“Stress is how we react when we feel under pressure or threatened.”
HR professionals have been tested over the past few years. The pandemic and its associated protocols along with the possible recession has placed the HR department under immense pressure. HR professionals have been forced to adapt to new protocols quickly and given the magnitude of recent workplace changes, they’ve been expected to do so nearly flawlessly. These added headaches have magnified many everyday office stressors. This, alongside new stressors, has led HR to hold the not-so-great title of department with the highest turnover rate.
It’s time for HR professionals to put their needs at the top of their priority list. Here are a few questions and helpful tips HR professionals can use to improve their work life.
What’s causing the most stress?
When addressing stressors, the best first step is to identify what’s causing the problem. Whether it’s a daily task at work or a problem in your personal life, there are potential stressors around every corner. For about a month, we recommend keeping track of events or tasks that cause you to feel anxious.
After the month is over, review the results and see if any unnecessary tasks would be better suited for someone else or if there are meetings that can be forgone entirely. A few examples of meetings that can be nixed from your calendar include the following.
- Status update meetings with no action items
- Meetings without an agenda
- In-person meetings as a default
All of the meetings above, for the most part, would be better suited in an email format. As a culture, we are prone to wanting everyone together to discuss matters. However, with today’s technology, a well thought out email can have the same effect as a zoom meeting. Reducing unnecessary tasks and meetings can help clear your calendar, giving you more time to focus on important tasks and fit in a few minutes for yourself.
Can you take a breath?
It may seem like a silly question to ask, but when was the last time you took a breather at work? HR professionals tend to put others’ needs before their own. But when it comes to self care, taking a few 10-minute “micro-breaks” during the day can help prevent burnout.
Micro-breaks will look different to everyone and can vary depending on the day. Some may use one of their micro-breaks to do a crossword puzzle, while some may find a walk and coffee break to do the trick. The key here is to listen to your needs and try new things until you find what’s best for you.
How’s your time management?
When you are at a job for a while, it’s easy to get into a rhythm. But it may be beneficial to review your daily routine and identify areas for improvement. Time management is more than planning out your day. The Harvard Business Review says that it can be broken down into three A’s:
- Awareness – Having a realistic understanding of your tasks versus the time available.
- Arrangement – Productively taking advantage of your time.
- Adaptation – Being able to change task priorities and work through interruptions.
When implementing the three A’s into your time management strategy, it’s a good idea to start out with one to two things at a time. Just like any other life change, if everything in your time management strategy gets changed at once, it’s a lot harder to stick with the new system. Find one or two easy changes at first, then start tackling the big changes.
A great way to start your journey to improved time management is to list your tasks along with their due dates. There are many ways to create an effective list of tasks. Some people find physically writing tasks down in order of importance to be the best way, while others prefer online tools. After creating the list, work from the most important tasks down to the ones that have a lower priority. This will ensure you’re tackling those big projects and not leaving them to sit on the back burner.
Once a to-do list has been created, HR professionals must find the time to accomplish their tasks. Some people excel at doing detailed-oriented tasks at the beginning of the day, while others want to start their day off by finishing a few small responsibilities to get the ball rolling. After identifying what part of the day works best for your tasks, block your calendar to dedicate time to working through your responsibilities.
To help visualize when you will be working on a specific task, use a planner. There are multiple different types of planners available, so don’t be afraid of testing something new. The most standard planner type is a physical planner that is only available to you. This way, you can keep track of events and tasks that are not work related. Another option is an online calendar, this has its own set of perks, one being that it can be visible to coworkers. This can help with collaboration efforts and allows coworkers. to see when you are busy. How everyone schedules their day will be different, but once you find the best flow for you, it will positively impact your productivity due to fewer interruptions and changing tasks.
HR professionals have had to add several new tasks onto their plates over the past few years. This has caused an alarming rate of burnout within the field. But HR professionals deserve to look forward to work every day — or at least, not to dread doing so. The first step to helping with office burnout is to locate the cause of your stress, followed by taking micro-breaks when needed and blocking out time to be productive. These steps will not only improve your workflow but can even help with long-term burnout and mental health.
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