3 Ways to Manage Stress in Changing Times

To say that 2020 has changed the world and brought some challenging times is somewhat of an understatement!
Almost every business owner and employee has had to rapidly adapt to working in different ways and from different places. In fact, Covid19 may have transformed the way businesses work indefinitely, with a massive increase in flexible and remote working opportunities.
While we are all doing our best, change and uncertainty are draining, and it is vital to take steps to manage stress.
Here are three of the best ways for you to do just that....

​1. Reconnect with FUN
When was the last time you did something purely just for fun? And no, zoning out in front of Netflix or mindlessly scrolling social media does not count! 

As we get older, we lose our ability just to let loose, forget our worries, and play. And often when we are stressed, we are so stuck in our heads that we feel as if we must hold on tightly or risk losing control.
In reality, it is quite the opposite. Play, laughter, and fun are enormous stress relievers. They trigger endorphins – the feel-good chemicals - improve brain function, boost creativity, and help you work better.
Choose something that brings you joy or makes you laugh – preferably both – and do it. It could be a games night with friends, karaoke at home, a game of chase with your dog or kids, a comedy show, building a fake snowman, sliding down a hill on a piece of cardboard… the choice is yours. Connect with your inner kid and reap the benefits.
Even better than individual fun activities, why not organize a fun event for the whole team and do a bit of morale building while you are at it! It can be a great way for your team to reconnect after working remotely for so long.
 
2. Manage Stress by Moving Your Body
Exercise is always on any decent stress-buster list, and for good reason. Very few things have such a positive impact on your mental wellbeing and physical health.
Being active boosts those good-mood endorphins and helps your body work through the fight or flight stress responses. It often requires focus and mindfulness, so halts the cycle of worry and anxiety in an overworked mind.
Aside from the nearly endless list of physical benefits, exercise decreases tension, elevates your mood, improves self-esteem, and helps you get that oh-so-precious eight hours of sleep every night.
And remember; exercise does not have to be tedious. By choosing something you enjoy, like tennis, frisbee, backyard cricket, or dancing, you will be ticking two out of three things off our list at once!
Exercise can be turned into a team exercise too. Enter a work team into a social sports competition, have a walking group at lunchtime, or even introduce workplace yoga sessions to get the blood pumping and the productivity flowing.
 
3. Organize a Workplace Massage session
Even when life is relatively “normal”, we can benefit enormously from a massage at work.
There are the obvious physical benefits – such as relief from headaches, muscle aches and pains, and prevention of RSI and similar conditions. These are potentially front of mind right now with unsuitable home workstations contributing to aches and pains.
The effects of regular workplace massage however, goes much further just the physical benefits.
Massage therapy has been proven to decrease anxiety and help manage stress. Again, this is partially down to the release of endorphins. Massage has also been shown to reduce the levels of stress hormones in the body, such as adrenalin and cortisol.
The combined physical and mental benefits of massage in the workplace is a great way to provide wellbeing and wellness for stressed-out, tired, and anxious staff. Even a 15-minute massage is enough to refresh the body and rest the mind, so you can return to work feeling relaxed and resilient.
 
If you are ready to energize your team and work out some of the lockdown aches and pains, as well as boost mental wellbeing, then the Bodyworkz massage superheroes are ready to help you do it.

All we require from you is a spare office or the use of your lunchroom/boardroom and some team members to massage! Reach out today to find out more about workplace massage at your place!