the workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions provider, Kronos Inc., Charlie Dewitt said in an article that though several organizations around the world are now taking action on managing employee burnout, there are fewer efforts in proactive solutions. He further emphasizes its grave consequences by saying that not only will employee burnout deplete productivity and augment absenteeism, it will weaken engagement which can result to the departure of the top players of the organization.

In a survey conducted by Kronos, in cooperation with HR advisory and research firm, Future Workplace, nearly half of the HR leaders who participated have said that employee burnout is responsible for over half of their annual workforce turnover.

And thought the phenomenon affects organizations of all sizes, large companies are more susceptible to it with one out of five HR leaders from well-established enterprises with over 100 to 500 employee, citing burnout as the culprit behind 10 percent of their rate of replacement.

Admittedly, senior leaders and their respective C-suites are the ones expected to initiate the amelioration of the issue but employees, in their own little ways, can also contribute in amending the aforementioned predicament.

Contrary to popular belief, there’s actually a lot that you can do other than that of working until your brain melts. Here are three strategies on dealing with overwhelming feelings at work.

When there’s so much to do and so little time, sitting down to plan how you’ll accomplish each task becomes a luxury we simply cannot afford yet giving yourself enough leeway to map out a plan of action can help you become more efficient.

So breathe in and don’t panic. Grab a piece of paper and write down each task that you have to accomplish for the day. The simplest act of jotting down what needs to be done and deciding what order you’ll be tackling each one is effective enough. It grabs hold of every project or assignment going through your head and puts them into a list that later on creates action. Prioritize each item so that you know where you’re utmost attention should be instead of jumping from one task to another.

Put the pen down and shut down your pc or laptop. Take a break and get some sleep.

Our first intuition of pulling all-nighters the moment we receive a large amount of workload creates more damage than help. Whenever we coerce ourselves to work instead of getting some rest and right amount of sleep, it slows us down.

Sleep deprivation directly affects our cognition – rendering us more susceptible to distractions. Moreover, our brains work even harder when we are suffering from high levels of stress.

When we’re feeling overwhelmed and our adrenaline are at a high, our offices may not be the best place to be in. We tend to feel paranoid as if people are constantly watching over us – colleagues and of course, your superiors – like the walls are suddenly closing in on us.

We become anxious about everything that we do and instead of inspiring us to create more, our workplace averts us from getting anything done.

If things become too much, leave.

Even if it’s just for 10 minutes, go out of the office and walk. Get some fresh air and clear your head. Ask if a colleague wouldn’t mind taking a break with you and talk to them about your current workload. Though we essentially have the irrational anxiety of sounding whiny or incapable, talking about it out loud could help you organize your thoughts. In addition to this, they could give you insights on how to deal with the overwhelming feelings you are going through.

If allowed, take your laptop with you and work in a different environment – away from the hustle and bustle.

Members of coworking spaces are well-familiar with this specific assistance that the shared office brings to their usual workday. Unlike the traditional workplace, coworking spaces gives you the ability to switch from one working environment to another depending on what they need. In addition to this, majority of office providers now delegate a space wherein workers can relax and take a breather with other members like pool tables, karaoke rooms and even game rooms.

Remind yourself that there’s another world outside the bubble that is your career life.

It’s hard not to get carried away by all the responsibility thrown our way, not to mention all the overwhelming feelings that go with it, but with the help of these strategies and by keeping in mind that they will be done soon, you’ll get through it without losing your mind.