Top tips to stay sane at work

Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than any other cause of stress – even more than financial or family problems. Fortunately, there are simple ways to make our work environment less stressful.

• Most of us don't take enough time to praise ourselves for doing things well.
• So when you've completed an interim or long-term goal, tell yourself – out loud – what a good job you've done.
• You'll get a burst of confidence that will go a long way towards helping you to maintain your cool amid the workplace madness.

• Here's a good one: write a cheque to an organization you loathe, put it in a stamped, addressed envelope and tell a trusted friend to post it if you fail to meet an important deadline or complete a vital task.
• Or take the positive route: give the friend something you really cherish or desire and let your friend give it back to you only if you achieve your goal.

• A recent study found that when men drank coffee while working together in a group, it tended to make the group less effective.
• The study also found that just the perception that the drink contained caffeine – whether or not it actually did – also increased the men's feelings of stress and their heart rates.

• Stand against the wall and slide down it as if you were sitting in a chair.
• Stay there for a few minutes without looking down, just feeling your spine against the wall.
• Breathe deeply (in through your nose, out through your mouth) and focus on one peaceful thought (waves crashing on the shore, a glass of wine by a roaring fire).
• Press your feet into the ground as you hold this position and picture the stress oozing out of your body.
• When you stand up, shake out your arms and legs and return to work refreshed.

• Close your office door or go to an empty conference room and focus on what stresses you. You can bring your journal or just a sheet of paper.
• Divide the paper into three columns: My Worry; Why It Worries Me; Worst Thing That Could Happen.
• Once you confront the worst thing that could possibly happen – and realize that it's highly unlikely it ever will happen – you can get back to work with your worry load lightened.