The hum of Mandaluyong’s busy streets, its competitive environment, and tight deadlines are music to a modern-day professional’s ears. Those chime-y ringtones from your office group chat, the influx of emails wanting to get your attention, or your boss suddenly dropping by to say hello and briefing you for tasks for the day – these things keep you on your feet and toes as you battle through a work day, setting your mood to get the best out of you. A little bit of tension is always normal, especially when faced with work-related tasks, but when stress gets chronic, it can potentially compromise physical and emotional well-being.
Unmanaged work-related stress, when not dealt with for quite some time, may lead to depression and anxiety, which is the last thing one would need in a workspace. Several subtle signs manifest in their early stages. Personal issues such as low energy levels, headaches, lowered self-esteem, and reduced drive for success, are seen in distressed employees. Aside from these, stress also affects the workplace as a whole. Companies with a stressful environment experience higher staff turnover, increased absenteeism, declining performances, and constant complaints. Office stress impact on both employees and businesses and must be managed from early on.
As the saying goes “Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.” No matter how much we love our job, getting stressed at work is inevitable. Good thing there are ways to regulate these stressors to make sure tension is kept at a healthy level. Here are some ways to de-stress your office for lease in Mandaluyong.
Get Organized
With many things in the workplace demanding your attention, it can be hard to keep your thoughts straight. Having several tasks to complete at the same time while working at a cluttered desk could cloud up that train of thought, hindering you from finishing your tasks and adding up to your mental workload. Being organized can benefit your health, help you think more clearly, and keeps you relaxed. So it is important to organize your surroundings at work by removing clutter.
Clutter takes a toll on your productivity and can adversely affect your output. Research shows its negative effects on individuals such as increased anxiety levels, decreased focus, and restlessness. The lack of an organizing system in place to determine which things to keep or discard are the reasons why clutter accumulates. If you feel that there are too many unnecessary things lying around your workspace, it’s time to start organizing your workstation regularly.
Start by thinking of your office space as your computer desktop or your phone’s home screen. The more files stored in it, the more shortcuts get piled up on the screen. Delete all those unwanted files (or apps) that just consume space. As soon as you are left with the essentials, organize them according to their necessity. Place things that you frequently use in inaccessible locations such as your top drawer or near you. Objects such as your noise-canceling headphones or your favorite fountain pen can go on your desk within your arm’s reach. Arrange the rest of your things similarly with the least items kept safely distanced from you. Also, digitize items that you can. Create memos on your smartphone instead of placing sticky notes all over the place, or rather than printing a copy of your report for a colleague to proofread, try sending an email instead. Once you are done with these steps and have a clean and tidy office space, you will realize how much these unnecessary things slow you down.
With an organized workspace, enjoy lower stress levels, feel more relaxed, and have more focus because of fewer distractions around you. Remember, it does not take an expert like Marie Kondo to de-stress by tidying up. Pick up that trash bag and start sorting things out.
Let The Light In
In the thought of having happy and healthy workplaces, the thought of lighting usually gets overlooked. Bad lighting is linked to many bad effects on an individual’s health. Effects such as eye strain, headaches, fatigue, stress, and anxiety are seen in people who spend the majority of their day exposed to bad lighting. Surveys say that 40% of office workers struggle with poor lighting. As a lengthy amount of time is spent at work, negative effects on their productivity and well-being have been observed.
According to research, 13 – 15 minutes of exposure to natural light triggers the body’s happy hormones known as “Endorphins”. Aside from this, daylight exposure positively affects a person’s sleep, activity, and quality of life. With that being said, ergonomic lighting is essential for the well-being of a workplace. It is the relationship between the source of light and the individual that benefits from it. It has a prolific impact on workplace productivity, and individual wellbeing, and prevents the above-stated health effects.
Since poor lighting causes eyes to work harder to interpret what you can see, one of the most important aspects of lighting ergonomics is ensuring that there is ample light around the workplace. Choosing brighter bulbs provides better lighting, also consider the distance from the light source as this impacts the quality of the light’s brightness. Create ideal lighting conditions by incorporating natural light as it benefits workers by keeping them more alert and keeping them relaxed compared to those who are confined in office spaces with only artificial lighting.
Ensure there is ample lighting in the office because aside from it being a pleasing aesthetic, it can be a great way to regulate stress levels among employees.
Turn the Music On
Studies have shown that listening to music helps calm your nervous system and lowers cortisol levels. Excess cortisol in your body fuels your stress hormones and music decreases its production. It offers your brain a distraction from factors that cause stress, both internally and externally. Listening to your favorite songs brings a sense of calmness, improves your mood, and allows you to respond better to stressors. When you are less stressed, you are more capable of performing your tasks better and function at best, making music a must-have in an office environment.
Aside from helping you get through the day, music improves aspects about yourself that help with work performance. Passive listening to music improves cognitive functions passive listening and music therapy improve cognitive functions including memory, ability to process information, and ability to execute a task. Plugging in your headphones while accomplishing tasks helps instill focus and concentration and improve engagement at work.
Playing background music in a work environment can make repetitive office tasks seem easier and instill focus among employees. It also helps improve the work setting by boosting people’s moods inside the workplace.
Turn that stressful office setting upside down while in the first high-rise office building in Mandaluyong. Located within the future-ready urban community Greenfield District, Greenfield Tower offers a unique environment where wide-open spaces co-exist with state-of-the-art fiber-optic internet connectivity while close to convenient, reliable, and secure modes of commuting or transportation. Employees may enjoy conveniences within the building as Greenfield Tower’s ground level has commercial establishments and a restaurant on its 28th floor. The building will soon be housing a chapel, a museum, and a bookstore creating a mixed-use environment among the building.
With Greenfield Tower’s state-of-the-art connectivity and accessibility to establishments within the Greenfield District, employees have stirred away from stress-filled days in the office. To learn more about the property, click on this link.
References:
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/symptoms-of-stress
- https://quotefancy.com/quote/1577574/Bill-Phillips-Stress-should-be-a-powerful-driving-force-not-an-obstacle
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6424886/L
- https://selecthealth.org/blog/2021/01/5-surprising-benefits-of-being-organized#:~:text=Organization%20increases%20productivity%20at%20work&text=If%20you’re%20feeling%20burnt,your%20work%20and%20limit%20distractions.
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2018/12/31/how-does-lighting-affect-mental-health-in-the-workplace/?sh=6e14a7264ccd
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-athletes-way/201306/exposure-natural-light-improves-workplace-performance
- https://www.autonomous.ai/ourblog/office-design-guide-to-maximize-natural-light
- https://www.ascap.com/help/wellness/7-ways-music-reduces-stress-anxiety
- https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/the-sound-of-wellness-how-music-tunes-up-workplace-productivity#:~:text=Improves%20Focus&text=In%20addition%2C%20music%20can%20make,greater%20focus%20comes%20faster%20results.